The Lazy Meanderings of the Kennet and Avon Canal

The K & A flows through the very heart of southern England. To follow its leafy towpath is to sample the delights of both rural and urban England, from the noisy, brick wall-lined pathways in Bristol, Bath, and Reading to the delightful countryside ramble through Berkshire and Wiltshire, past timeless villages and canal-side pubs with the first of their evening customers already berthed alongside.

Walk (or sail or cycle) under old stone bridges that carry narrow lanes into the heart of the countryside, across swaying fields billowing in ripples as the wind swirls around the wheat and barley that is ripening before your eyes, or through the depths of Savernake Forest with weeping willows trailing their arms languorously across the water’s surface as the dragonflies dart back and forth.

Look up to see the summer clouds scudding across the sky, interrupted only by the buzz of the occasional bee or the lazy drone of a far-off aircraft.

Follow the canal towpath and get totally immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of rural England like nowhere else. Be at one with the land. You may meet a few fellow walkers or you may not. Who cares? This is too lovely to be shared.

This journal covers the Wiltshire section of the canal from Avoncliff to Crofton.

Quick Tips:

Since its reopening for use in 1990, the K & A has quickly joined the remainder of England’s waterways as a prime holiday destination for those seeking a more laid-back vacation. As such, in summer, the canal can be busy and an overnight mooring often difficult to find. All such moorings are on a first-come, first serve basis, although if you hire a narrow boat from one of the rental companies, plan your itinerary with them and they will pre-book your overnight berthing. Most berths have a 72-hour limit.

Boats can be hired at Devizes, Bath, Reading, and Bradford-on-Avon; most sleep up to six, so the daily hire charge of around £80 is not excessive. This is reduced considerably if you take the hire for a longer period.

No experience is necessary and you will be given a brief but concise course in running the boat. Bear in mind that navigating the length of the canal from Bristol to London entails more than 100 locks, including the 29 lock flight from Seend up into Devizes - hard work indeed. It’s a lazy holiday in some ways, but you will need to be relatively fit.

Best Way To Get Around:

Other than at its course through some larger towns, much of the canal runs through rural countryside. The towpath is open to cyclists along the stretch from Bath to Reading, although you need a bike licence to use the towpaths. This can be bought in advance or from the canal offices along the route and is only a few pounds.

Walkers and cyclists should be aware that some of the tunnels are very low and do not feature walkways, so be prepared for the detour over the hilltop.

Much of the canal flows through private farms and woodlands. Be aware that you are the visitor here!

The navigation is dotted with canal-side pubs, and some offer facilities such as water supply, electric hook-up, and waste disposal, as well as evening meals, B&B's, and decent ales.

There are wharves at Pewsey, Bradford, and Devizes offering extended moorings for the weekend whilst you explore the towns.

For those who just fancy a leisurely trip in a narrow boat, 2-hour trips are available at Hungerford, Devizes, Bradford, and Bath for around £5 per person. The speed limit on the water is a sedentary 4mph.

Avoncliff is a tiny village situated to the west of Bradford-on-Avon, which forms the western limits of this journal, and thus, the ideal place to start. Work on the canal began here in 1794, and it was evident from the surveyors that an aqueduct would be required to carry the navigation across the River Avon, which flowed at a level of about 30 feet lower than the intended route of the canal.

The Avoncliff Aqueduct was started in 1796 and took 2 years to complete. However, upon completion, the central arch began to sag immediately, and it is reported that Rennie regretted using stone for the construction rather than timber.

The aqueduct is 110 yards long and consists of three arches. The central elliptical span measures 60 feet, and the two side arches, both semicircular, measure 34 feet each. The abutment walls have the attractive concave batter and are terminated by square buttresses and wing walls. The marks of the masons who worked on the aqueduct are still visible today.

There is a walkway on either side of the aqueduct also used by cyclists. This is probably one of the more rural settings for the canal and very popular with the narrow-boat fraternity who use the nearby excellent Cross Guns public house as an ideal night’s stopover. From here, it is a couple of miles into the centre of Bradford-on-Avon by canal.

