The Canal & River Trust has announced a programme of open days which – Covid restrictions permitting – will allow the public to quite literally get an ‘in depth’ look at what’s involved in some of the projects being carried out during its £59m winter works programme.

The annual programme which got under way in early November and continues until March will involve lock gate replacement, bridge repairs, dredging and many other tasks. Last winter, the pandemic meant that usual open days were replaced by ‘virtual open days’ when worksites could be accessed interactively online with videos of the work.

This winter the Trust aims to reintroduce ‘in person’ open days in February and March, enabling visitors to climb down into empty locks and walk along drained canal beds at sites including the Llangollen Canal’s Grindley Brook staircase locks, the Anderton Boat Lift, Newark Town Lock on the River Trent and London’s Hertford Union Canal.

At the same time the virtual open days will continue at sites including pumping stations on the Kennet & Avon Canal, the Bingley Five Rise locks on the Leeds & Liverpool, and a one-mile length of the Monmouthshire & Brecon being drained for bridge and culvert repairs. Click here for details 

Image(s) provided by:

Martin Ludgate