If you need some peace and tranquillity in my valleys, then a walk along the canal is just what you need. All you can hear is the wildlife with birds and a splash now and then from a fish surfacing.
As well as the swans there are coots, ducks, herons and moorhens. I have seen a vole swimming around but not very often. The canal took goods from the River Severn, over the Cotswold Hills to the River Thames and onwards to London, it was opened in 1779.
It was abandoned in 1954 and went into disrepair with many places filled in to accommodate buildings and roads, but for several years now the canal and towpaths have been gradually restored.
There are sections now being used again, but there is a lot of work still to be done, including replacing a missing mile and returning small tunnels back to bridges. Whatever happens the wildlife and nature is one of the most important things that they are maintaining.