Bradford-on-Avon grew wealthy as a wool town, and the canal enabled it to transport its goods to the major markets in southern England. The canal opened for service here around 1798 and immediately brought a new era of prosperity.

Bradford had two wharves, an upper and a lower, now both used exclusively by pleasure crafts. It is possible to hire both boats and cycles here, and everything the canal-bound visitor could possibly require is all to found within a few yards of the wharves.

Two places I can heartily recommend include, firstly, the Canal Tavern, a Wadworth’s house adjacent to the lower wharf with a lovely enclosed beer garden and a fine range of well-kept beers. Well-behaved children are welcome, and it is a delight to sit with a beer and watch the narrow boats chug on by.

Opposite the tavern is a cracking restaurant, the Lock Inn Café, that serves the best breakfast you could hope for (and any other meals for that matter) at very reasonable prices. A "full monty" English breakfast of bacon, sausages, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, black pudding, fried bread, and baked beans, plus bread and butter and tea or coffee, will set you back £5.25, and goodness me, you’d better be hungry! The café has some outdoor seating beneath a very pleasant gazebo bedecked with flowers and vines.

The café offers cycle hire at a very cheap daily rate, and, of course, being relatively flat, the towpath is ideal for riding.

The upper wharf is where most of the craft berth for the evenings, and this now has the recent addition of a small shop selling everything from candles to ice cream. Full facilities are supplied here for boats, such as electric hook-up, fresh water, and sewage disposal.

Along with Devizes, Bradford has to be one of the gems on the K & A, and although this journal is not as such dealing with the delights of the towns themselves, a day here is always rewarding and thoroughly recommended.

Seend is tucked away between Bradford and Devizes and is popular as a stopover prior to the massive climb up the Caen Hill Flight into Devizes.

Seend itself is a pretty village of a few hundred people but it’s main claim to fame is the superb canal-side pub, The Barge Inn, a favourite with the boating fraternity for many years.

The village has plenty of history about it, and according to an information plaque just outside the pub, had an ironworks here in the 19th century, the remains of which can be located across the lane from the pub. At its peak, the land here yielded 20,000 tonnes of iron ore per year of such fine quality that it could easily be smelted on a blacksmith’s forge. In 1857, a tramway was constructed to ferry the ore to the canal for onward passage to South Wales and Staffordshire.

However, it was later decided that it would be more profitable to smelt the ore at Seend and by 1862, two blast furnaces were in operation here, producing 300 tonnes per week. But Seend’s history is full of companies going broke or being wound up and the works closed in 1889, due to the very significant freight charges necessary to transport the ore from the heart of rural Wiltshire to England’s industrial cities.

Today, a couple of the ore quarries are still in evidence, as is the old tramway and the works’ manager’s house, known as Ferrum Towers.

Back to The Barge--a finer canal-side pub you will doubtful encounter. I’ve eaten here several times over the years and have never been disappointed. There is a huge range of food on offer, including bar snacks and a good selection of well-kept real ales. A new conservatory has been added, enabling you to sit right on top of the canal whilst you dine or imbibe; plus, there is a large, child-friendly beer garden adjacent to the waterway, full of rustic benches and parasols for those rare fine days.

The canal is always busy along this stretch, so tie up early if The Barge is on your agenda for a meal.

When Rennie surveyed the intended route of the K&A, his biggest obstacle was Caen Hill, a steep incline that would lift the canal 237 feet in just 2.5 miles from the village of Seend, which sat in the Avon Valley, up into the town of Devizes, sitting astride the Vale of Pewsey. Other routes had been proposed, including taking the canal via Marlborough, meaning far fewer problems with varying land levels, but this was quickly put aside due to a lack of a consistent water supply.

From Foxhangers, just east of Seend to the centre of Devizes entailed the construction of 29 locks, of which 16 would form the Caen Hill Flight. This was a mammoth engineering project by any standards, bearing in mind that at its conception, the steam engine had yet to be invented.

