Oakham volunteer group to feature on BBC One TV show Escape to the Country

A community group working to restore a canal are set to feature on a BBC television programme next week.

The Oakham Canal Green Corridor Project will feature on BBC One property show Escape to the Country on Monday at 3pm.

The episode features three generations of a family looking to move to a rural setting in the East Midlands.

Away from the house hunting, presenter Ginny Buckley met with the volunteer group and interviewed project manager Paul Dadford.

The project is aiming to create a heritage, environment and leisure facility around the former Oakham Canal, from the Springfield Estate to Oakham Enterprise Park.

"We met them down by the canal and spent three hours filming," said project trustee Stephanie Ross.

"It was great. Ginny seemed impressed with what we were doing."

They hope the programme can help spread the word and attract more volunteers.

"We only came into being in October 2020 so the filming was within six or seven months of us getting established," Stephanie explained.

"It's important to get the word out there and get more people knowing what we are doing.

"We're getting an average of eight down for each working party and that's while it's wet and cold, so we're doing pretty well.

"But there is lots to do coming into the spring so we would welcome as many volunteers as possible."

The group are busy creating a footpath on the northern stretch of the canal between Ashwell Road and Burley Road.

It is part of a longer-term goal to create a circular walk from Oakham town centre to the Enterprise Park.

"In the long term we want to improve the ecological environment and encourage new species," Stephanie added.

"We want to make it a better environment for people to go and enjoy."