Kennet And Avon Canal
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The Kennet and Avon Canal is a
waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary b ...
in southern England with an overall length of , made up of two lengths of
navigable river A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against di ...
linked by a
canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the
River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which â ...
at Newbury, and from there to
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
on the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
. In all, the waterway incorporates 105
locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...
. The two river stretches were made navigable in the early 18th century, and the canal section was constructed between 1794 and 1810. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the canal gradually fell into disuse after the opening of the Great Western Railway. In the latter half of the 20th century the canal was restored in stages, largely by volunteers. After decades of dereliction and much restoration work, it was fully reopened in 1990. The Kennet and Avon Canal has been developed as a popular heritage tourism destination for boating, canoeing, fishing, walking and cycling, and is also important for
wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...
.


History


Early plans

The idea of an east-to-west waterway link across southern England was first mentioned in Elizabethan times, between 1558 and 1603, to take advantage of the proximity of tributaries of the rivers Avon and
Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
, only apart at their closest. Later, around 1626,
Henry Briggs Henry Briggs may refer to: *Henry Briggs (mathematician) (1561–1630), English mathematician *Henry Perronet Briggs (1793–1844), English painter *Henry George Briggs (1824–1872), English merchant, traveller, and orientalist *Henry Shaw Briggs ...
made a survey of the two rivers and noted that the land between them was level and easy to dig. He proposed a canal to connect them, but following his death in 1630 the plan was dropped. After the
English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
four bills were presented to parliament, but all failed after opposition from gentry, farmers and traders worried about cheaper water transport reducing the value of fees on turnpike roads they controlled, and cheaper produce from Wales undercutting locally produced food. The main alternative to road transport for the carriage of goods between
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
and London was a hazardous sea route through the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. The small coastal
sailing ship A sailing ship is a sea-going vessel that uses sails mounted on masts to harness the power of wind and propel the vessel. There is a variety of sail plans that propel sailing ships, employing square-rigged or fore-and-aft sails. Some ships ...
s of the day were often damaged by Atlantic storms, and risked being attacked by
warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the armed forces of a state. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster ...
s of the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
and
privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
s during a succession of conflicts with France.


River navigations

Plans for a waterway were shelved until the early 18th century. However, in 1715, work was authorised to make the
River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which â ...
navigable from
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
to Newbury. Work commenced in 1718, under the supervision of surveyor and engineer
John Hore John HoreAlternative spellings of Hore's surname include "Hoar" and "Hoare" (baptised 13 March 1680 – 12 April 1763Other sources give Hore's year of birth as 1690, and year of death as 1762) was an English engineer, best known for making the Ri ...
of Newbury. In 1723, despite considerable local opposition, the Kennet Navigation opened, comprising stretches of natural riverbed alternating with of artificially created lock cuts. The River Avon had historically been navigable from
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
to Bath, but construction of
watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...
s on the river in the early years of the 13th century had forced its closure. In 1727, navigation was restored, with the construction of six locks, again under the supervision of John Hore. The first cargo of "Deal boards, Pig-Lead and Meal" reached Bath in December. The two river navigations were built independently of one another, in order to meet local needs, but they eventually led to plans to connect them and form a through route.


Closing the gap

In 1788 a "Western Canal" was proposed to improve trade and communication links to towns such as
Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
,
Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...
,
Calne Calne () is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, southwestern England,OS Explorer Map 156, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon Scale: 1:25 000.Publisher: Ordnance Survey A2 edition (2007). at the northwestern extremity of the North Wessex Downs ...
, Chippenham and
Melksham Melksham () is a town on the River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. At the 2011 census, the Melksham built-up area had a population of 19,357, making it Wiltshire's fifth-largest settlement aft ...
. The following year the engineers Barns, Simcock and Weston submitted a proposed route for this canal, although there were doubts about the adequacy of the water supply. The name was changed from Western Canal to Kennet and Avon Canal to avoid confusion with the
Grand Western Canal The Grand Western Canal ran between Taunton in Somerset and Tiverton in Devon in the United Kingdom. The canal had its origins in various plans, going back to 1796, to link the Bristol Channel and the English Channel by a canal, bypassing Lands ...
, which was being proposed at the same time. In 1793 a further survey was conducted by John Rennie, and the route of the canal was altered to take a more southerly course through
Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunton ...
,
Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...
,
Trowbridge Trowbridge ( ) is the county town of Wiltshire, England, on the River Biss in the west of the county. It is near the border with Somerset and lies southeast of Bath, 31 miles (49 km) southwest of Swindon and 20 miles (32 km) southeas ...
and Newbury. The proposed route was accepted by the Kennet and Avon Canal Company, chaired by Charles Dundas, and the company started to take subscriptions from prospective shareholders. In July 1793 Rennie suggested further alterations to the route, including the construction of a tunnel in the
Savernake Forest Savernake Forest stands on a Cretaceous chalk plateau between Marlborough and Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Its area is approximately . Most of the forest lies within the civil parish of Savernake. It is privately owned by the Earl of C ...
. On 17 April 1794 the Kennet and Avon Canal Act received the
Royal Assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in oth ...
and construction began. The Newbury to Hungerford section was completed in 1798, and was extended to Great Bedwyn in 1799. The section from Bath to Foxhangers was finished in 1804, and Devizes Locks were completed in 1810. The canal opened in 1810 after 16 years of construction. Major structures included the Dundas and
Avoncliff Avoncliff is a small village in west Wiltshire, England, in the north of Westwood parish about southwest of Bradford-on-Avon. It is the point at which the Kennet and Avon canal crosses the river and railway line via the Avoncliff Aqueduct, w ...
aqueducts Aqueduct may refer to: Structures *Aqueduct (bridge), a bridge to convey water over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley *Navigable aqueduct, or water bridge, a structure to carry navigable waterway canals over other rivers, valleys, railw ...
, the
Bruce Tunnel The Bruce Tunnel is on the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal between Wootton Top Lock and Crofton Locks in Wiltshire, England. The tunnel is long. It is named after Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1729–1814), the loc ...
under Savernake Forest, and the
pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure system ...
s at Claverton and Crofton, needed to overcome water supply problems. The final engineering task was the completion of the
Caen Hill Locks Caen Hill Locks () are a flight of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Rowde and Devizes in Wiltshire, England. Description The 29 locks have a rise of 237 feet in 2 miles ( in ) or a 1 in 44 gradient. The locks come in three gr ...
at Devizes.


