Basingstoke Canal Society, The

'The Basingstoke Canal fell into decline and by the mid 1960s was completely derelict and threatened with abandonment. A campaign by the then Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society persuaded both Surrey and Hampshire county Councils to buy it and in partnership with an army of volunteers, to restore it as a navigable waterway. It reopened in 1991. Today the canal is a vibrant and well-used environment with members of the public using it for a wide variety of sports and leisure pursuits, and whilst there is continued funding by the councils and ongoing volunteer work, funding pressures on the councils have put a strain on the canal. This is why it has become all the more important that the Basingstoke Canal Society and the local community all get together to help protect the canal. Quite simply if we don’t protect it and keep it alive, there is a risk that we could lose the canal as we know it today.'