Aqueduct Marina staff hand over £600 for Shropshire fly-boat Saturn at Crick Boat Show 2015 (WATERWAY IMAGES)

Marina staff near Nantwich helped raise £600 towards the last remaining Shropshire Union fly-boat.

The money raised by Aqueduct Marina at Church Minshull will go to the restoration society which maintains the historic boat, Saturn.

Richard Parry (centre right), Chief Executive of the Canal & River Trust, was at Crick Boat Show to hand over a cheque for £600 to Harry Arnold (centre) of the Shropshire Union Fly-boat Restoration Society, accompanied by Robert Parton (right), director of Aqueduct Marina, Andrea Parton (left) and Mick Sivewright of Cheshire Marine Equipment (centre left).

Saturn is the last remaining Shropshire Union fly-boat – ‘express’ boats in the horseboat era which were more streamlined hulls than usual, towed by a relay of horses.

The boats worked day and night to carry perishable cargoes, such as Cheshire cheese, to market.

Saturn was completely rebuilt at a cost of £80,000 by the Shropshire Union Fly-boat Restoration Society.

It has been operating for ten years as an educational resource to teach new generations about waterways history, and as a living survival of the fly-boat era.

Every year Saturn visits Church Minshull Marina’s Open Day, this year on Sunday July 19, in aid of Crohn’s and Colitis UK.

To repay the favour, businesses at the marina – including Cheshire Marine Equipment, Andy Russell boat painter, Cheshire Cat Narrowboat Holidays, JRL Boat Painting, Knights Narrowboats, P Tindall Marine Surveys and Russell F Smith boat safety examiner – clubbed together to raise £600 for Saturn.

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