Operation

In 1801, trade along the canal commenced; goods initially had to be unloaded at Foxhangers at the bottom of what is now Caen Hill Locks, transported up the hill by a
horse-drawn railway Wagonways (also spelt Waggonways), also known as horse-drawn railways and horse-drawn railroad consisted of the horses, equipment and tracks used for hauling wagons, which preceded steam-powered railways. The terms plateway, tramway, dramway, ...
, and reloaded into barges at the top. When the flight of locks opened in 1810, allowing the same vessel to navigate the entire canal, the rate of carriage per ton from London to Bath was £2 9s 6d. This compared well with carriage by road, which cost £6 3s to £7 per
ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...
, and trade on the canal flourished. In 1812, the Kennet and Avon Canal Company bought the Kennet Navigation, which stretched from Newbury to the junction with the Thames at Kennet Mouth, near Reading. The purchase from Frederick Page cost £100,000, of which £70,000 was paid in cash with the balance paid back gradually. The purchase was authorised by the Kennet Navigation Act of June 1813, which enabled the company to raise the funds through the sale of 5,500 shares at £24 each. At the same time work was undertaken to improve the Avon Navigation, from Bristol to Bath, with the Kennet and Avon Canal Company purchasing a majority shareholding in the Avon Navigation in 1816. By 1818, seventy 60-ton barges were working on the canal, the majority of the tonnage being coal and stone travelling via the
Somerset Coal Canal The Somerset Coal Canal (originally known as the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury, ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a ...
. The journey from Bath to Newbury took an average of three and a half days. By 1832, 300,000 tons of freight was being carried each year and, between 1825 and 1834, the company had an annual revenue of around £45,000. A link connecting the Kennet & Avon to the
Basingstoke Canal The Basingstoke Canal is an English canal, completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation. From Basingstoke, the canal passes through or near Greywell, North Warnborough, Odiham, ...
at its Basingstoke terminus was proposed three times between 1793 and 1810, and a route was even surveyed by
John Rennie the Younger Sir John Rennie FRSA (30 August 1794 – 3 September 1874) was the second son of engineer John Rennie the Elder, and brother of George Rennie. Early life John Rennie was born at 27 Stamford Street, Blackfriars Road, London, on 30 August 17 ...
in 1824, but following opposition from landowners was eventually rejected by Parliament in 1824 and 1826.


Decline

The opening of the Great Western Railway in 1841 removed much of the canal's traffic, even though the canal company lowered tariffs. In 1852 the railway company took over the canal's operation, levying high tolls at every
toll point In the United Kingdom a toll point or toll island is a place on a canal where a fee was collected as boats carrying cargo passed. These were sited at strategic points such as the stop lock at the transition from one canal company to another wher ...
and reducing the amount spent on maintenance. Ice-breaking was stopped in 1857, and traders were further encouraged by preferential tolls to use the railway rather than the canal. In 1861 a new order prohibited any traffic on the canal at night, and, in 1865, boats were forced to pass through locks in pairs to reduce water loss. By 1868 the annual tonnage had fallen from 360,610 in 1848 to 210,567. In the 1870s
water abstraction Water extraction (or water withdrawal) is the process of taking water from any source, either temporarily or permanently, for flood control or to obtain water for, for example, irrigation. The extracted water could also be used as drinking wate ...
from the canal near
Fobney Lock Fobney Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in the Small Mead area of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Between the lock cut for the lock and the river itself is Fobney Island, which is a nature reserve. Fobney Lock was built between 1 ...
followed the regulations introduced in the Reading Local Board Waterworks, Sewerage, Drainage and Improvements Act of 1870, and contributed to the silting up of locks and stretches of the canal. Several wharves and stretches of towpath were closed. In 1877 the canal recorded a deficit of £1,920 and never subsequently made any profit. The
Somerset Coal Canal The Somerset Coal Canal (originally known as the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury, ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a ...
and
Wilts & Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a ...
, which each supplied some of the trade from the Somerset Coalfield to the Kennet and Avon, closed in 1904 and 1906 respectively. In 1926, following a loss of £18,041 the previous year, the Great Western Railway sought to close the canal by obtaining a Ministry of Transport Order, but the move was resisted and the company charged with improving its maintenance of the canal. Cargo trade continued to decline, but a few pleasure boats started to use the canal. During the Second World War a large number of concrete pillboxes were built as part of the GHQ Line - Blue to defend against an expected German invasion; many of these are still visible along the banks of the canal. They were generally built close to road and rail bridges, which would have formed important crossing points for enemy troops and vehicles. After the war the Transport Act of 1947 transferred control of the canal to the
British Transport Commission The British Transport Commission (BTC) was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain (Northern Ireland had the se ...
, but by the 1950s large sections of the canal had been closed because of poor lock maintenance following a breach in the bank west of the
Avoncliff Aqueduct Avoncliff Aqueduct () carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon and the Bath to Westbury railway, at Avoncliff in Wiltshire, England, about west of Bradford-on-Avon. It was built by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas, b ...
. The last through passage was made in 1951 by ''nb Queen''.


Closure avoided

A group supporting the restoration of the canal had been set up in the early 1950s independently of the
Inland Waterways Association The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) is a registered charity in the United Kingdom and was formed in 1946 to campaign for the conservation, use, maintenance, restoration and sensitive development of British Canals and river navigations. No ...
, with which it was subsequently merged. In 1955 John Gould, a trader on the eastern section of the waterway, successfully petitioned against the commission's failure to maintain the waterway and obtained damages for loss of business. In March 1956 a clause in the British Transport Commission (no 2) Act was presented to Parliament that would have removed the right of navigation between Reading and Bath. The Act was opposed by Gould and by the local authorities along the canal. They were supported by a 22,000-signature petition to the Queen, brought to London from Bristol by water; parts of the canal had to be traversed by canoe. This campaign led to an inquiry by a Parliamentary Select Committee. The committee supported the suspension of the right of navigation, and the Bill passed through the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
but was amended by the
House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
to include a clause to enforce "no further deterioration". In July 1958, the Bowes Committee published their ''Inquiry into Inland Waterways'' which specifically mentioned the Kennet and Avon finding "no justification for restoring the section from Reading to Bath". A government
white paper A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. A white pape ...
followed the Bowes Report in February 1959, recommending that an Inland Waterways Redevelopment Advisory Committee should assist schemes to regenerate canals that were no longer able to collect enough fees from tolls to pay for their upkeep. Further reports followed, and in 1962 the Advisory Committee reported that the canal should be redeveloped, and allocated £20,000 for maintenance and £20,000 to begin restoration. The
Kennet and Avon Canal Trust The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust is a registered charity and waterway society concerned with the protection and maintenance of the Kennet and Avon Canal throughout Wiltshire and Berkshire. History In 1951, the Kennet and Avon Canal Associat ...
was formed in 1962 to restore the canal from Reading to Bristol as a through navigation and as a public amenity. It was originally a voluntary group which had previously been known as the Kennet and Avon Canal Association. The Trust gained
charitable status A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...
in April and was incorporated under the Companies Act on 6 June 1962. In 1963 the newly formed
British Waterways British Waterways, often shortened to BW, was a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom. It served as the navigation authority for the majority of canals and a number of rivers and docks in England, Scotlan ...
, which was created by the Transport Act of the previous year, and replaced the British Transport Commission as the statutory body for inland waterways, took over the canal and, in partnership with the Trust and
riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks a ...
local authorities, restoration work began.


