A charity has completed an extensive programme of winter repairs on the historic Kennet & Avon Canal.
The Canal & River Trust has invested £382,000 into ensuring the 87-mile waterway, which links London with the Bristol Channel, remains in good condition for boaters, visitors, and local communities.
The canal, over 200 years old, requires continuous maintenance to preserve its historic structure.
Most of the larger-scale works are carried out between November and March when the canal is quieter to reduce disruption to navigation.
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The programme included the replacement of lock gates at the Caen Hill Lock Flight in Devizes on locks 33 and 40, with the new gates being handcrafted in the charity’s specialist workshops.
Substantial repairs were also made to lock 52 at Wootton Rivers, while Crofton saw repairs to the top lock gates.
Other repairs included the bottom and top gates at Copse Lock, and at Colthrop Lock in Berkshire, where timber repairs were made to the bottom gates and grouting to the cills using divers.
Work is still ongoing at Sheffield Lock near Reading to replace wooden quoins.
Rob Coles, area operations manager for Kennet & Avon East at Canal & River Trust, said: "The repairs and maintenance we’ve carried out this winter are vital to protect the canal from the extreme weather events that are taking their toll on our historic network, and so we can continue to look after the canal beyond the two centuries it has already been in existence.
"Our programme of works keeps the canal open for navigation for boaters, benefits wildlife and improves it for the local communities who live and use the canal every day."
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In addition to the repair work, the charity also organised an open day at Caen Hill Locks in February, which was attended by over 400 people and provided the unique opportunity for visitors to go down into a lock chamber and learn about the maintenance required to preserve the scheduled ancient monument.
The Kennet & Avon Canal is one of the 159 sites that saw repairs over the winter as part of Canal & River Trust's commitment to care for 2,000 miles of inland waterways across England and Wales.
For those interested in supporting the trust through volunteering or donations, more information can be found on the Canal & River Trust website.
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