Who are we?

Waterway Recovery Group (WRG) is the national body for the co-ordination of voluntary labour on the inland waterways of Britain. WRG South West was formed in 2004 as the latest addition to a number of regional groups throughout the country.  Most of the ‘founding’ volunteers were based in the south west area.

 The aim of WRGSW is to help the restoration of canals in the south west region, including the Hereford & Gloucester, Mon and Brec, Cotswolds, Grand Western and Wilts and Berks. Hopefully this list will grow as more restoration projects get underway.

 We don’t have a ‘membership’ and any interested volunteers aged 18 - 70 are welcome – you don’t have to be from the south west! The current group of regular volunteers come from a wide range of backgrounds, and no previous experience or knowledge is required (though we will try and put any you do have to good use) – just a sense of humour!

 We aim to organise a dig every 4 -5 weekends throughout the year, with a longer break over the summer when many of us are involved in the main WRG Canal Camps season.
What do we do?
WRG SW will turn its hand to any of the tasks commonly encountered in the process of canal restoration, from scrub bashing, lock chamber clearance and demolition, through concrete pours, brick laying and stone work, to landscaping and painting. We have a strong skills base and can train volunteers in many of the techniques required.

We also provide a technical and site services team for the Saul Festival, organised by the Cotswolds Canals Trust on the first weekend of July.

We take health and safety very seriously, and WRG as a whole has a very good safety record. WRG SW weekends operate under the same guidelines as WRG Canal Camps (documents setting out these guidelines can be found here). Plant operation is controlled under the IWA/WRG driver authorisation scheme.