Restoration

Restoration work involved a collaboration between staff from British Waterways and volunteer labour. In 1966 Sulhamstead Lock was rebuilt and the re-puddling of the dry section at
Limpley Stoke Limpley Stoke is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It lies in the Avon valley between Bath and Freshford, and is both above and below the A36 road. The parish is surrounded to the north, west and south by the Bath and North ...
was begun. In 1968, restoration work was undertaken on the
Bath Locks Bath Locks () are a series of locks, now six locks, situated at the start of the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Bath, England. Bath Bottom Lock, which is numbered as No 7 on the canal, is the meeting with the River Avon just south of Pulteney Bridge ...
and
Burghfield Lock Burghfield Lock is a lock on the River Kennet at Burghfield in the English county of Berkshire. Burghfield Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury, and this stretch of the river is now adm ...
. In Reading at Bridge Street the navigable headroom had been reduced from to by girders added to the underside of the bridge. This was replaced with a new bridge, enabling craft to pass more easily. The canal was reopened from the Thames to Hungerford Wharf in July 1974. Re-puddling was a long process, so experiments with the use of heavy gauge
polythene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bo ...
to line the canal were undertaken. The
Avoncliff Aqueduct Avoncliff Aqueduct () carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon and the Bath to Westbury railway, at Avoncliff in Wiltshire, England, about west of Bradford-on-Avon. It was built by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas, b ...
was lined with a concrete "cradle" and made water-tight in 1980. Further works continued during the 1980s. Berkshire County Council, supported by local councils, estimated that £1,275,000 was needed for works at the eastern end of the canal and commenced work on replacing some of the bridges. In
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, concerns over the limited water supply to the summit pound indicated that back-pumping would be required, which increased the estimated cost for the county to £761,560. The
Wilton Water Wilton Water (or Wide Waters) is a small reservoir, southwest of the village of Great Bedwyn in the English county of Wiltshire, which supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. The reservoir lies in the parish of Grafton ...
reservoir was estimated to produce less than per day, and the Seend feeder only . Wessex Water Authority agreed to the extraction of per day from the Avon at Claverton to be pumped east; the costs of the pumps was £175,000. Various fund-raising schemes, along with some financial support from local authorities, allowed small-scale work on the locks to continue, but the projected timescales for completion were missed. In 1983 the
Manpower Services Commission The Manpower Services Commission (MSC) was a non-departmental public body of the Department of Employment Group in the United Kingdom created by Edward Heath's Conservative Government in 1973. The MSC had a remit to co-ordinate employment and tr ...
, which had a remit to co-ordinate employment and training services in the United Kingdom, agreed to employ 50 men on work that included restoration of Aldermaston Lock, its adjacent wharf, and
Widmead Lock Widmead Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Newbury and Thatcham, Berkshire, England. Widmead Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore John HoreAlternative spellings of Hore's surn ...
. The restoration of Dundas Aqueduct and several smaller schemes were later added to the list. Maintenance agreements were signed with local authorities along the route, while fund-raising activities continued. The National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders sponsored a workshop, which opened in
Shrivenham Shrivenham is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England, about south-west of Faringdon. The village is close to the county boundary with Wiltshire and about east-northeast of Swindon. The 2011 Census recorde ...
in 1987, to create new lock gates for the Crofton and Devizes flights. In 1988 the restoration of
Woolhampton Lock Woolhampton Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the village of Woolhampton in the English county of Berkshire. The lock has a rise/fall of and is administered by the Canal and River Trust. Woolhampton Lock lies on the stretch of t ...
was completed, but obstructions remained on either side. Frouds
swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
could not be opened and the restoration of
Midgham Lock Midgham Lock is a Canal lock, lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Thatcham and Woolhampton, Berkshire, England. Midgham Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury. The canal is administ ...
had not been finished; both were completed the following year. Re-puddling of the Crofton pounds was carried out in 1989, along with the reconstruction of Midgham Bridge. Restoration of the turf-sided
Monkey Marsh Lock Monkey Marsh Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Thatcham, Berkshire, England. Monkey Marsh Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury. The canal is administered by Canal & River T ...
proved difficult because of its status as a
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
, and the consequent need to protect the historic site while improving safety. The stretch between Reading and Newbury was completed on 17 July 1990; at a ceremony held at
Monkey Marsh Lock Monkey Marsh Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Thatcham, Berkshire, England. Monkey Marsh Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury. The canal is administered by Canal & River T ...
several boats competed to be the first craft through. Concerns about the adequacy of the water supply still remained when
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
formally reopened the canal on 8 August 1990. The Queen was able to travel on the Trust's boat, ''The Rose of Hungerford'', through locks 44 and 43 on the Caen Hill flight, breaking a ceremonial tape between them. The shortage of water was addressed in 1996 by the installation of new back pumps at the flight of 29 locks at Caen Hill in Devizes, at a cost of £1 million. The pumps raise water at a rate of per hour (380 litres per second). In October 1996, the Kennet & Avon Canal Partnership attracted the largest single National Lottery grant awarded by the
Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
, £25 million towards a £29 million project, to complete the restoration and to make it operational, sustainable and accessible for the enjoyment of future generations. The work funded included complete rebuilding of Foxhangers Lock and bridge at Caen Hill, replacement of lock gates at Seend and Crofton, channel lining at Claverton, embankment repairs at Martinslade, improvements at Claverton pumping station and dredging at various sites. The restoration's completion was celebrated in May 2003 by a visit from Prince Charles, but upgrading and maintenance continues. Between 2002 and 2004, Dundas Aqueduct – which had been relined with polythene and concrete in 1984 without disturbing a colony of bats living under the aqueduct – was further restored by the replacement of engineering bricks used by the Great Western Railway with Bath stone to match the original work. On 1 December 2004, two men died when the Ford tractor in which they were reversing along part of the towpath between Bridge 111 and Bridge 110 toppled into the water. British Waterways was found guilty of failing to adequately assess risk and fined £100,000. A subsequent dispute with their insurers gave rise to legal consideration of the meaning of certain terminology in their
insurance policy In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract (generally a standard form contract) between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claims which the insurer is legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial payment, known a ...
concerned with liability "arising out of" the operation of a tractor. In 2011 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs designated the canal a national "cruiseway" as defined by the
Transport Act 1968 The Transport Act 1968 (1968 c.73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The main provisions made changes to the structure of nationally owned bus companies, created passenger transport authorities and executives to take over pub ...
. The listing imposes a legal requirement on British Waterways to maintain the canal to a standard that ensures cruising craft can safely navigate the entire length of the waterway. In November 2011 the navigation between Bath and Bristol was closed for several months because of safety concerns about Victoria Bridge.