Another significant problem was a constant water supply for the flight. Every time a lock is emptied, around 200,000 gallons of water are sent downstream. Rennie overcame this with the construction of "side ponds" for each of the 16 locks in the main flight, each holding many millions of gallons of water and enabling continuous passage up and down the flight.

This was the last section of the K&A to be completed, and when finished in 1810, opened up the entire length between Bristol and London.

As with the rest of the canal, the flight fell into dereliction just after World War Two, with most of the wooden lock gates rotting away beyond the point of any repair. The lock basins silted up, filled with rubbish, and generally became rather unsightly, as well as a potential health hazard for unwary walkers.

When the decision was made to embark upon a huge restoration process, a vast sum of money was required. This was raised over the years by the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, the local authorities over whose land the canal flowed, various charities, and the British Waterways Board.

After many years of dedicated restoration, they were reopened for use in 1990. A back-pumping scheme was also implemented to ensure continued water supply, this raising water from Seend and depositing it at the top of the flight, allowing pleasure boats to use the system 7 days a week.

In addition, the restored side ponds have become a wildlife reserve in their own right, hosting many aquatic birds, such as swans, ducks, coots, moorhens and herons.

In the 1950s, waterways journalist Robert Aickman compiled his Seven Wonders of the Inland Waterways network, and now, today, there is a nationwide vote underway to determine the Seven Wonders of the 21st century, launched by British Waterways and the Waterways Trust. Most people predict that the Caen Hill Flight will top that list.

After its energetic climb up Caen Hill, the canal breathes a sigh of relief as it enters Devizes, a famous old market town rich in ancient churches, 16th-century buildings, and a huge variety of specialist shops. There are still a few more locks to negotiate prior to arriving at the wharf, but the work is worth it as you sail beneath Bath Road and enter the final lock, alongside Lockkeepers Cottage and behind Wadworth’s brewery, to see the canal wide out in front of you.

Like Bradford, Devizes was already a thriving woollen town before the arrival of the K&A, which only served to increase its fortunes.

During the massive restoration programme, more money was probably spent in Devizes than anywhere else. For a start, there was the Caen Hill Flight, then the strengthening of the many bridges that carry roads across the canal in the town, and not least of all, the complete rebuilding of the wharf, with a waterways museum, a chandlers, a theatre, and a large open area planted with palms and fitted with benches for the local population to sit and watch the canal flow by.

There is one true canal-side pub in the town, The Black Horse, which has room for several narrow-boats to tie up adjacent to its beer garden. I have to say my experiences here have not been wonderful, so I would recommend mooring at the wharf and making the short walk to the Royal Oak, The Castle Hotel, or The White Bear, all within 5 minutes' stroll and all with a good welcome for local and stranger alike.

As mentioned, there is a canal museum here detailing much of the history of the navigation, as well as a small shop selling drinks, ice cream, and canal paraphernalia. Full facilities are available here for boats, such as fresh water supplies and sewage pumping out.

Cross the wharf to find the chandlers selling everything from coils of rope to waterproof jackets, compasses to torches.

Many water-bound visitors choose to spend a weekend in Devizes, for there is much to see and explore. You can moor for up to 72 hours free of charge, although in summer, places are likely to be filled quickly. There are many locals who now live full-time on their boats, and the resident nautical population is probably more than some of the villages around the town.

Follow the canal eastward out of Devizes for a mile or so to arrive at the marina, built recently to accommodate the ever-increasing numbers of people who wanted a permanent mooring for their craft in this area. The principal reason for this is the "flat" stretch of canal between Devizes and Pewsey, devoid of any locks and therefore an ideal weekend retreat for the less-than-energetic sailor.

The marina offers long- and short-term berths, as well as repairs, boat-building, and hire. The effect upon the town has been considerable, with the development of a new housing complex around the marina and the necessary shops and infrastructure that usually accompany it.

Another half-mile or so will bring you to the tiny village of Horton, thatched cottages, and another fine canalside pub, The Bridge Inn, renowned for good food and beer. Plenty of mooring space here, although you could easily walk the distance from the marina to here in 20 minutes along the towpath.

It boasts a lovely beer garden right alongside the canal and suffers less from road noise than the Black Horse in Devizes.

