Meet Joan, Caen Hill, Devizes

I used to live in America and I had nothing to do with canals before I became a volunteer here. I have a lot of fun along the canal now. We are a good team! I love painting. I think it's very personal to work at a heritage site like this that's important all across the world. We see people coming from Australia, Italy, America...

This lock flight is enough to keep us busy all the time, but I occasionally get called to do work somewhere else. I recently worked with a group from Help for Heroes when we were building a dipping platform by one of the lock pounds. We all had such a great time, and at the end of the job there were kids and volunteers all dangling our feet from the wooden platform into the water. We had a great sense of satisfaction of a job done well and it was just a laugh to spend the last day enjoying the results. Canal & River Trust have fitted a ledge now so that it's safe for people in wheelchairs to use as a lookout across the water.

I've been a volunteer for the Canal & River Trust for a couple of years now. In my time I've painted locks and fences, planted trees, built all sorts of things and spoken to countless people!

Joan, Sir Hugh Stockwell Lock, Caen Hill, Devizes, Kennet & Avon Canal