'Gorgeous' canalside cafe opens after 'massive task'

A listed canal warehouse left in a "parlous state" has been transformed into a "stunning" cafe.

Volunteers from the Shrewsbury and Newport Canals Trust have restored the warehouse, designed by 19th Century engineer Thomas Telford, at Wappenshall Junction in Shropshire.

It was one of two listed buildings undergoing restoration.

Over the past eight years, they have taken on a vast range of tasks from drains to plastering and laying a new car park. They also refilled the East Basin - described as a "massive task" that took about 18 months.

Chairman of the trust Bernie Jones said the final result was all thanks to the dedication of the volunteers.

"The buildings were covered in ivy, most of the window frames had rotted on this building, the external staircase was rotten," Mr Jones said, adding that the warehouse had been in a "pretty parlous state".

"The weather had got in left, right and centre, but because it's been built to a design by Thomas Telford, the actual structure, the walls and the foundations are really, really good and solid to be here 225 years later," he said.

"The building work itself, we've put in underfloor heating, new electricity supplies, new water supplies, the gas tank to supply the heating for the building and hot water.

"It's been a really great deal of work, but it's so exciting now to see it all come together."

The cafe, called the Welldeck at Wappenshall, opened on Sunday and is being run by Kal Wood and her daughter Ellie.

Ms Wood said: "It was all we could have wanted and more. It was absolutely fantastic."

She said the restoration of the warehouse was "stunning", adding: "The cafe itself is just gorgeous."

The building has been kitted out with donated old furniture that has been painted and restored.

A room upstairs could be used for groups, meetings and guided walks.

"I was taught very little about our local canal heritage when I was at school and I don't think a lot of that has changed now," Ms Wood said.

"We're really hoping that we can get a lot of the local schools to bring the kids to look at the environmental aspects, to look at the eco-aspects of everything we're trying to do - to see all the bats and all the fish we've got now in the basin. It's just so interesting."

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.