The High Street in Loxwood has been a broken link in the Wey & Arun Canal's route ever since the hump-backed road bridge was removed in the early part of the 20th century. Now the Wey & Arun Canal Trust is working hard to put the two parts of the waterway together again. The Trust is in the middle of an ambitious project that falls into three phases:

Phase 1 - build a new lock on the west side of the road. Volunteers started construction in mid-2005 and work is almost complete.

Phase 2A - lower the existing Brewhurst Lock on the east side of the road by 1.7 metres.

Phase 2B - excavate the bed of the canal between the road and Brewhurst Lock to make room for the canal to pass underneath the road.

Phase 3 - construct a new road bridge at the existing road level and link the two ends of the canal.

During the hottest July on record, three teams of volunteers have visited on week-long work camps to get Phase 2A off to a flying start. As well as lowering the existing Brewhurst Lock, the teams are taking the opportunity to extend its length to the national standard of 72ft. The main work has consisted of demolishing part of the structure, excavating to build new concrete foundations and building walls around the new extended section.

Early in August, the launch of phase 2B saw heavy diggers and dumper trucks move into the drained section of canal next to the Onslow Arms. One of their tasks is to excavate a new boat turning area (what boaters like to call a 'winding hole') in the canal bank opposite the pub. The current turning area next to the road takes up space that will be needed for the entrance to the bridge that the Trust hopes to construct in 2007, subject to funding being available. For the latest pictures, take a look at the Trust's website www.weyandarun.co.uk.

Today, the Trust's showpiece 'Loxwood Link' section consists of about 2.5 miles of fully restored canal, with 3 locks. Completion of the crossing project will mean that there are no major engineering obstacles to extending this length to some 3.5 miles, with 5 locks, to within sight of the Surrey border. Linking the River Wey and the River Arun no longer seems like such an impossible dream.