Fly-boats
Fly-boats operated regular schedules, running 24 hours a day
Fly-boats - "the finest narrowboats ever built"
Saturn is a restored canal fly-boat. From about 1850 to 1920 fly-boats were the express craft of the waterways, like UPS or DHL today. Running non-stop, day and night, with an all male crew they delivered the important and perishable goods, around the clock over the UK waterway network.
Ellesmere Port was the hub of the Shropshire Union’s operation, fly-boats left daily for such destinations as Birmingham, the Potteries, Llangollen, Shrewsbury, Welshpool, Newtown and Trench (Telford); dropping off and collecting goods at many intermediate points.
The boats themselves were the ultimate development of the art of wooden narrow boat building, considered probably the finest narrowboats ever built. They had to have a unique combination of fine lines, light weight, fast performance and great strength. The Shroppie Fly represented the peak of the craft of wooden narrow boat construction before the final decline of canal transport.
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You can download our factsheet about fly-boats here.