Meet our volunteer bridge keepers

My name is Paul. I'm a volunteer bridge keeper here on the beautiful G&S Canal. I volunteer specifically on the canal because of its tranquillity and it's peaceful. Very very peaceful, especially on the bridges. Life is busy for me so I volunteer whenever I can. I do bits and pieces elsewhere but this is probably the best just for the all round loveliness of the canal and the support I can give it. It's the least I can do.

I volunteer for the canals because it's nice to be in touch with a different community and talk to people. I find it a different perspective on life. The canal needs more. It's big. It's historic. It's fantastically interesting. So, if I can just spend a bit more time by it and enjoy it and support it, I'm going to do that. As a bridge support volunteer, my primary role is the operation safely of the bridge. What tends to happen is that I'll arrive on site, open up, go through our checklist of all the parts of the bridge, checking everything's fine, put the kettle on, maybe feed the birds, setting up the diary and the boat logs, and then just wait for the first call to let us know that the boat's coming down. And then operate the bridge safely for the safe passage of the boat and safety of the public near the canal as well. But then we keep the place tidy, keep ourselves busy. There's always something to do. It's it's never a dull moment, you know, but again, you know, you you're working in in a beautiful place, so the time goes by very quickly.

I like volunteering for the Canal & River Trust because it's different people that you meet every day. I get outside into the open air, which is good. I feel good outside. And also the other thing I like about the Canal & River Trust is that it's very flexible on when you do any volunteering work. What could be better, you know, than spending a day by the canal, doing some good and enjoying what you're doing, meeting the people, keeping the canal running. It's just a nice place to be, you know. I think it's important that the canals are kept alive because it's part of the British heritage. It's very, very historic. It needs to be looked after. It really, really does. And again, as a volunteer, it's opportunity I've got to just help in my small way, you know, to maintain this beautiful, beautiful legacy that we have. And that's the main reason I think that we should keep canals alive.