Last month I visited the Pontymoile Basin in Pontypool, where I met with representatives of Glandwr Cymru - the Canal and River Trust in Wales - to talk about the work they’re been doing to support the maintain and restore Wales’ fantastic canal network.

Truly one of Torfaen’s hidden gems, Pontymoile Basin is a beautiful spot and it was great to see it absolutely teaming with visitors in the summer sunshine.

The basin recently benefitted from a £186,000 facelift, and it was fantastic to see so many people – young and old – enjoying this valuable community asset.

Once the lifeblood of the early industrial revolution that shaped the Eastern Valley we know today, by 1809, 150,000 tonnes of coal a year were being transported south along the canal.

However, the rapid rise of the railways led to a steady decline in the use of the canal, and by the middle of the twentieth century it had largely fallen into disuse and disrepair.

The last fifty years have seen various initiatives to restore sections of the canal, and although the route is currently only navigable between Five Locks in Pontnewydd and the Brecon Basin, a group of volunteers from the Waterway Recovery Group are currently hard at work restoring the ‘Ty Coch Flight’ in Cwmbran.

A three year project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Torfaen Council, the scheme will eventually see another 1.5km stretch of the canal restored, including eight historic locks, and an ambitious bid has been made to the Welsh Government’s new Vibrant & Viable Places fund, that would link the centres of Cwmbran and Pontypool, and see the development of a new ‘canal quarter’.

There are also exciting long-term plans that would see all sections of the canal restored and a new marina created at Crindau in Newport.

Similarly ambitious canal restoration schemes in Scotland have helped transform areas like Edinburgh Quay, Kirkintilloch, and Maryhill in Glasgow; not just boosting the local economy, but also having a measurable impact on the health and wellbeing of the local population.

Of course, preserving our industrial heritage is hugely important in itself, but as that experience from Scotland demonstrates, as well as providing an important link with the past – canals have a vital role to play in the future of our communities too.

If you would like to find out more, visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk where you can become a friend of the trust, volunteer, or even adopt a stretch of canal!