Prees Branch Canal Nature Reserve is a Shropshire Wildlife Trust

Shropshire Wildlife Trust

The Shropshire Wildlife Trust is a wildlife trust covering the geographic county of Shropshire, England.-Nature reserves:The trust cares for, or is associated with, 42 nature reserves in the county:...

 nature reserve

Nature reserve

A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...

 in the civil parish

Civil parish

In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...

 of Whixall

Whixall

Whixall is a small and rural village and civil parish in Shropshire, England.The nearest towns are Whitchurch, to the north, and Wem, to the south....

, Shropshire

Shropshire

Shropshire is a county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. It borders Wales to the west...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest

Site of Special Scientific Interest

A Site of Special Scientific Interest is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. SSSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in Great Britain are based upon...

 due to the presence of rare pondweeds (Potamogeton

Potamogeton

Potamogeton is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed...

), and also is the home of watervoles. The reserve contains a number of uncommon plants and is visited by waterfowl. Otters

European Otter

The European Otter , also known as the Eurasian otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter and Old World otter, is a European and Asian member of the Lutrinae or otter subfamily, and is typical of freshwater otters....

 sometimes occur.

The Prees Branch Canal was originally meant to be an extension of The Ellesmere Canal

Ellesmere Canal

The Ellesmere Canal was a canal in England and Wales, originally planned to link the Rivers Mersey, Dee, and Severn, by running from Netherpool to Shrewsbury. The canal that was eventually constructed was very different from what was originally envisioned...

 (now The Llangollen Canal

Llangollen Canal

The Llangollen Canal is a navigable canal crossing the border between England and Wales. The waterway links Llangollen in Denbighshire, north Wales, with Hurleston in south Cheshire, via the town of Ellesmere, Shropshire....

) to Prees, but was only constructed as far as Quina Brook

Quina Brook

Quina Brook is a hamlet in north Shropshire, near the border between England and Wales.Quina Brook was the final destination of an arm of the Ellesmere Canal. This arm was originally going to terminate at Prees...

. It is only navigable as far as a marina

Marina

A marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....

, beyond which the reserve is effectively a long pond and its banks.