THE Prince of Wales will make his first official visit to Devizes next week when he follows in his mother's footsteps and takes a boat trip down the Caen Hill flight of locks.

In his capacity as patron of the Waterways Trust, he is visiting Wiltshire on Friday to mark the completion of 40 years of restoration on the Kennet and Avon Canal.

After opening the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust's new shop in Bradford on Avon, the Prince will move on to Caen Hill at 3pm, to take part in a picnic, with a gathering of boats and a jazz band.

Then he will take a short trip on a narrowboat, as the Queen did in August 1990 when she officially marked the reopening of the canal to navigation. He will unveil a plaque commemorating his visit.

The Prince will then attend a VIP reception hosted by the canal trust that successfully applied for £25 million Lottery funding to complete the renovation of the canal.

The royal visit will launch a weekend of celebrations centred on the Wharf in Devizes and other places along the length of the canal.

Prince joins boaters in canal celebration

PRINCE Charles will launch a weekend of celebration to mark the 40th anniversary of the decision to save the Kennet and Avon Canal from dereliction.

On May 23, the prince will visit Bradford on Avon, the Crofton pumping station as well as the Caen Hill flight of locks at Devizes, where he will repeat the boat trip his mother took 13 years ago.

A big party will take place the following day along the length of the canal, but the biggest celebration will take place at Devizes Wharf.

It is being organised by canal enthusiasts Alan and Sarah Padwick, whose home in London Road, Devizes, has a canal mooring at the bottom of their garden.

The event will start at 11am with John Laverick, the project manager for the £29-million canal refurbishment programme, cutting a ribbon draped across the canal to mark the official end of the project. He will arrive on his steam-driven launch, Scathtan.

Following him will be a cavalcade of about 40 canal boats of all shapes and sizes.

Some will have come from Reading and Bath, carrying signed copies of a declaration of gratitude to the Queen for allowing the trust to carry out the restoration of the canal.

Mr Padwick, a former Royal Navy commander, hopes many visitors to the Wharf will also sign copies of the declaration.

Participants in the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race will help celebrate by showing their skills on the canal, while visitors to the Wharf can enjoy dozens of stalls and many different entertainers.

Among those appearing will be the Wilkins Shilling Clog Dancers, Doug North's Boys Band, Devizes Chamber Choir, Devizes Boys Brigade Old Boys Band, a Punch and Judy show and magician Jack Stevens.

There will be an arts and crafts exhibition in the Wharf meeting room above the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust complex where refreshments are also available.

The exhibition continues on May 25, from 11am to 4pm.

Cyclists who use the canal towpath are not forgotten either. There will also be a celebration cycle ride.

Cyclists from Seend and Bradford on Avon will set off from the Wharf at around 11.15am.

Walkers can take part in a special circular walk, setting off from the Wharf at 2pm and following a three-and-a-half-mile route along Quakers Walk, out to Laywood Bridge and back.

Mr Padwick said: "There will be an 87-mile-long party going on along the canal that day, but the focus will be in Devizes.

"We hope as many people as possible will come along and help us mark this wonderful occasion that many of us have been dreaming of for years."

The story of the restoration began when a local group, which grew to be the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, badgered and lobbied and finally succeeded in finding the will and the funding from official circles to make their dream of a navigable waterway from Bath to London come true.

The first stage was completed in August 1990 when the Queen came to Devizes to officially reopen the canal.

But many parts were still well below the acceptable standard and, in one or two places, it was in danger of major collapse.

With the backing of British Waterways and local authorities of areas through which the canal runs, the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust put together an extremely detailed bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The trust was awarded £25 million, provided it found a further £4 million to match it.

The money was found and the work was completed, on budget and on schedule.

The trust's chairman David Lamb declared this was truly a cause for celebration.