The Caldon Canal Society, later Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust, started life as the Caldon Canal Committee in a series of meetings in 1963. It was a key partner in the restoration of the canal which reopened to navigation in 1974, with Society members involved in both planning and volunteer work parties. In 2003 the society was a member of the Destination Froghall partnership which opened the first lock and basin of the Uttoxeter Canal in 2005. The Society subsequently became a Trust and a Charitable Incorporated Organisation as in 2016. It is also a Registered Charity.
We liaise closely with the Canal & River Trust on matters relating to the Caldon Canal. We comment on planning matters affecting both the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals, and were involved with the most recent review of the Caldon Canal Conservation Area. We are founder members of the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership.
Fundraising is important to any charity and our volunteers take our sales stall to various events in the area.
Volunteer work parties are mostly held on the Uttoxeter Canal in the Alton and Crumpwood areas, but sometimes other sites as well as on the Caldon Canal. Events need to be planned, materials and equipment identified and acquired, before we even arrive on site. All this is done by our committee volunteers.
The more active volunteers we have, the more we can achieve!
If you are interested in knowing more we would love to hear from you. Now is a very easy time to become involved as we are increasingly carrying out activities online, via this website or holding meetings on Zoom. We are happy for supporters to sit in on our meetings or you can volunteer to help out in many ways. Planning and leading of work parties is a particular area where we could use additional support. It's not difficult and you will not be given any responsibilities you are not completely comfortable with. You are welcome to shadow a colleague if you want to find out more.
For those who would like to help from home we have a range of opportunities. If you have a computer with a good quality scanner we are currently cataloguing and digitising our archives. We would give you a box of paper documents and as you to sort through them, noting what is there. Selected items are then scanned and will be added to this site. Additional editors for this website and our social media accounts would also be useful.
If you have any other ideas, why not get in touch? We're sure we can make use of whatever skills you have!