Route


Bristol to Bath

The River Avon was navigable from Bristol to Bath during the early years of the 13th century, until the construction of mills on the river forced its closure. The modern Avon is navigable from its mouth at
Avonmouth Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Es ...
, through the
Floating Harbour Bristol Harbour is the harbour in the city of Bristol, England. The harbour covers an area of . It is the former natural tidal river Avon through the city but was made into its current form in 1809 when the tide was prevented from going out perm ...
in Bristol, as far as Pulteney Weir in the centre of Bath and just beyond the start of the canal. Beyond Pulteney Weir the Avon is still navigable as far as the weir and site of the old "flash lock" at Bathampton but the lock at Pulteney has been replaced only with a small boat slide for dinghies and canoes. The stretch from Bristol to Bath is made navigable by the use of locks and
weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
s at
Hanham Hanham is a suburb of Bristol. It is located in the south east of the city. Hanham is in the unitary authority of South Gloucestershire. It became a civil parish on 1 April 2003. The post code area of Hanham is BS15. The population of this c ...
, Keynsham, Swineford,
Saltford Saltford is a large English village and civil parish in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset. It lies between the cities of Bristol and Bath, and adjoins Keynsham on the same route. Saltford Manor House (built about 116 ...
,
Kelston Kelston is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, north west of Bath, and east of Bristol, on the A431 road. It is situated just north of the River Avon, close to the Kelston and Saltford locks. The parish has a population of 248. ...
and
Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...
, which together overcome a rise of within . Lock number one on the Kennet and Avon Canal is
Hanham Lock Hanham Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, at the village of Hanham near Bristol, England. The Bristol Avon Navigation, which runs the from the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hanham Lock to the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth, was constr ...
, first opened as part of the Avon Navigation in 1727. It is the first lock east of Netham, the upstream limit of the Floating Harbour, beyond the suburbs of the city of Bristol. A colliery
wharf A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring locatio ...
was sited just west of the lock, but the nearby
coal mines Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron fro ...
closed in the 19th century. The river below Hanham Lock is considered to be
tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...
, as high tides often pass over the weir at Netham. Some
spring tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ca ...
s pass over the weir at Hanham, making the river tidal up to
Keynsham Lock Keynsham Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon at Keynsham, England. The Bristol Avon Navigation, which runs the from the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hanham Lock to the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth, was constructed between 1724 and 1 ...
. Heading east, the river passes the
Somerdale Factory Somerdale was a chocolate factory located in Keynsham near Bristol in South-west England, closed by Kraft foods in 2011. It was the home of a Cadbury plc production facility, and was originally built by the Fry family when they expanded through ...
, on its southern bank, which was a chocolate production factory for Cadbury – originally built by the
Fry family Fry, fries, Fry's or frying may refer to: Food and cooking * Frying, the cooking of food in hot oil or fat ** French fries, deep-fried potato strips ** Frying pan, cookware for frying Businesses and organizations * Fry (racing team), a Briti ...
in the 1920s and 1930s. On the northern bank is Cleeve Wood, the primary scientific importance of which lies in its particularly large population of Bath asparagus (''
Ornithogalum pyrenaicum ''Ornithogalum pyrenaicum'', also called Prussian asparagus, wild asparagus, Bath asparagus, Pyrenees star of Bethlehem, or spiked star of Bethlehem, is a plant whose young flower shoots may be eaten as a vegetable, similar to asparagus Asp ...
''). A public house has been built on the island between Keynsham Lock and the weir. The weir side of the island is also the mouth of the
River Chew The River Chew is a small river in England that flows for some through the North Somerset countryside to form the Chew Valley before merging with the River Avon. The spring from which the Chew rises is just upstream from Chewton Mendip. The ...
. The river then passes through Avon Valley Country Park and past Stidham Farm, another SSSI that contains
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
terrace-gravels of the river. A depth of at least of sandy gravels are recorded, consisting mainly of
limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
clasts Clastic rocks are composed of fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals and rock. A clast is a fragment of geological detritus,Essentials of Geology, 3rd Ed, Stephen Marshak, p. G-3 chunks, and smaller grains of rock broken off other rocks ...
, but also with Millstone Grit, Pennant
Sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...
, flint, and chert clasts. The river passes under the old railway line that now forms the Avon Valley Railway, a heritage railway, before reaching
Swineford Lock Swineford Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, at the village of Swineford, England. The Bristol Avon Navigation, which runs the from the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hanham Lock to the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth, was constructed ...
. Here, between 1709 and 1859, there was an active
brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...
and copper industry served by the river, which also provided water power for the cloth industry. The remains of Kelston Brass Mill, which was working until 1925, are next to Saltford Lock. The lock was opened in 1727 but destroyed by rival coal dealers in 1738, to prevent the river being used for transportation. The
Bristol and Bath Railway Path The Bristol and Bath Railway Path is a off-road cycleway, part of National Cycle Network National Cycle Route 4. It has a wide tarmacked surface, and was used for 2.4 million trips in 2007, increasing by 10% per year. It was built by the cy ...
crosses the navigation several times before reaching the suburb of Newbridge on the outskirts of Bath. Here the A4 crosses close to the
Newton St Loe SSSI Newton St Loe SSSI () is a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) close to the River Avon, near the village of Newton St Loe in Bath and North East Somerset. It was notified on September 1992.It is 2.26 hectares in size. The sit ...
, which is designated an SSSI because it represents the only remaining known exposure of fossiliferous
Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...
gravels containing the remains of
mammoth A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks an ...
s (''Mammuthus'') and horses (''Equus'') along the river, and has aided the development of a scientific understanding of the history of early
glaciation A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate be ...
in
South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...
. The final lock before entering Bath is
Weston Lock Weston Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, on the western outskirts of Bath, England, in what now forms the Newbridge suburb of Bath. The Bristol Avon Navigation, which runs the from the Kennet and Avon Canal at Hanham Lock to ...
, opened in 1727. Its construction created an island between the
cut Cut may refer to: Common uses * The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force ** A type of wound ** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past ** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment ** Cut (ea ...
and the river weir, which became known as Dutch Island after the owner of the brass mill established on the riverside in the early 18th century.


