Volunteers are breathing new life into a former waterway which has been derelict for almost a century.
The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust has just restored a section in countryside between Melksham and Chippenham. Teams have succeeded in rebuilding a 530-metre stretch at the bottom of Naish Hill, near Lacock.
As well as dredging and then re-watering the canal bed they have rebuilt a brick bridge to carry a footpath which crossed the formerly forgotten route.
The charity's ultimate aim is to restore the waterway from the Kennet and Avon Canal near Melksham to the River Thames near Abingdon and the Thames and Severn Canal near Cricklade, linking Chippenham, Calne, Wootton Bassett and Swindon.
Colin Fletcher, a member of the Melksham, Chippenham and Calne branch, has led the Naish Hill project.
He said: "We are reconstructing a 60-mile long jigsaw puzzle. Completion of this section of the Wilts and Berks will add another piece to the bigger picture."
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