Restoring 70 miles of canal and towpath for the benefit of local communities, wildlife and leisure
Come and join us.

Melksham Chippenham Calne Branch - incorporating Foxham & Lyneham Branch

Contact Information: Dave Maloney, Branch Chairman: 07809374754 dave.maloney@wbct.org.uk

The branch story

Aka MCC is at the western end of the line of the Wilts & Berks canal and covers the section from Semington at the junction with the Kennet and Avon canal to Wick Bridge Lat 51.470126 Long -2.045549 (just outside of East Tytherton).

The branch area also covers the Chippenham and Calne branch lines and the proposed Melksham Link.

The line at this western end was one of the first stretches to be completed when the canal was built in 1797.

Restoration has picked up a pace in the past few years and significant achievements along the line include the restoration of a horseshoe spill weir, the restoration of the 30 metre long Cocklemore culvert and the conversion of a narrow boat to a tug and butty.

Some 1,200 metres of canal has been dredged and is in water at Pewsham.

Current projects include Pewsham Top Lock which is under restoration, A bid had been submitted to Heritage Lottery Fund to help restore the Pewsham Locks site which contains two further locks, dry dock, saw pit, carpenters workshop and a lime kiln. Unfortunately this bid was unsuccessful due to the amount requested. Despite this setback branch volunteers continued to fund raise and through the generosity of Players of the Post Code Lottery and a grant from Chippenham Area Board over £100,000 was raised for Pewsham Locks projects

We have cleared an 800m stretch of canal north of the A4 and also have work parties at Forest and Queenfield farms nr Melksham.

The branch has a healthy membership with active work party teams (clean and dirty boots), committee and branch officers. Skills within the branch include brick laying, dumper and digger driving, quad bike operation, chainsaw operation, woodworking, metal working, painting, welding, strimmer and all terrain mower operation, horticulture (including hard and soft landscaping), fund raising, event management, educational co-ordination, people management, team building and so much more.

Although we hope to import the branch website information to these pages in the near future please visit the external branch website   for more information in the interim 

Branch meetings

Meetings are held on the 1st Tuesday of each month at the Rachel Fowler Centre, Melksham, SN12 6EX. Start time 7:45pm and all are welcome.

Working parties

Work parties are currently at Pewsham Locks and are held on the second Saturday and last Sunday of each month and we also run midweek work parties Tuesday to Friday at the same site. We also have vacancies on our events planning team. Please call Ray Canter on 07717 536883 or write to Dave Maloney at dave.maloney@wbct.org.uk for more details.

A branch newsletter “The Butty” is published four times a year to keep members updated and comes out between issues of the Dragonfly magazine.

Branch Chairman: Dave Maloney ( telephone 07809 374 754 or email dave.maloney@wbct.org.uk )

Latest news

The Pewsham Project

Promotional ImageOn Saturday 27th January, with what can be described as a crisp, bright early Spring Day, 1000s of people descended on The Oval, London, to take part in the Ultra Challenge Winter Walk… with myself included.

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