A popular pub is supporting a fundraising event in aid of the restoration of a former waterway.
The fourth annual ‘Winter Ales, Cider & Sausage Festival’ is due to be held at Melksham Assembly Hall this Saturday, November 10th, from 12noon-4pm, featuring 10 real ales, three ciders and a variety of sizzling sausages.
Organised by the local branch of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, the event supports the charity’s goal of creating a new leisure attraction for boaters, walkers and cyclists while boosting tourism and employment and supporting wildlife.
This year’s festival sponsor is The Bell Inn at Bowden Hill, Lacock, which stands alongside the former route of the canal.
Dave Maloney, chairman of the Melksham, Chippenham & Calne branch of the Trust said, “We’re delighted The Bell has chosen to sponsor this year’s festival by funding all of the commemorative glasses.
“This dramatically reduces our costs and means even more money will go straight towards the restoration of the canal.”
The landlord of The Bell is Paul Maloney, Dave’s son, who runs the pub with his wife Georgia.
Paul said, “We’ve always been happy to support the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust, especially because of the pub’s historical connection to the waterway.
“The Bell’s address is The Wharf due to it being a canal-side cottage in the past, with the canal running through where our car park now stands, and we get lots of visitors who enjoy walking along the stretch which has already been rebuilt near Reybridge.
“We look forward to the day when the Wilts & Berks is fully restored so that people from Melksham can use the towpath to safely walk or cycle to our pub – and it would be fantastic if narrowboats could moor alongside our beer garden!”
Festival tickets, just £5 each including a commemorative glass, are available from Melksham tourist information centre in Church Street or The Bell Inn.
The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust aims to restore for the benefit of the public the former waterway from the Kennet & Avon Canal to the Thames & Severn Canal near Cricklade and the River Thames near Abingdon.
Visit www.wbct.org.uk