Leaving the village of Horton, sail on now for a few miles through beautiful countryside until you arrive in the lovely village of Honey Street, miles from anywhere and as about as rural as you will find on the canal’s wander through Wiltshire. Honey Street boasted its own wharf, which was used to transport timber from the sawmills that are still there today. The village also has one of the best and most highly rated canalside pubs along its entire length, The Barge (not to be confused with The Barge at Seend), again adjacent to the water, with huge gardens and a great welcome.

The landlords here have had the pub for many years and have built up a superb reputation. Readers may also be interested to learn that the pub serves as the unofficial HQ for UFO and crop-circle aficionados. Indeed, Strattons Farm, situated just a mile down the lane towards Pewsey, holds the distinction of having more crop circles in its wheat and barley fields than anywhere else in Wiltshire, although the whole area usually displays several intricate designs throughout the ripening months.

From here, the canal flows east toward Pewsey, the last water-side town of any significance on the Wiltshire stretch of the K&A.

The natural landscape meant that Rennie could not bring the canal right into the town; instead, the contours dictated that the site of Pewsey Wharf should be three quarters of a mile west of the town, at the end of what was known as the "Long Pound", a 15-mile stretch of canal without any locks that came all the way from Devizes.

Pewsey Wharf was certainly one of the busiest along the K&A, and during its heyday in the 1830s, it boasted warehouses, cranes, workshops, and offices for the transportation of grain, flour, coal, timber, and gravel. With the tolls that were levied on all passing craft, the town grew in prosperity, even after the arrival of the railway that gave it a direct link to London. Indeed, the GWR shares the same passage from Pewsey all the way to Reading, never veering more than a few hundred yards from the canal as it winds its way through the Thames Valley.

The stretch of canal from Devizes through Honey Street to Pewsey is usually reckoned to be the most beautiful and tranquil of all and has become a haven for wildlife such as birds and butterflies. Pass on through Pewsey and the canal enters the southernmost parts of Savernake Forest although much of that navigation is remote and virtually inaccessible unless on foot.

Pewsey wharf has recently been redeveloped and now offers moorings, as well as a newly opened pub, the "Waterfront", on the site of the old offices. Just across the road is another pub, the French Horn. Pewsey is well worth a day to explore and has many local businesses and shops, all flourishing in this small township of 3,000 people.

The final leg of our water-borne journey takes us past Pewsey and through the Savernake Forest, passing Wootten Rivers and Cadley, to the south of Marlborough. It is just after here that the canal approaches its summit between Burbage and Crofton.

This presented Rennie with another critical problem: water supply. Initially, he considered tunnelling for 2.5 miles beneath the hills at a height of 410 feet, at the same level as the nearest river, but in those days such an engineering feat would be riddled with problems and uncertainties, as well as being very expensive. The cheaper alternative was to raise the summit level by 40 feet, which would, however, lift the navigation that same amount higher than any reliable local water supply.

Rennie solved this problem with the construction of a pumping station at Crofton in 1807, one mile to the east of the summit at the nearest water source. This station raised the water to slightly higher than the canal summit level, delivering it via a specially built feeder channel called a leat. This ultimately saved around £41,000, a vast amount by any standards in those days.

Into this station was installed a second-hand Boulton and Watt engine, bought from the West India Dock Company in 1802 and up and running in 1809. Two engines could be accommodated in the house, and in 1810, a second Boulton and Watt was ordered and installed in 1812. Water for the huge boilers was supplied from the springs at Wilton to the well on site. The pumps raised the water 40 feet and discharged it into the "leat" to be delivered to the summit.

By 1836, traffic on the canal had increased and the water supply was no longer adequate so a man-made 8-acre lake was formed by damming the valley opposite the pumping station. The water ran over a weir into the engine pound of the canal and then through the culvert to the well.

As with the rest of the canal, the station fell into disrepair after closure in the early 1900s and in 1968, was purchased by the K&A Canal Trust from British Waterways for £75. An appeal was launched with the objective of restoring the entire station to full working order. In 1970, the Harvey engine from Hayle in Cornwall (which had replaced one of the Boulton and Watt’s in 1846) was successfully fired and now, regular "steam days" are on the itinerary.

