Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny Canals Trust

Who are we and what do we do?

The Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny Canals Trust is a registered charity established in 1984 with the following aims.

• to promote the full restoration of the Monmouthshire Canal from Newport to Pontymoel, including the Crumlin Arm, and the Brecon and Abergavenny Canal from Pontymoel to Brecon.
• to promote the fullest use of the waterways by all forms of waterborne traffic and for all forms of water related commercial, tourist and recreational activities for public benefit, and to promote the education of the public in the history and use of the canals and waterways.

We are actively involved in physical restoration of the canals, with regular working parties at the 14 Locks flight at Rogerstone.  We run the 14 Locks Canal Centre at Rogerstone on weekends, and provide volunteer help at the Goytre Heritage, Activity and Study Centre at Goytre Wharf, Monmouthshire.  We support boating on the navigable section of the Crumlin Arm including the trip boat Jemima Morris.  We organise a wide range of events throughout the year including colourful boat rallies and boat trips at various locations on the canals.

In 2003 the Trust was awarded the Christopher Power Prize by the National Council of the Inland Waterways Association.  This national award was made in recognition of our work to restore the local canal network.

Recent News!
14 Locks scoops Heritage Lottery prize!
An historic stretch of waterway on the Crumlin branch of the canal is to be reopened for the first time in 74 years as a working navigable route thanks to a £699,500 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.  The grant was awarded to Newport City Council and the Canals Trust in March 2007.  It will be used to restore the lock gates in the top two waterway structures of the flight of fourteen locks at Rogerstone.  Stonework will be repaired and re-pointed, and the ponds and pounds that supply and store water for the locks will be restored to use.

The flight of Fourteen Locks was completed in 1799 and is one of Britain's most remarkable lock systems.  With its series of embanked ponds, pounds and elaborate sluices and weirs, it rises 168 feet in less than 1 kilometre.  The work to repair the locks is urgently needed in order to retain the historic fabric of this Scheduled Ancient Monument.  The longer term aim is to reopen the historic waterway as a working and recreational navigable route, and this grant will enable the first phase of this to be completed.

The grant will also fund a dedicated access and education officer to provide training opportunities for students and volunteers to get involved in the restoration, as well as running workshops with local schools to coincide with the national curriculum. 

Visit our website for more information about our work, events and picture gallery. 

Contact us
Chris Morgan,                    
Events and publicity officer      
Click here to email

Join us                                      
Visit our website to download a membership form

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