CHURCH bells will be ringing tomorrow (Saturday) to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Worcester to Birmingham Canal.
There will be special peels at Hanbury, Alvechurch and Kings Norton, along with Worcester Cathedral, which are all along the route of the historic waterway.
The bicentenary has been organised by The Worcester-Birmingham and Droitwich Canals Society (WBDCS) in conjunction with Canal and River Trust (CRT) and it is hoped the occasion will round off the whole year of celebrations in style.
The event will conclude with live music at Diglis Basin in Worcester, performed by ‘The Shady Band’ and Phil Clayton will read his poem, ‘The History of the Worcester-Birmingham Canal’ at 1pm.
A 200th anniversary cake, which features the society’s special logo, is being baked and the Deputy Mayor of Worcester will be there to cut it and officially open and close the event.
The bells will be ringing at St Nicholas in Kings Norton from 10am to 11am, St Laurence, Alvechurch, between midday and 12.30pm, at St Mary’s in Hanbury from 2.30pm to 3.30pm and at Worcester Cathedral between 4.30pm and 5.30pm.
It will be a fitting tribute to the canal because bells were rung in the same way on the opening day 200 years ago.
Everyone is welcome to go along to the event and anyone wanting more information should e-mail [email protected] or call David Wheeler on 07970 711038.
It has been a very busy year for the society, which held four special events throughout the boating season and the cause was the chosen charity at the Bromsgrove Beer Festival, where a significant amount of money was raised. That has since been invested in restoring the Tardebigge Lime Kilns which is just one of the projects along the Canal the society is working in conjunction with CRT and other groups to preserve the waterways for future generations to use and enjoy.
The society, which meets at 8pm on the first Tuesday of each month at Scarfield Wharf in Alvechurch, is hoping to have more members of the public come forward and join it.
Meetings feature guest speakers, slideshows and guided walks.
For more on the society, visit http://wbdcs.org.uk/ or text 07468 584565 and the group will be in touch.
The society can also be ‘liked’ on Facebook and followed on Twitter where more updates on its activities will be posted.