Bath to Devizes

The restored Bath Bottom Lock marks the divergence of the River Avon and the canal. It is situated south of
Pulteney Bridge Pulteney Bridge is a bridge over the River Avon (Bristol), River Avon in Bath, Somerset, Bath, England. It was completed by 1774, and connected the city with the land of the Pulteney family which it wished to develop. Designed by Robert Adam in ...
. Just upstream of the Bottom Lock are a side pound and a pumping station that pumps water "upstream" of the locks, to replace that used each time a boat passes through. The next of the six
Bath Locks Bath Locks () are a series of locks, now six locks, situated at the start of the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Bath, England. Bath Bottom Lock, which is numbered as No 7 on the canal, is the meeting with the River Avon just south of Pulteney Bridge ...
is Bath Deep Lock, numbered 8/9 as two locks were combined when the canal was restored in 1976. The new chamber has a depth of , making it the UK's second-deepest canal lock. Just above the Deep Lock is another side pound as a reservoir for refilling the lock, followed by Wash House Lock. After a slightly longer pound is Abbey View Lock, beside which there is another pumping station and then, in quick succession, Pulteney Lock and Bath Top Lock. Above the Top Lock the canal passes through Sydney Gardens via two short tunnels and under two cast iron footbridges dating from 1800. Cleveland Tunnel is long and runs under Cleveland House, the former headquarters of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company and now a Grade II* listed building. A trap-door in the tunnel roof connects the canal with Cleveland House. It is often stated that was used to pass paperwork between clerks above and bargees below, although it is possible that the hatch was a refuse chute. Many of the bridges over the canal are listed buildings. On the eastern outskirts of Bath a toll bridge near the George Inn links
Bathampton Bathampton () is a village and civil parish east of Bath, England on the south bank of the River Avon. The parish has a population of 1,603. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the village and a toll bridge links Bathampton to Bathea ...
to
Batheaston Batheaston is a village and civil parish east of the English city of Bath, on the north bank of the River Avon. The parish had a population of 2,735 in 2011. The northern area of the parish, on the road to St Catherine, is an area known as No ...
, on the north bank of the canal. When the A4 Batheaston by-pass was built, the Bathampton Meadow was created to provide additional flood relief. The resultant wet meadows and oxbow lake have proved attractive to a number of migrants;
wading birds 245px, A flock of Dunlins and Red knots">Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflat ...
such as
dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus ''Erolia''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown ...
, ringed and
little ringed plover The little ringed plover (''Charadrius dubius'') is a small plover. The genus name ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in river ...
, and
green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...
and
common sandpiper The common sandpiper (''Actitis hypoleucos'') is a small Palearctic wader. This bird and its American sister species, the spotted sandpiper (''A. macularia''), make up the genus ''Actitis''. They are parapatric and replace each other geographic ...
are frequent visitors in spring and autumn. Sand martin and
kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
have been seen regularly by the lake, and other migrants have included yellow wagtail,
whinchat The whinchat (''Saxicola rubetra'') is a small migratory passerine bird breeding in Europe and western Asia and wintering in central Africa. At one time considered to be in the thrush family, Turdidae, it is now placed in the Old World flycat ...
and
hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing oth ...
. The canal turns south into a valley between Bathampton Wood and Bathford Hill which includes Brown's Folly, a biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest. In the Avon Valley to the east of Bath the classic geographical example of a valley with all four forms of ground transport is found: road, rail, river, canal. The canal passes the remains of a loading dock, once used for Bath Stone from the quarries on
Bathampton Down Bathampton Down is a flat limestone plateau in Bathampton, Somerset, England, overlooking the River Avon and the city of Bath. There is evidence of man's activity at the site since the Mesolithic period including Bathampton Camp, an Iron Age hi ...
, which was carried down a straight track to the canal over the Dry Arch rock bridge (demolished in 1958 to allow
double-decker bus A double-decker bus or double-deck bus is a bus that has two storeys or decks. They are used for mass transport in the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and also in cities such as Sydney; the best-known example is the ...
es to use the A36). Next, the canal passes the waterwheel-powered Claverton Pumping Station, which pumped water from the River Avon into the canal. The building was completed in 1810 and the pump was working by 1813. On the eastern bank Warleigh Wood and Inwood are ash-wych elm and ash-maple dry woodland, which comes right down to the canal. The canal then crosses over the river and the Wessex Main Line railway at the Dundas Aqueduct, past Conkwell Wood, before recrossing the river and railway at the
Avoncliff Aqueduct Avoncliff Aqueduct () carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the River Avon and the Bath to Westbury railway, at Avoncliff in Wiltshire, England, about west of Bradford-on-Avon. It was built by John Rennie and chief engineer John Thomas, b ...
. At the western end of the Dundas Aqueduct it is joined by the remains of the
Somerset Coal Canal The Somerset Coal Canal (originally known as the Somersetshire Coal Canal) was a narrow canal in England, built around 1800. Its route began in basins at Paulton and Timsbury, ran to nearby Camerton, over two aqueducts at Dunkerton, through a ...
, a short stretch of which has been restored to create the Brassknocker Basin. Excavations of the old stop lock showed that it was originally a broad lock that at some point was narrowed to by moving the lock wall. The Somerset Coal Canal was built around 1800 from basins at
Paulton Paulton () is a large village and civil parish, with a population of 5,302, located to the north of the Mendip Hills, very close to Norton Radstock in the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset (BANES), England. Paulton is a forme ...
and Timsbury, giving access to London from the Somerset Coalfield, which at its peak contained 80 collieries. After the Avoncliff Aqueduct the canal passes through Barton Farm Country Park, past Gripwood Quarry and a 14th-century Grade II* listed
tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...
, long and wide, on its way into
Bradford on Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...
. The first sod for the Kennet and Avon Canal was turned in Bradford on Avon in 1794, and soon there were wharves above and below
Bradford Lock Bradford Lock () is situated at Bradford on Avon on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England. It was in Bradford on Avon that the first sod was cut for the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1794. The lock has a rise/fall of 12 ft 6 inches (3.81&nbs ...
. Further east, an aqueduct carries the canal over the River Biss. There are locks at
Semington Semington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about south of Melksham and about northeast of Trowbridge. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Marsh and Littleton.
and Seend, where water flows into the canal from the Summerham Brook, otherwise known as the Seend Feeder. In the village of
Semington Semington is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The village is about south of Melksham and about northeast of Trowbridge. The parish includes the hamlets of Little Marsh and Littleton.
the
Wilts & Berks Canal The Wilts & Berks Canal is a canal in the historic counties of Wiltshire and Berkshire, England, linking the Kennet and Avon Canal at Semington near Melksham, to the River Thames at Abingdon. The North Wilts Canal merged with it to become a ...
joined the canal, linking the Kennet and Avon to the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
at Abingdon. The
North Wilts Canal North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...
merged with it to become a branch to the
Thames and Severn Canal The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in Gloucestershire in the south-west of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a cargo route from Bristol and the Midlands to London, linking England's two largest rivers for bett ...
at Latton near
Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...
. The canal was opened in 1810, but abandoned in 1914 â€“ a fate hastened by the collapse of Stanley Aqueduct in 1901. In 1977 the Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group was formed with the aim of fully restoring the canal to re-connect the Kennet and Avon to the upper reaches of the Thames.
Caen Hill Locks Caen Hill Locks () are a flight of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Rowde and Devizes in Wiltshire, England. Description The 29 locks have a rise of 237 feet in 2 miles ( in ) or a 1 in 44 gradient. The locks come in three gr ...
, at
Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...
, provides an insight into the engineering needed to build and maintain the canal. The main flight of 16 locks, which take 5–6 hours to navigate in a boat, is part of a longer series of 29 locks built in three groups: seven at Foxhangers, sixteen at Caen Hill, and six at the town end of the flight. The total rise is in or a 1 in 30
gradient In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the gr ...
. The locks were the last part of the route of the canal to be completed. The steepness of the terrain meant that there was no space to use the normal arrangement of water pounds between the locks. As a result, the 16 locks utilise unusually large side ponds to store the water needed for their operation. Because a large volume of water is needed a back pump was installed at Foxhangers in 1996, capable of returning of water per day to the top of the flight, equivalent to one lockful every 11 minutes. While the locks were under construction in the early 19th century a tramroad provided a link between Foxhangers at the bottom of the flight and Devizes at the top, the remains of which can be seen in the towpath arches in the road bridges over the canal. From 1829 until 1843 the flight, which includes the narrowest lock on the canal, Lock 41, was illuminated by gas lights. At the top of the flight is Devizes Wharf, home to the Kennet & Avon Canal Museum, which has a range of exhibits on the conception, design, usage, and eventual commercial decline of the Kennet and Avon Canal, as well as its subsequent restoration. It is operated by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, which has its headquarters and a shop within the Canal Centre. The Wharf Theatre is in an old warehouse on the same site. Devizes wharf is the starting point for the
Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon The Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon is a marathon canoe race in England. The race is held every Easter over a course of from Devizes in Wiltshire to Westminster in central London. It has been run since 1948. Starting at D ...
, which has been held since 1948.


