Wilts & Berks Canal Overview

(51 miles plus 6 miles of branches, Canal in various ownerships)

The restoration of the Wilts & Berks Canal is possibly the most ambitious of all the current projects because of the length of the canal, because it has been derelict for nearly a century, and because it has been largely built over in urban areas such as Swindon, Melksham and Abingdon.  The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust has formed a series of branches along the length of the canal and this has enabled the Trust to gain wide public support with work parties underway along most sections of the canal.  The Trust, IWA, local authorities along the line and others have formed a consortium Wilts & Berks Canal Partnership to progress political promotion of the restoration.  In 2006, IWA provided a grant of about £60,000, to celebrate its diamond jubilee that year, as a major funder for the construction of a new length of waterway to connect the canal to the Thames near Abingdon.  The work was carried out by the Canal Trust, a contractor and WRG volunteers, and was opened during the week following IWA’s National Festival at Beale Park on the Thames in late August 2006.