Map of Ditherington and Castlefields, 1920s

A canal walk

CLUE: One of the Flaxmill workers put the letter you are looking for on the old canal route... find the 4th letter in a man's name

A hidden gem in Shrewsbury, this is a pleasant walk away from the busy main road. Pictured below is the canal as it was in the 1970s

Shrewsbury Canal in front of the Flaxmill

The canal was of vital importance to the Flaxmill and the town...

Originally the Shrewsbury Canal wasn't used by narrow boats like on most canals. Instead, it was mainly used by 6 foot wide and 20 foot long tub boats, which often carried 5-8 tons of cargo. The boats that were travelling up and down this canal were often being pulled by a single horse in a train of up to 20 boats!

In the 1820s, the canal was widened in order to allow for narrow boats. This period was the most profitable time for the canal. However, the emergence of the railways in the 1850s saw its usage decline.

Bowling Green Inn

Margaret Walker, Peggy Pritchard, and Mick Ryan in the Bowling Green Inn

This is an old photo of the bar in the Bowling Green, myself in the middle, Peggy Pritchard who helped behind the bar, and Mick Ryan - a customer. I was married to my first husband Colin Pritchard, we had the Bowling Green Inn until it closed

Margaret Walker, Facebook