THOUSANDS of visitors from all over Britain braved the weekend's bad weather to enjoy a canal boat rally in Gwent.

The event, which was organised by the Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny canals trust, was held on a stretch of redeveloped canal in Pontywaun, near Pontymister. For publicity officer Chris Morgan it was a memorable weekend - his wife, Ruth, gave birth to their first child.

"Over this weekend since Saturday morning we've had over 3,500 visitors to the site," he said.

"Overall it's been very good. A lot of the boaters who have come have travelled from as far afield as Cumbria, Sussex and Somerset.

"Their boats were towed down to Wales and lifted onto the canal. "We laid on a Welsh choir to sing for them at a local public house on Saturday night, and they were all over the moon. And what more for a Welsh welcome than a good downpour to top it all off?"

Visitors enjoyed the canals trust's archive exhibition, which displayed work planned and already carried out by the trust, as well as cycling, fishing, special stalls, raffles and boat trips along the one-and-a-half-mile stretch of canal.

The main aim of the rally was to promote the canal to the public, to show the local community what can be done when money is spent on regeneration.

Mr Morgan revealed: "The trust has been going since 1984 to promote the regeneration of the Monmouthshire canal from Cwmbran to Newport by 2010.

"The stretch of canal here at Pontywaun is part of that work, and this weekend's event is a celebration of what we've achieved so far."

Next year's rally will be held in Brecon, in August, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the start of the restoration of the canal.

If anybody is interested in joining the trust or gaining more information about the Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny canals, then they can contact Chris Morgan on 02920 888681.