Prince Charles celebrates rebirth of the Kennet & Avon

HRH The Prince of Wales braved a torrential downpour on 23rd May to celebrate the restoration of the Kennet & Avon Canal - finally complete after 50 years.

Prince Charles, who is Patron of the Waterways Trust, toured the canal by boat and by helicopter. At Bradford-on-Avon Wharf, he talked to canal volunteers in the setting of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust’s new shop, where he unveiled a new plaque.

Then, at the Caen Hill Lock Flight in Devizes, he took a short trip on a narrowboat, before disembarking to unveil a lockside plaque commemorating both his visit and the restoration work. In his speech, the Prince praised the project’s success in bringing historic buildings and lock structures back to life - and recommended the view of the canal from a helicopter!

Finally, Prince Charles visited Crofton Pumping Station, on the Kennet & Avon close to Hungerford. The Pumping Station, with its distinctive brick chimney now restored to its original height of 82ft, houses the oldest steam-powered beam engine in the world still operational in its original building.

Although the waterway reopened to boats in 1990, water supply was sporadic and facilities few and far between. A £25m Heritage Lottery Fund grant, awarded in 1996, enabled British Waterways and the voluntary Kennet & Avon Trust to bring the canal up to the standard this cross-country waterway richly deserves.