Hundreds of people saw what goes on beneath the water line of the Kennet and Avon Canal at Caen Hill in Devizes on Saturday.

The famous 29-lock flight is undergoing a £1million makeover and new lock gates were craned in between Wednesday and Saturday.

While the locks were drained, locals were invited to view what was going on and there were guided tours throughout the day.

The winter maintenance work at the flight is part of a £50million programme of improvements being carried out by British Waterways.

Over the next couple of months they will be replacing sets of bottom lock gates at locks 24, 25, 26, 27, 35, 39 and 43 as well as rebuilding some of the walls at the locks.

The wall in the pound, or reservoir, above lock 28 is also being rebuilt.

Vince Moran, British Waterways’ operations director, was delighted by the turnout on Saturday. He said: “The recent announcement that England and Wales’ canals and rivers are to become part of a new national trust for waterways will give the public a much greater role in looking after this important part of the nation’s heritage.

“I hope opening up some of our lock gate replacements and other repairs will give people the chance to see the scale of the work we do to ensure that the waterways are preserved for today’s users and future generations, as well as gain an appreciation of the magnificent industrial heritage in our care.”

British Waterways is running an number of open days at the flight. for details log on to www.waterscape.com/ canalopendays