Devizes to Newbury

Heading east from Devizes the canal passes through the
Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
countryside and a series of locks and
swing bridge A swing bridge (or swing span bridge) is a movable bridge that has as its primary structural support a vertical locating pin and support ring, usually at or near to its center of gravity, about which the swing span (turning span) can then pi ...
s before another flight of locks at Crofton. At Honeystreet is the remains of a wharf that was the home of boat builders Robbins, Lane and Pinnegar, which served as the boat building headquarters of the Canal Company. They built many of the boats used on the canals of southern England before closing in about 1950. Next to the wharf is the Barge Inn, a substantial
public house A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...
once known as the George Inn. It was roughly half-way along the canal and served as a bakehouse, slaughterhouse and shop for provisions for those living and working on the canal. The building was destroyed by fire in 1858 and rebuilt within six months. It was built just within the parish boundary of
Stanton St Bernard Stanton St Bernard is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. Its nearest town is Devizes, about away to the west. The parish is tall and narrow, extending north onto the Marlborough Downs where it includes Milk Hi ...
to "serve the Honey Street wharf in
Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...
parish, which refused to allow drinking establishments".
Jones's Mill Jones's Mill () is an 11.6 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest near Pewsey in Wiltshire, SSSI notification, notified in 1975. The site is managed as a nature reserve by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. Sources Natural England citat ...
is a area of fen vegetation, scrub and woodland lying along the headwaters of the Salisbury Avon northeast of
Pewsey Pewsey is a large village and civil parish at the centre of the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, about south of Marlborough and west of London. It is within reach of the M4 motorway and the A303 and is served by Pewsey railway station on the Re ...
. It has been designated a
biological Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
because it is "the best known example of a calcareous valley mire in Wiltshire". The four locks at
Wootton Rivers Wootton Rivers is a small village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. The village lies about northeast of Pewsey and south of Marlborough. During the 20th century its population halved and most of its facilities close ...
mark the end of the climb from the Avon. Between Wootton Top Lock and Crofton is the summit pound of the canal at above sea level, stretching for about and including the
Bruce Tunnel The Bruce Tunnel is on the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal between Wootton Top Lock and Crofton Locks in Wiltshire, England. The tunnel is long. It is named after Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury (1729–1814), the loc ...
. The tunnel is named after the local land owner,
Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury Thomas Brudenell-Bruce, 1st Earl of Ailesbury KT (30 April 1729 – 19 April 1814), styled The Honourable Thomas Brudenell until 1747 and known as The Lord Bruce of Tottenham between 1747 and 1776, was a British courtier. Background and educatio ...
(1729–1814), who refused to allow a deep cutting through his property and insisted on a tunnel. The tunnel has
red brick A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
portals, capped with Bath stone, each with a decorative plaque of
Pennant stone The Pennant Measures is the traditional name for a sequence of sedimentary rocks of the South Wales Coalfield. They were also referred to as the Upper Coal Measures and assigned to the Westphalian 'C' and Westphalian 'D' stages of the Carbonifer ...
. The tunnel was begun in 1806 and finished in 1809. It is lined with
English bond Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by siz ...
brickwork and has a wide bore to cope with the Newbury barges used on the canal. There is no towpath through the tunnel, so walkers and cyclists must walk across the top of the hill. When canal boats were pulled by horses the boatmen had to haul their barges through the tunnel by hand, pulling on chains that ran along the inside walls. The
Crofton Locks Crofton Locks are a flight of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near the village of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, England. The nine locks achieve a total rise/fall of 61 ft 0 in (18.5 m) and were built under the supervision of engineer John ...
flight marks the start of the descent from the summit to the Thames; the nine locks have a total rise/fall of . When the canal was built there were no reliable water sources available to fill the summit by normal gravitational means. A number of usable springs were found adjacent to the canal route about east of the summit pound, and about below it, and arrangements were made for them to feed the pound below lock 60 at Crofton. Some years later the
Wilton Water Wilton Water (or Wide Waters) is a small reservoir, southwest of the village of Great Bedwyn in the English county of Wiltshire, which supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. The reservoir lies in the parish of Grafton ...
reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
was created to enhance the supply to this pound using the springs and the River Dun. Water is pumped to the summit at the western end of the locks, from Wilton Water, by the restored
Crofton Pumping Station Crofton Pumping Station, near the village of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England, supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. The steam-powered pumping station is preserved and operates on selected weekends. It contains ...
. The original steam-powered pumping station is preserved and contains one of the oldest operational Watt-style beam engines in the world, dating from 1812. The steam engines still pump water on selected weekends, but for day-to-day operation electric pumps are used, automatically controlled by the water level in the summit pound. Near Crofton is
Savernake Forest Savernake Forest stands on a Cretaceous chalk plateau between Marlborough and Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England. Its area is approximately . Most of the forest lies within the civil parish of Savernake. It is privately owned by the Earl of C ...
and the remains of a railway bridge that carried the
Midland and South Western Junction Railway The Midland and South Western Junction Railway (M&SWJR) was an independent railway built to form a north–south link between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway in England, allowing the Midland and other companies' tr ...
over the canal. Mill Bridge at
Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunton ...
is unusual in being a
skew arch A skew arch (also known as an oblique arch) is a method of construction that enables an arch bridge to span an obstacle at some angle other than a right angle. This results in the faces of the arch not being perpendicular to its abutments and its ...
; on its completion in 1796 it was the first of its kind. From there to
Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
the canal follows the valley of the River Dun through
Freeman's Marsh Freeman's Marsh is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Hungerford in Berkshire. It is in the North Wessex Downs, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site is owned by the Town and Manor ...
, which consists of unimproved meadows, marsh and reedbed. It is an important site for overwintering, migratory and breeding birds, and supports many varieties of flora scarce in Southern England. It was cited by
English Nature English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Environmen ...
in 1986, and forms part of the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. There are plans to construct a marina and hotel complex adjacent to the site, but the potential environmental impacts (particularly to water voles) of such a development on Freeman's Marsh have led to local opposition. To the north of the canal are seven separate small areas, four in the Kennet Valley and three in the Lambourn Valley, which make up the Kennet and Lambourn Floodplain SSSI. Occupying a total of , it supports particularly large populations of
Desmoulin's whorl snail Desmoulin's whorl snail (''Vertigo moulinsiana'') is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc or micromollusc in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails. This species was named in honor of the ea ...
. There are several locks and bridges in Hungerford, including one which carries the A338. Hungerford Marsh Lock is unique on the Kennet and Avon Canal in that it has a swing bridge directly over the centre of the lock that must be opened before the lock may be used. In the area around the lock, called Hungerford Marsh Nature Reserve, more than 120 bird species have been recorded. Between
Kintbury Lock Kintbury Lock is a Canal lock, lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Kintbury, Berkshire, England. The lock has a rise/fall of . See also *List of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal References

Locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal ...
and Newbury, passing to the north of Hamstead Marshall, the canal is very close to the River Kennet, which flows into the canal via several channels. The canal passes through an area known as the Kennet Valley Alderwoods, the largest remaining fragments of damp, ash-alder woodland in the River Kennet
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
. The SSSI includes two woods â€“ the Wilderness and part of Ryott's Plantation â€“ which are important because they support a very great diversity of plants associated with this woodland type, dominated by alder (''
Alnus glutinosa ''Alnus glutinosa'', the common alder, black alder, European alder, European black alder, or just alder, is a species of tree in the family Betulaceae, native to most of Europe, southwest Asia and northern Africa. It thrives in wet locations wh ...
''); though
ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
is abundant in places and there is occasional
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
and
wych elm ''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches i ...
. In addition to the wide range of higher plants the woods support a diverse
bryophyte The Bryophyta s.l. are a proposed taxonomic division containing three groups of non-vascular land plants (embryophytes): the liverworts, hornworts and mosses. Bryophyta s.s. consists of the mosses only. They are characteristically limited in s ...
flora including the uncommon epiphytes ''Radula complanata'', '' Zygodon viridissimus'' and ''Orthotrichum affine''. Nearby is Irish Hill Copse. This site of coppiced
ancient woodland In the United Kingdom, an ancient woodland is a woodland that has existed continuously since 1600 or before in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (or 1750 in Scotland). Planting of woodland was uncommon before those dates, so a wood present in 16 ...
includes an extensive area of calcareous ash/wych elm coppice on the hill sides, merging into wet ash/
maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...
and acid
oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
/ash/ hazel woodland with
aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...
, on the higher parts of the site. The lower slopes are dominated by
dog's mercury ''Mercurialis perennis'', commonly known as dog's mercury, is a poisonous woodland plant found in much of Europe as well as in Algeria, Iran, Turkey, and the Caucasus, but almost absent from Ireland, Orkney and Shetland.herb paris,
toothwort Toothwort is a common name for several plants and may refer to: *''Cardamine'', a genus of plants in the mustard family, Brassicaceae *''Lathraea'', a genus of parasitic plants in the family Orobanchaceae Orobanchaceae, the broomrapes, is a fam ...
, Solomon's seal,
common twayblade ''Neottia ovata'' (formerly ''Listera ovata''), the common twayblade or eggleaf twayblade, is a terrestrial orchid widespread across much of Europe and Asia Description The flowering stems are typically tall, occasionally up to . There are t ...
and
early-purple orchid ''Orchis mascula'', the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae. Description ''Orchis mascula'' is a perennial herbaceous plant with stems up to high, green at the base and ...
s and, locally,
wild daffodil ''Narcissus pseudonarcissus'' (commonly known as wild daffodil or Lent lily) (Welsh: Cennin Pedr) is a perennial flowering plant. This species has pale yellow tepals, with a darker central trumpet. The long, narrow leaves are slightly greyi ...
. A wooden bridge was built over the Kennet at Newbury in 1726, replaced in stone between 1769 and 1772 by James Clarke, and now known as the Town Bridge or Water Bridge. As there is no tow path, a line to haul the barge had to be floated under the bridge and then re-attached to the horse where the tow path resumed.


Newbury to Reading

The River Kennet is navigable from Newbury downstream to the confluence with the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
at Kennet Mouth, in
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...
. The stretch from Newbury to High Bridge in Reading is an improved river navigation known as the ''Kennet Navigation'', opened in 1723. Throughout this navigation stretches of natural riverbed alternate with of artificial lock cuts and a series of locks that overcome a fall of . East of Newbury town centre the Kennet passes through the
Thatcham Reed Beds Thatcham Reed Beds is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Newbury in Berkshire. It is part of the Kennet & Lambourn Floodplain Special Area of Conservation and an area of is a Local Nature Reserve. An area of is manag ...
a Site of Special Scientific Interest, nationally important for its extensive reedbed, and species-rich
alder Alders are trees comprising the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus comprises about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few sp ...
woodland and fen habitats. The latter supports
Desmoulin's whorl snail Desmoulin's whorl snail (''Vertigo moulinsiana'') is a species of minute air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusc or micromollusc in the family Vertiginidae, the whorl snails. This species was named in honor of the ea ...
(''Vertigo moulinsiana''), which is of national and European importance. A large assemblage of breeding birds such as
Cetti's warbler Cetti's warbler (''Cettia cetti'') is a small, brown bush-warbler which breeds in southern and central Europe, northwest Africa and the east Palearctic as far as Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The sexes are alike. The bird is named after t ...
make use of the reedbed, fen and open water habitats found at Thatcham Reed Beds. Thatcham's network of
gravel pit A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either ...
s, reed bed, woodland, hedges and
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...
is rich in wildlife and has been made into
The Nature Discovery Centre The Nature Discovery Centre is a nature reserve in Thatcham in Berkshire. It is managed by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. This site has a variety of habitats including a lake, woodland, reedbeds and hedges. Th ...
by the
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment thr ...
.
Monkey Marsh Lock Monkey Marsh Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Thatcham, Berkshire, England. Monkey Marsh Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury. The canal is administered by Canal & River T ...
at
Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...
is one of only two remaining working examples of turf-sided locks on the canal today. It is listed as a
scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
by English Heritage. Below Colthrop Lock in
Thatcham Thatcham is an historic market town and civil parish in the English county of Berkshire, centred 3 miles (5 km) east of Newbury, 14 miles (24 km) west of Reading and 54 miles (87 km) west of London. Geography Thatcham straddles t ...
the river leaves behind the built-up area of Newbury and runs in generally rural surroundings. It passes through the
Woolhampton Reed Bed Woolhampton Reed Bed is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Woolhampton in Berkshire. This site on London Clay mainly consists of dense reed beds, but there are also areas of carr woodland and tall fen. More than 300 moth sp ...
, another SSSI which consists of dense reed bed with smaller areas of tall
fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich Groundwater, ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetlands along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as ...
vegetation and carr woodland. It is notable for the diversity of insects it supports and its nesting
passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...
bird populations, which include several uncommon species such as
reed warbler The ''Acrocephalus'' warblers are small, insectivorous passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Acrocephalus''. Formerly in the paraphyletic Old World warbler assemblage, they are now separated as the namesake of the marsh and tree warbler f ...
, a species that in Britain nests almost exclusively in this habitat. Aldermaston Gravel Pits consist of mature flooded gravel workings surrounded by dense fringing vegetation, trees and scrub, affording a variety of habitats for breeding birds and a refuge for wildfowl. The irregular shoreline with islands, promontories, sheltered
eutrophic Eutrophication is the process by which an entire body of water, or parts of it, becomes progressively enriched with minerals and nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus. It has also been defined as "nutrient-induced increase in phytoplan ...
pools and narrow lagoons, provides undisturbed habitat for many water birds, including surface-feeding ducks such as
teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is oft ...
and
shoveler The shovelers or shovellers are four species of dabbling ducks with long, broad spatula-shaped beaks: * Red shoveler, ''Anas platalea'' * Cape shoveler, ''Anas smithii'' * Australasian shoveler, ''Anas rhynchotis'' * Northern shoveler, ''Anas c ...
. The surrounding marsh and scrub are important for numerous birds including nine breeding species of
warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers Th ...
s,
water rail The water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the Rallidae, rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are bird migration, migratory, but this species is a perma ...
s,
kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...
s and an important breeding colony of nightingales. In 2002
English Nature English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Environmen ...
bought Aldermaston Gravel Pits from the mineral extraction company Grundon and it is managed as a
nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...
by the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. The
River Kennet The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB (Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which â ...
itself, from near its sources west of Marlborough down to Woolhampton, has been designated as a SSSI primarily because it has an extensive range of rare plants and animals that are unique to
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
watercourses. The village of
Woolhampton Woolhampton is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The village straddles the Bath road between the towns of Reading, to the east, and Newbury, to the west. Geography The village homes are clustered on the northern side o ...
and the canal settlement of Aldermaston Wharf are the only significant settlements until the river enters the built-up area of Reading at
Sheffield Lock Sheffield Lock, at , is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the civil parish of Burghfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is also sometimes known as Shenfield Lock. Sheffield Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervisio ...
in
Theale Theale () is a large village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England, southwest of Reading and 10 miles (16 km) east of Thatcham. The compact parish is bounded to the south and south-east by the Kennet & Avon Canal (which here incorp ...
. Even after this, the river is isolated from Reading's suburbs by a wide
floodplain A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
surrounding the river. In this stretch is
Garston Lock Garston Lock () is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It is near the M4 motorway and near Reading, England. Garston Lock was built between 1718 and 1723 under the supervision of the engineer John Hore of Newbury, and this stretch of the river ...
, the other turf-sided lock on the navigation. Shortly after passing
Fobney Lock Fobney Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in the Small Mead area of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Between the lock cut for the lock and the river itself is Fobney Island, which is a nature reserve. Fobney Lock was built between 1 ...
and the associated
water treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, inc ...
works, the Kennet flood plain narrows and the river enters a narrow steep-sided gap in the hills forming the southern flank of the Thames flood plain. At
County Lock County Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...
the river enters the centre of Reading, where it formerly flowed through the centre of a large brewery. This narrow and twisting stretch of the river became known as
Brewery Gut County Lock is a lock on the River Kennet in Reading town centre in the English county of Berkshire. It is now administered by the Canal & River Trust as part of the Kennet and Avon Canal. Downstream from the lock is Brewery Gut, a particula ...
. Because of poor visibility and the difficulty of boats passing in this stretch, traffic has long been controlled by a set of maritime
traffic light Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic light ...
s. Today the Brewery Gut is a major feature of Reading's The Oracle shopping centre. Immediately after The Oracle the river flows under the arched High Bridge, which forms a historical and administrative divide on the river. The last of the River Kennet in Reading below the bridge has been navigable since at least the 13th century. Because there is no wide floodplain, wharves could be built during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
that allowed Reading to establish itself as a river port. Originally this short stretch of river, which includes
Blake's Lock Blake's Lock is a lock situated on the River Kennet in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is on the short reach of the River Kennet which is administered as if it were part of the River Thames and is hence owned and managed by the Environment ...
, was under the control of
Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...
, but today it is administered by the Environment Agency as if it were part of the River Thames. The Horseshoe Bridge at Kennet Mouth was built as a railway bridge in 1839, and the timber-clad iron-truss
accommodation bridge In the United Kingdom, an accommodation bridge or occupation bridge is one that preserves a pre-existing private road, path or right of access when a major transport route is built across it. Without the bridge, access would be disrupted. Accom ...
was added in 1892.


