TRADITIONAL skills still being used to maintain Britain's canal network were on show at an open day on Saturday at the working blacksmith's forge next to Dobson Lock in Apperley Bridge on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
Canal & River Trust staff and volunteers demonstrated their carpentry and blacksmithing skills by making items such as box paddles for lock gates.
The team also demonstrated the techniques of using lime mortar, a traditional material used for building and repairing lock walls, and talking about the history of the canal at Apperley Bridge.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal Society also had its historic barge Kennet moored up for visitors to climb on board.
Bill Froggatt, heritage adviser at the Canal & River Trust, said: “The Canal & River Trust cares for a remarkable network of historic waterways which are still working just as they were designed to 200 years ago.
“Repairing and maintaining these waterways is a painstaking task which requires traditional materials and methods to be used to preserve this vital part of our industrial heritage.
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