Top to bottom: Ring the bells
The Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal is celebrating its 200th anniversary with a year-long programme of activities and events on and alongside the canal.
Now known affectionately as the Mon & Brec, it is considered by many to be Britain’s most picturesque canal, and, for much of its length, it lies within the Brecon Beacons National Park. This waterway is also a great testimony to the skill of the 19th century engineer Thomas Dadford, Junior who designed the canal to hug the mountainside high above the Usk valley. In doing so, he created one of the longest lock-free stretches in the UK’s waterway network; for 25 miles the canal remains at 361 ft above sea level, a marvel of contour canal engineering. Unlike many canals the Monmouthshire
& Brecon has trees along much of its length and an array of wildflowers on its bank. A colourful nature trail in every season, the canal is a diverse wildlife habitat, home to an impressive array of historic industrial
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architecture, a long distance path for walkers and cyclists, a pleasant route for exploring in a day boat or kayak and a narrowboat holiday destination passing through pretty villages with canalside pubs. Managed by British Waterways (which
becomes the Canal & River Trust in April) and Local Authorities, the Mon & Brec attracts more than 3 million people annually. In its bicentennial year there are even more reasons to visit: guided walks, history talks, crazy competitions, cycle rides and family fun days. Check out what’s planned at facebook/monmouthshireandbreconcanal,
fourteenlocks.co.uk,
mon-brec-canal-trust.org.uk and
canalandrivertrust.org.uk/monandbrec200.
The Mon & Brec 200 celebrations are launched on 10 February with peals of bells sounding out from over 70 churches along the route of the canal. This Ringing of the Bells recreates exactly what happened when the canal opened 200 years ago.
Goytre Wharf c. 1850 with its busy limekilns (illustrated by Michael Blackmore) Cruising on the Mon & Brec
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