His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Canal & River Trust, visited nearby Coventry Canal as part of the launch of the Coventry – City of Culture 2021 celebrations.

Waterways and wellbeing charity, Canal & River Trust, which is supplying the fishing tuition on the lake at Ragley Hall for this year’s Game Fair, welcomed its patron to the canal-side former Daimler factory and now home to the arts, before boarding the working heritage boat Scorpio for a short ride to Coventry Canal Basin.

On board were representatives from the local community and volunteer groups who, over the last 18 months, have worked alongside the Canal & River Trust to transform the canal into a community space where local people can spend time being next to water and close to nature.

The event was hosted by CRT chair Allan Leighton who said: “Thanks to the hard work of the Canal & River Trust and support from local people and businesses, the Coventry Canal has seen a massive transformation.

“We’ve been working closely with the Coventry team to play our part in the celebrations and activities for the UK City of Culture 2021. It’s wonderful we’ve had the opportunity to show our patron the positive transformational impact canals can make, and specifically their role in the cultural heritage of our great cities.”

www.canalrivertrust.org.uk