Crofton is an essential part of the history of this marvellous waterway which now continues east into Berkshire and therefore, out of my area of knowledge. It is open from March 25th to October 2nd, entrance is £3 per adult or £4.50 when in steam.

The K & A is one of the most splendid lengths of inland waterway in England and is a fitting memorial to the canal age as a whole.

Work began in 1790, with John Rennie as both engineer and architect. He had already found fame as the builder of Waterloo and London Bridges, the Bell Rock lighthouse and Dublin docks. Rennie planned to link the River Avon at Bath to the River Thames at Reading, a 57-mile navigation that would open up trade routes between these two industrial towns, as well as directly linking London to Bristol via the Thames and the Avon. The entire length including the Navigation from the Severn Estuary to Bath and the Thames Navigation from Reading to London is slightly over 100 miles and demanded some impressive engineering.

There were many obstacles along the surveyed route that included deep river valleys, the crossing of numerous roads and of course, several steep inclines and declines that were simply too wide to go around, necessitating the use of lock flights such as the famous "Caen Hill Flight" that lifts the canal up into Devizes or long tunnels such as the one between Pewsey and Hungerford.

Other very real obstacles included the most basic yet essential of all; a constant water supply. At it’s highest point, between the villages of Burbage and Crofton, the canal is some 450 feet above sea level and almost 40 feet higher than the nearest reliable supply of water. Rennie had no choice but to construct a pumping station at Crofton, to raise water from the River Kennet to the summit of the canal from where it would flow in both directions, keeping the water level reasonably constant.

Work was completed in 1810, enabling barges to take coal and other goods from one side of the country to the other, and for it’s first 40 years or so, enjoyed the distinction of being the busiest trade route in the country. This was relatively short-lived however with the coming of the railway.

Initially, the canal still continued to prosper as the railway companies utilised the navigation to transport wood and stone for the permanent way’s construction. But with the opening of Brunel’s Great Western Railway, the canal company began a rapid change of fortune. Not only was the railway far quicker, but the rail companies had slashed freight tariffs along the duplicated routes and the canal just could not compete. So, in 1851, the canal passed into the ownership of the GWR whose maintenance standards rapidly declined (probably deliberately) and this, with the still-declining traffic, meant that by the early 1900s, much of the canal route was now un-navigable.

The remaining commercial traffic finally gave up the canal in the 1930s, and it continued to decay and silt up until in 1951, when British Railways, the owners, noticed a severe leak in the canal wall close to Avoncliff Aqueduct where the railway ran close to and beneath the level of the canal. Fearing a catastrophic collapse which would also endanger the lives of those travelling by the adjacent railway, the remaining water was drained away and the canal fell into total disuse.

The canal quickly became overgrown, much of the towpath disappeared beneath weeds and brambles. The wooden lock gates rotted away and the basins filled with rubbish. The old wharves at Pewsey and Devizes crumbled and the sheds decayed. Within a few brief years, there was no easy way to tell that a canal had ever existed here.

In 1963, the newly formed British Waterways Board assumed responsibility for the "canal" and with the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, tentatively looked at ways of restoring the canal. Massive fund raising commenced and this, with monies donated by the local authorities along the canal’s route meant that work could begin in earnest.

The first phase of this work ended in 1990 when the Queen declared the navigation once more open. Although open to sailing between Reading and Bristol, huge amounts of work had yet to be done to provide further improvements both structurally and to the water supply, as well as facilities for the expected thousands of visitors who would once again want to use the canal, albeit for pleasure rather than business.

Work continues today with the recent building of a marina at Devizes as well as a back-pumping scheme to recycle the huge amounts of water used on the flight of 29 locks at Caen Hill.

In 1995, the various Trusts empowered with the ongoing restoration, applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund and were awarded with a £25m grant, set against the £29m required to complete the project. With this huge donation, the Kennet and Avon Canal will once more become operational, sustainable and accessible for the enjoyment of future generations.