Exciting new beginnings are in sight for Saturn, an historically important ‘Shroppie cheese-fly’, writes Julie Richards-Williams.

The only existing example in the world of a floating, horse-drawn Shropshire Union Canal fly–boat will be embarking on a new phase in her long and eventful career after restoration next year.
After working for 15 years as a fly–boat, 35 years as a general goods carrier and 25 years as a hotel boat, in 1987 Saturn was retired and sold into private hands.

She was facing disuse and decay and an uncertain future, but thankfully the story has a happy ending. For in 2000 this gallant old maid of all work was purchased for preservation by British Waterways (Wales & Border Counties) and now is in joint ownership with the Shropshire Union Fly-boat Restoration Society Ltd.

And, thanks to the determination and dedication of its members, Saturn is currently on dry land at Malkins Bank, Sandbach, at the boatyard of skilled boat builder and restorer Malcolm Webster, proprietor of Malkins Bank Canal Services. There, Malcolm, sometimes assisted by volunteers who come individually or in working parties, is carefully restoring Saturn from scratch to her original appearance, using oak, elm and similar materials and as much of the surviving ironwork and timber as possible.
Work should be completed next spring and Saturn, proudly equipped with original fixtures and fittings, will take to the water once more.

“The aim is to use Saturn for educational purposes, putting her on public display in the Wales & Border Counties area,” explained Warrington-born Harry Arnold, a man with deep knowledge and a passion for waterways and the craft that sail on them. Originally an engineer and industrial artist, he has been a keen photographer since schooldays and has also been professionally involved in waterways and the marine industry for more than 30 years. After a period in boat hire and building, he found his ideal niche as a journalist and photographer. Today, as well as having edited various magazines and now Waterways – the national journal of the Inland Waterways Association – he also runs his own company, Waterway Images. This boasts an impressive collection of more than 100,000 individual photographs, making it the biggest private collection of inland waterway pictures in the UK.

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