I have again been informed by the Birmingham Canal Navigation Society that Wednesfield and our wonderful historic Wyrley and Essington Canal features again in the 2018 Narrowboat cruise programme, and that is excellent news for our Village.
Councillor Phil Bateman said today “That means that once again we can expect visitors from across the UK and even from Abroad, stopping off and spending time in Wednesfield.
This is good news for the Village traders and good news for everyone who is proud of our Village and its heritage.
In 2016 boating visitors spent more than £20,000 in our village, through re – provisioning or through the leisure outlets that we have, like Pubs, Restaurants, Cinema, and Bowling!
I expect 2018 to be a bumper year for boating visitors because the canal is not planned to be blocked like it was in 2017, with the bridge work that took place on the Pinfold Bridge.
Also the reputation of the Wyrley & Essington Canal has improved, because boaters have been talking up the moorings at Bentley Bridge, and also their overall experience when using our beautiful canal.
I will of course let people know more about these events as they get closer to the time.”
The Wyrley & Essington canal was 220 years old in 2017, it is a valuable and historic canal that was first constructed to ensure Coal from the Staffordshire coal mines could be transported to the big local cities for use in manufacturing, home heating, and other energy requirements.
