Newport Canal Walk – Family-Friendly Out-and-Back Route in Shropshire

Filling the void

Monday 16th September 2024. I had a couple of hours to kill in Newport, Shropshire. The weather was great and walking seemed the perfect way to spend that time! Having dismissed an almost 2-hour walk for fear of going over my available time, I’d opted for the gentle 3.3mile Newport Waterways circular walk instead – you can read about this here. However, I’d done it in a shade over an hour, and I still had 45 minutes left to explore…

Newport Canal

The obvious option was to see what was down the other side of the canal. Having walked east earlier, I crossed the road and took the slope down to the towpath, to see what  the other side held.

The canal had intrigued me, so once I was home, I did a bit of research. Upon arriving in Newport, I’d expected to walk down a ‘proper’, usable, canal, but this canal was shut down not long after 1944 when the government stepped in and started to close down the now lesser used canals. I don’t know a lot of history about the canals, there were none where I grew up, but apparently in 1944 many canals were deemed surplus to requirements, as trains, and eventually motor vehicles, started to do the brunt of the haulage across the country, so many were decommissioned.

Today, the canal remains impassable by boat. There are several blocks in place where certain locks once stood, leaving a land-locked strip of water through the centre of Newport. Despite this, it has a wonderfully developed towpath along the entire section, making for a brilliant, mud-free, walk whatever the weather!

As i joined the towpath from the road, I saw what looked like a miniature canal, for want of a better description, that was working its way to the main section. It all looked so incredibly pretty. Here, a pedestrianised area had been created, complete with a bench, to enjoy the view. I walked a bit further down then looked back again – how beautiful is this?

Shortly after this I passed an area of grassland by the towpath that was filled with fruit trees. A sign told me it was a community orchard!

I continued onward, passing a fisherman, and several dog walkers, before a small bridge loomed in the distance. This must be the location of what was once another lock, and the sign below gave me some more insight into it.

I didn’t realise until I came back, but the bridge allowed you to cross over to the other side of the canal. This created a loop around the next filled in lock, with a grassy footpath and little cut away sections for people to fish from. Not long after the bridge, I witnessed more fishing…

It was only a short trip, less than 15 minutes, to get to the ‘end’ of the canal from the main road. Another sign gave me some more information on the history of the canal, and about the ongoing work to bring it back to life.

Out of curiosity, I took a little wander past this board to another small wooden bridge that I could see through the hedges. Beyond this bridge were more footpath signs and the potential for an even longer walk. I weighed up my options. I could probably risk another 10 minutes, but the call for a comfort break was greater, so I turned a round to head back toward the town!

Upon turning around, I saw this – I felt that this wonderful scene needed capturing. It was so still and beautiful.

As I approached the end/start of this walk, I saw that it was actually possible to walk under the bridge (which was much more convenient than trying to find a suitable gap to cross the road above!) It was an incredibly low bridge – even I could touch the roof here in the centre, and that’s almost unheard of at my height!

My thoughts on the Newport Canal walk

This walk turned into a lovely little surprise for me. The entire length of this canal is filled with things to see, from all the plants, the lilies and reeds, to being home to lots of different wildlife: ducks, cormorants – even a heron! Who wouldn’t want to take their children down here for a walk? It’s one of the most beautiful stretches of canal I’ve ever walked!

This walk really is the perfect choice for children, and whilst this particular walk there and back was only 1.4miles, if you really wanted to get in your steps, you could walk the entire towpath there and back, (including the bit I did this morning) racking up a nice, easy 3 miles! It’s flat, clean and pram friendly – and now I know you can go under the bridge, you can enjoy it all without having to cross a road too!

TOTAL MILES: 1.38 | TOTAL TIME: 0h26 (0h26 Moving Time)