A community arts group has welcomed a famous historic canal boat back to the town.

Members of Fizzgigs welcomed Saturn, the last remaining Shropshire Union flyboat, to Ellesmere on Friday, April 14.

Built in 1906, the boat was returned to the town’s Canal & River Trust’s Maintenance Yard Ellesmere.

Fizzgigs member Kate Westgate said: “It is thanks to the efforts of those pioneers that the canal stayed open, for us to enjoy today.”

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Saturn, originally horse-drawn, on this occasion was towed to the Yard by another special boat, a motor called Beatty, built in 1937, owned by Nick and Liz Grundy.

Nick’s grandparents are part of the Llangollen Canal’s rich history.

In the years following the second World War,  they cruised on, what was then called, the Ellesmere Canal on board of Heron, a wooden cruiser, alongside canal legend, L T C Rolt on his boat, Cressy.

Alison Utting, director of Fizzgigs, added: “It was down to the efforts of canal engineers like William Jessop and Thomas Telford that the canal exists at all – as Fizzgigs is exploring in their latest production.

Saturn will be moored at the Canal & River Trust’s Maintenance Yard Ellesmere for large parts of the summer, including the weekend of June 3 and June 4 when Fizzgigs be putting on a show called ‘Bridging the Gap’—a family-friendly show, to be performed at 2pm and 4pm.

John Yates, Chair of Saturn Flyboat, said: “She looks at home, she feels at home, she is at home.”

Details of all Fizzgigs activities can be found at www.fizzgigs.co.uk