Impossible dreams have occasionally come true in Sussex.

They include Chichester Festival Theatre, the British Engineerium in Hove and Brighton Marina.

But if one group of volunteers succeed in their long-term mission it will be the most amazing feat of all.

The Wey and Arun Canal Trust has been operating for 30 years and a little before that was formed as a society. Its aim, simply stated but mighty hard to achieve, is to restore London's lost route to the sea.

There once were 23 miles of canals between the River Wey in Surrey and the Arun in Sussex. The trust has already reached agreement with landowners that restoration can take place on about half of its length.

Twelve bridges have been reconstructed, four locks restored, many culverts rebuilt and several miles of canal bed cleared and dredged.

In Sussex there has been extensive work near Pulborough and Billinghurst while restoration has been complete enough at Loxwood for a canal boat to operate.

What has been achieved is remarkable but the task ahead is daunting. There are places where the canal is choked with reeds and others where it has completely disappeared from view.

The volunteers who meet every week to carry out this work have professional help and the support of both businesses and councils but they need much more.

Support is needed from more landowners and just one could block the whole project. There is a problem over supplying water for the route and road bridges could have to be raised to achieve restoration.

Yet if the whole route were restored, the Wey and Arun Canal would be one of the most beautiful in Britain and the atmosphere of its heyday would be recreated.

It would also connect Sussex to the national canal network. At present the county is short of canals with the main stretches at either end near Chichester and Rye.

The trust has prepared a full feasibility study and commissioned an independent cost/benefit analysis. It believes the obstacles can be overcome, as they have been already on canal restoration schemes elsewhere.

This canal was a link from London to the South Coast via the Thames, Weybridge, Guildford, Pulborough and Arundel.

It ran from Shalford in Surrey to Pallingham, near Pulborough, connecting with rivers at either end. Before the era of railways, it was well used and popular.

It was built in two stages, the southern bit to Newbridge, near Billingshurst, in 1787 and the rest from 1813.

At its peak it carried 23,000 tons in 1839 but the railway line from Guildford to Horsham, which opened in 1865, sealed its doom. Although it was cheaper than the railway, it was also far slower.

Within three years, the northern section had virtually packed up, and within six years it had been almost abandoned.

It was neglected and only a few features such as Rowner Lock, near Billingshurst, survived. Most of it remained forgotten and unloved for almost a century.

The work, which started in 1870, could take another century to achieve unless help is given.

It would be an ideal scheme for National Lottery funds since it has great conservation and tourism potential. The trust and its supporters would be able to match much of the funding.

Looking at the canal, the task seems daunting and immense. But where there's a will there's a Wey - and Arun.