Volunteers at the Somerset Coal Canal Society were recently visited by the Vice Chairwoman of Bath & North East Somerset Council as part of a six-month tour of local projects.
Cllr Karen Walker with Derrick Hunt, Chairman of the Somerset Coal Canal Society, and Cllr Gavin Heathcote
The Somerset Coal Canal was a narrow canal built locally around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury and ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a tunnel at Combe Hay, then via Midford and Monkton Combe to Limpley Stoke where it joined the Kennet and Avon Canal.
Its care and maintenance is now led by dedicated volunteers at the Somerset Coal Canal Society who, since 1992, have been working to restore, preserve and document this important part of local heritage.
Cllr Karen Walker, Vice-Chair of B&NES Council, said: “It was an honour to be invited along to see the canal at the Paulton basin, meet volunteers and find out more about the impressive work they’d done over the last 30 years to restore and preserve it.
“We have so much history and heritage here in Somerset to be proud of, and it’s thanks to the hard work of volunteers like those at the Somerset Coal Canal Society that allow the rest of us to experience it first-hand.”
The work along the coal canal consists of general maintenance of the restored section at the Western end of the northern branch close to Paulton, and preservation work at the Combe Hay lock flight.
The Vice-Chairwoman is currently on a six-month tour of community projects, as part of an initiative to support rural communities around the district.
