Meet Carole

I've lived in Kenilworth for 42 years, since I married Nick. We were both vets. In 1980 we had our first canal holiday.

We can't remember why we chose to do it, but we were hooked. Having got my parents to join us on a trip, they were also bitten by the bug and bought a canal boat. We had very many holidays on their boat until we bought it from them when we retired.

Once retired, we wanted something to do. A friend introduced us to volunteering at Lapworth one day a month. We collected litter and painted locks. The task forces increased to two days a month at both Lapworth & Hatton. Neither of us had any problems that meant we had to volunteer for our health, we just loved doing it.

Once Canal & River Trust took over British Waterways, we were gradually introduced to more jobs. We enjoy physical activity, meeting like-minded people and spending time with them. We also like chatting to passers-by about what we are doing and try to interest them in volunteering as well.

We now spend 3-5 days volunteering most weeks when not on holiday, boating or with our trailer tent. We do any jobs that need doing, either with members of staff or just a group of volunteers. October to March is spent cutting back offside vegetation from a workboat with pontoons and a chipper.

The rest of the year we do mainly notifications now. These can be doing anything from building steps, repairing towpaths, putting up signage, boat moving, lock painting to clearing accesses, weirs and culverts.