A two-kilometre stretch of the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal between Llanfoist and Govilon has been reopened to boaters following major repairs to the embankment. The move follows around £1million of work by Glandwr Cymru, the Canal and River Trust in Wales, to stabilise the embankment which had 'slipped' after it had become so saturated with rain over the Christmas period that it slumped down the hillside. The engineering project has been huge - with 500 massive pins each between 10 and 15 metres long effectively nailing the embankment back against the bedrock. The final pins will be put in place over the coming weeks, together with a mesh to secure them in place. New vegetation will also be planted along the embankment in the weeks ahead to take the place of trees that had to be cut down to allow engineers to carry out the work. It is hoped a 500-metre section of towpath next to the affected stretch will re-open at the end of May. Until then walkers, cyclists and other towpath visitors can follow a short diversion around the closed section. "We're very pleased with how the work has gone - and that we have been able to reopen so quickly," said Joe Coggins, Canal and River Trust communications officer. "Lots of the businesses in the area - pubs, restaurants, boat hire firms and so on - rely on the canal for their livelihoods. "It's the first time this year the whole length will be open, in perfect time for the spring and summer visitors. "It's been a major project for us. The big difference, of course, was that it wasn't planned - it all came about purely because of the weather and required an emergency operation to stop any further slippage. "The project involved partially draining the canal using temporary dams. We had divers on site last Friday to remove those dams ready for the reopening." Luckily the slippage didn't affect any nearby houses. "Our engineers have all sorts of monitoring techniques and were confident those properties were not at risk," he said. * The Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal is 35 miles long, running through the Brecon Beacons. The canal was a major feat of engineering when it was built two hundred years ago and today it supports 390 jobs and contributes £17million to the Welsh economy each year. It was recently named as the top visitor attraction in the Brecon Beacons.