VISITORS will have the opportunity to see the progress volunteers have made on restoring a stretch of canal near Newent this Sunday (September 29)

It will be a chance to meet the team who have worked for several years to bring the 600-metre stretch at Malswick to completion.

Volunteers will also explain how it fits into a far more ambitious plan to recreate a major part of the area’s industrial history – the 34-mile Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal.

Organised by the Herefordshire & Gloucestershire Canal Trust, the event will take place between 2pm and 5pm at the site, which is just off the B4215 near Newent, on the right coming from Gloucester before reaching the Malswick House pub – look out for the signs (what3words: rooster.newstand.reworked, postcode GL18 1HE).

There will be guided route of the site’s main features – as long or as short as visitors prefer – and for those feeling more energetic the full 2km walk to inspect the whole project is available.

Refreshments will be on offer, along with lots more information on the Trust’s work and a short fun quiz to help keep younger visitors entertained.

The site is still under construction so good footwear is recommended but it is not currently suitable for wheelchairs.

The trust is also hoping to attract more volunteers.

The Trust acquired the Malswick site in 2017, and since then the volunteers have built a 32-tonne capacity farm bridge, installed two large culverts, dug out the main channel and built long stretches of its embankments and other works.

They are now preparing to install a new solar pump to keep the canal topped up and replenish losses from evaporation.

Some sections already hold water; trees and hedges have been planted to help attract wildlife, and the towpath has now started to be laid down.

Once the current section is complete, the volunteers will move onto the next 400m stretch of canal towards Gloucester, which the Trust recently acquired.

A large swing bridge is already on site, waiting to be installed in this next phase of work and work continues on the current site while planning permission is sought. Surveys on the new stretch are being undertaken.

Several large heaps of clay that have been on the roadside since last winter have been moved to their final destination and are now blending into the landscape better as the fill around a recently installed culvert.