1978 – The First Full Year of Action

Listeners are taken back to 1978 – the first full year of what would become the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust. Drawing entirely on contemporary Dragonfly journals, he recounts how a small group of volunteers moved from talking about possibilities to taking real action on the ground: launching the I Walk sponsored trek along the entire canal line, opening the first practical worksite at Kingshill in Swindon, planning new work at Shrivenham, and holding their first AGM in Shrivenham Memorial Hall. Through vivid stories of nettle‑stung walkers, muddy working parties, cautious negotiations with landowners and parish councils, and quietly determined committee members, the episode shows how, with very little money but a great deal of stubborn optimism, the Wilts and Berks Canal Amenity Group proved three crucial things: the canal line still existed, people still cared about it, and with the right permissions, real physical change was possible.Journals/ Magazines | Illustrated History | Wilts & Berks Canal Trust