THE restoration of the Droitwich canal system – which basically consists of two canals, one linking the town with the River Sever at Hawford and the other linking Droitwich with the Worcester to Birmingham canal near Hanbury Wharf - has quietly been one of the most impressive civil engineering feats around here.

Even more so because a lot of it was achieved by volunteer labour, with hardy individuals prepared to spend an enormous number of hours getting down and very dirty at the weekends.

The canals were originally built to carry salt from Droitwich, either down river to the docks at Bristol or up towards the industrial West Midlands. However with the passing of time and improved transport systems, they fell out of fashion and were finally abandoned in 1939. The inevitable neglect followed and they became largely filled in with undergrowth, trees, silt and most things known to man.

However in the early 1970s, a local group of enthusiasts decided to set about restoring the canals and turning them into a picturesque leisure facility. The problem of what to do with the canals had been regularly debated by Droitwich Borough Council and a campaign for their restoration was started by engineer Max Sinclair of Lower Broadheath, near Worcester. The council realised the potential amenity value of the canal and a restoration group was formed in 1969, as part of a national drive by the Inland Waterways Association called Safeguarding Britain's Waterways, which led to the formation in 1973 of the Droitwich Canals Trust.

Over the years, help arrived in several forms, but the mainstay remained the volunteers and there was much celebrating when the whole seven mile stretch was finally completed, listed as "navigable" and re-opened in July 2011.

Today it is hard to believe the state the waterway was in before work started, but here are some photographs to just hint at the enormity of the task.