Six winter projects open to the public

THIS winter Canal & River Trust is organising Open Days showing the work being undertaken.

Six projects

Six projects have been chosen where the public can visit the sites, with many more being filmed across the network for virtual access. With Chief Executive Richard Parry explaining:

“We are running a series of free open days so people can see this working industrial heritage up close, hear from the teams involved and find out more about the essential work to keep this important part of the nation’s history.

“We are calling on the public and the government to support the waterways so we can continue to protect and preserve this incredible network and keep the waterways navigable and available for people to benefit from for generations to come.”

Open days

The first Open Day will be this week-end 26th and 27th November on the Hanwell Lock Flight where the lock gates are being replaced at Lock 94 on the Grand Union Canal.

Then the 3rd December sees hosting tours at its lock gate workshop at Stanley Ferry (pictured) where many of the 120 lock gates being replaced across the network this winter have been built.

This will also include a 30 minutes guided walk from the workshop to Lock 3 on the Wakefield Branch of the Aire & Calder Navigation where the lock will have been drained for maintenance works.

Gate replacements

The Open Days continue with the gate replacements at Gallows Inn Lock on the Erewash Canal (pictured) on the 28th and 29th of January.

Followed by Greenham Lock on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Newbury on the 11th February and the Rochdale Canal in Manchester on the 4th March.

The Open Day on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal at Kidderminster is still to be confirmed.

Virtual tours

The virtual behind the scenes tours will include filming of works on the Grand Union Canal at Hanwell and the  Leicester Section, Wolverley Lock on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, Crofton on the Kennet & Avon Canal, the Rochdale Canal in Manchester and at Lock 3 at Stanley Ferry on the Aire & Calder Navigation.