Oxenhall and Newent is now the focus for major restoration projects carried out by the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Canal Trust.

Much of the group's latest achievements will be on show at the Oxenhall open day on Sunday, September 25, from 11am to 4pm, when there will be guided walks and displays.

Trust spokesman Brian Fox said: "These are exciting times at Oxenhall, especially as it is the main site at the moment for actual canal restoration."

Repair of the cracked aqueduct wall has been completed, using salvaged stone and blocks saved from Ell Brook.

Mr Fox said: "Rebuilding of the actual arch still hasn't started, although we have been working for several weeks on repairing some of the wing walls and small gaps in the arch. We hope that reconstruction will then start in earnest."

A steel arch support has been designed and made ahead of the work.

Mr Fox said: "We are confident that the finished article will look very professional and if there are any bricklayers out there who would like to give us a hand, they will be welcome."

The trust is also restoring 1,200 metres of disused canal close to the outskirts of Newent, at The Willows site.

Mr Fox said: "This has generated a lot of tidying and general clearance and encompasses land stretching down to the Dymock Road, by the fire station and beyond.

"This really gives us something to get stuck into. Survey work has already been undertaken to establish levels and the quantities of spoil to be moved.

"Then there will be huge amounts of scrubby undergrowth and some trees to clear.

"One of the options under technical investigation is to restore the old railway platforms, but instead of trains, there would be canal boats passing through."

Part of the so-called Daffodil Line, a later train route followed the route of the Victorian canal.