The Somersetshire Coal Canal once stretched from Timsbury all the way to Dundas Aqueduct where it joined the Kennet and Avon. It carried coal from the pits (via tramways) up to Bath for further distribution. A southern branch from Midford to Radstock also existed but was short lived and replaced with a railway line.

The canal was very profitable in its time. It opened for business in 1805 and eventually closed in 1898 when the mines were worked out. The canal¹s course is still very visible in the landscape today. The Midford Aqueduct was restored in 2002 and the remains of the lock flight at Combe Hay are also still evident. The Somersetshire Coal Canal Society carries out regular work parties at Paulton, Combe Hay and Midford to control vegetation and prevent further deterioration, with the eventual aim of restoring the canal to use. Both Paulton and Timsbury basins have water in, and the Dry Dock is believed to be the largest in the country on a narrow canal.

At the Paulton and Timsbury end of the canal, we are making good progress on the restoration of the abutment walls at Terminus Bridge. We currently have two retired stonemasons helping to rebuild the walls and the nearby sluice gate. The upper sections of the abutment walls have suffered significantly from frost damage. The damaged stonework is being removed and rebuilt. The coping stones weigh somewhere between 300 – 400 kg! The sluice gate seals a stone-built culvert that leads from the canal to the Cam Brook. Its purpose is to drain the canal for maintenance and so replacing it is an essential step before the canal can be returned to water. The sluice gate had completely eroded over the years and will be replaced by a new frame and sluice gate very soon.

We are making good progress on the repairs to the bridge abutments and sluice gate and hope to have this work completed by the end of the calendar year. Once completed the Society intends to restore water to this length of canal and move onto the next section heading closer to Radford. There is a wide range of wildlife that lives in the canal and this work will only encourage it to flourish.

The current restoration work at Paulton has been funded by a generous grant from the Paulton Parish Council, using CIL funding, for which the society is extremely grateful. We so need your help to achieve our mission of restoring the canal to water though. There are a few vacant volunteer roles on the committee that would help to achieve more. We need some help with fundraising, a vice chairman and some more work party leaders. We would also greatly appreciate more volunteers at both the Paulton and Combe Hay work parties.

If you'd like to support us, but can't help with the roles or work parties, please join as a society member for just £10 a year by visiting http://www.coalcanal.org/ and click on 'support us' to become a member.

If you have Facebook, you can keep on top of the progress being made at https://www.facebook.com/CoalCanal/