Volunteers from the London branch of the Waterway Recovery Group visited the Uttoxeter Canal in June 2025, spending a weekend staying at Great Wood Hall in Tean, while working on the canal in the vicinity of Bridge 70.
Over the weekend the volunteers cleared huge amounts of Himalayan balsam along the path between Bridge 70 and Milepost 23. They also cleared vegetation from around Bridge 70 itself, and carried out repairs to the footpath, replacing some rotten stakes which dated back to when the footpath was laid as part of the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Project in 2014. More work needs to be done on this so if you are interested in getting involved contact alison.smedley@cuct.org.uk.
Volunteers travelled from as far afield as London, Hereford, Manchester and Peterborough for the weekend. The photo gallery shows some of the different tasks being carried out.
Find out more about our Himalayan balsam campaign and why we are tackling this invasive plant that grows along our two canals.