We are halfway to rebuilding the tow-path edges south of the 800 yard piped section at Pontardawe Playing Fields. This  restoration will prevent further erosion of the banks  and any subsequent flooding.  Most of the material used is provided by the Canal and River Trust though much of the local Blue Tennant Sandstone is recovered from the canal itself.

The base layer of sand bags filled with stone dust and cement is built up with the stone and it is a jugsaw puzzle technique from then on, finishing with the flat coping stones at the top as the ‘side pieces’.

The ‘masons’ building the wall send the messages back to the ‘quarry’ if it is ‘thin flat’ or fat flat’ stone that is required to finish the top layer, and it is up to the wheelbarrow haulers to  load the barrows with the appropriate stone for them. We hope to buy a mini-tractor soon that will be narrow enough to use the towpath and  reduce the need for manually humping  very heavy barrows of stone and lime mortar mix.

In the photo below, the mix has just been delivered and David, the wall builder, appears to be indicating the size of the stone he wants. Either that, or he has had a bad attack of indigestion.

It is work done in the open air and in some beautiful spots. All our volunteers are made welcome and enjoy the camaraderie, banter, and refreshments provided.

On average, some twenty five men and women join us each Tuesday. There is great satisfaction to be had from improving and maintaining our wonderful canal and we are blessed  here to have such a lovely waterway in our community to use, treasure and enjoy.