Last night, Monday 17 July 2023, the Rutland Morris Men treated Rutland residents to a 'dance out' along Oakham Canal.

The rain held off last night as a group of Rutland-based dancers took to Oakham Canal and a neighbouring housing estate in full costume - all for the love of their local community.

The Rutland Morris Men, who gifted a generous sum to the Oakham Canal Green Corridor Project in 2022, were treated to a guided walk by the OCGCP team as a way of thanks, and rounded off the evening with a dance out in the fields roads estate in Oakham.

Each year the Rutland Morris Men support a charity, and in 2022 they kindly made a donation to The Oakham Canal Green Corridor Project. By way of reciprocation, a guided walk of the canal was given to the Morris Men, and they combined this with several dances along the canal route ending the tour in Ashfield with a couple of dances, a slice of pork pie and a few beers.

Project Manager Paul thanked the Rutland Morris Men for their generous donation to the Canal Project last year. Image credit: Timothy Ball.

The volunteers at the Oakham Canal Green Corridor Project have been working hard to spruce up the canal in between Oakham and Langham - work that has been supported by donations from organisations across the county, including the Rutland Morris Men.

The OCGCP team have completed a huge amount of work to maintain the canal in between Oakham and Langham. Image credit: Nub News.

The Oakham Canal Green Corridor Project is a registered charity working to preserve and restore the old Oakham Canal in Rutland, UK, in order to "share the economic, environmental, social and leisure opportunities this beautiful waterway offers". ​

The new Green Corridor will provide around 2.5 miles of footpaths between the Springfield Estate in the south, and the Oakham Enterprise Park in the north, with work so far having taken place on the canal paths between and around Oakham and Langham.

Paul Dadford, Project Manager with the OCGCP, hosted an event last year to launch the new signage and mile post, funded by the donation to the Oakham Canal Green Corridor Project from the Morris Men.

The Morris Men and local MP unveiled the new sign post and milestone on the canal earlier this year. Image credit: Nub News.

This event saw Rutland and Melton's MP, Alicia Kearns' cut the ribbon on the additions to the canal, following which the Morris Men once again donned their jackets and hats and danced to mark the occasion.

Have you seen the Rutland Morris Men perform at any local events? Image credit: Timothy Ball.

The Morris Men perform across the county at various local events which can be found on their website.

Check out our What's On page for more local events taking place across Rutland.