Canal today

The canal today is a
heritage tourism Cultural heritage tourism (or just heritage tourism) is a branch of tourism oriented towards the cultural heritage of the location where tourism is occurring. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States defines heritage t ...
destination. Boating, with narrowboats and cruisers, is a popular tourist attraction particularly in the summer months. It is a favourite haunt of several famous canal enthusiasts including canal boat veterans and original Kennet and Avon restoration supporters,
Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English former actress, best known for playing Sybil Fawlty, wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy '' Fawlty Towers'', her nomination for a ...
and
Timothy West Timothy Lancaster West, CBE (born 20 October 1934) is an English actor and presenter. He has appeared frequently on both stage and television, including stints in both ''Coronation Street'' (as Eric Babbage) and ''EastEnders'' (as Stan Carte ...
. Privately owned craft and hire boats from the range of marinas are much in evidence, and there are numerous
canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the ter ...
clubs along its length. The annual
Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon The Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon is a marathon canoe race in England. The race is held every Easter over a course of from Devizes in Wiltshire to Westminster in central London. It has been run since 1948. Starting at D ...
starts from Devizes Wharf, the site of the Kennet & Avon Canal Museum, at first light on Good Friday each year and the competitors have to negotiate 75 locks in the route between Devizes and the finish at
Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
. The winning time is usually around hours. Cycling is permitted along the
towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...
except for a section near
Woolhampton Woolhampton is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The village straddles the Bath road between the towns of Reading, to the east, and Newbury, to the west. Geography The village homes are clustered on the northern side o ...
, and some sections have been improved and widened to make them more suitable for cyclists and disabled users. Under a partnership arrangement involving British Waterways,
Sustrans Sustrans is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United K ...
, and the riparian local authorities, two main sections of the canal have been improved, and, with a few short diversions, run from Reading to Marsh Benham and from Devizes to Bath as part of the
National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) is the national cycling route network of the United Kingdom, which was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout Britain, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the cha ...
(NCN) Route 4. Fishing for
bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...
,
tench The tench or doctor fish (''Tinca tinca'') is a fresh- and brackish-water fish of the order Cypriniformes found throughout Eurasia from Western Europe including the British Isles east into Asia as far as the Ob and Yenisei Rivers. It is also ...
, roach,
rudd ''Scardinius'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Cyprinidae commonly called rudds. Locally, the name "rudd" without any further qualifiers is also used for individual species, particularly the common rudd (''S. erythrophthalmus''). Th ...
,
perch Perch is a common name for fish of the genus ''Perca'', freshwater gamefish belonging to the family Percidae. The perch, of which three species occur in different geographical areas, lend their name to a large order of vertebrates: the Per ...
,
gudgeon A gudgeon is a socket-like, cylindrical (i.e., ''female'') fitting attached to one component to enable a pivoting or hinging connection to a second component. The second component carries a pintle fitting, the male counterpart to the gudgeon, ...
,
pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...
and carp is permitted throughout the year from the towpath of the canal, but almost its whole length is leased to angling associations or fishing clubs. There are a variety of riverside
public houses A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
, shops and tea rooms. The Kennet and Avon Canal Trust operates shops and tearooms at Aldermaston Lock, Newbury Wharf,
Crofton Pumping Station Crofton Pumping Station, near the village of Great Bedwyn in Wiltshire, England, supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. The steam-powered pumping station is preserved and operates on selected weekends. It contains ...
,
Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...
, and
Bradford on Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...
.


Ecology

The canal and its environs are important for wildlife conservation. There are several
Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI), which exhibit great
biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
. Key sites that are home to several rare species include the Aldermaston Gravel Pits,
Woolhampton Woolhampton is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The village straddles the Bath road between the towns of Reading, to the east, and Newbury, to the west. Geography The village homes are clustered on the northern side o ...
,
Thatcham Reed Beds Thatcham Reed Beds is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest east of Newbury in Berkshire. It is part of the Kennet & Lambourn Floodplain Special Area of Conservation and an area of is a Local Nature Reserve. An area of is manag ...
, and
Freeman's Marsh Freeman's Marsh is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the northern outskirts of Hungerford in Berkshire. It is in the North Wessex Downs, which is an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The site is owned by the Town and Manor ...
,
Hungerford Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, west of Newbury, east of Marlborough, northeast of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the ...
. There are also many non-statutory nature reserves along the canal. More than 100 different species of bird have been recorded in surveys over the length of the canal, of which 38 could be classified as specialist waterway birds, including
grey heron The grey heron (''Ardea cinerea'') is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more norther ...
,
reed bunting The common reed bunting (''Emberiza schoeniclus'') is a passerine bird in the bunting family Emberizidae, a group now separated by most modern authors from the finches, Fringillidae. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old German ''Embritz'', a ...
and kingfisher. Fourteen species have been confirmed as breeding including sand martins, which nest in drain-pipes in the brick walls of the canal in the centre of Reading.
Wilton Water Wilton Water (or Wide Waters) is a small reservoir, southwest of the village of Great Bedwyn in the English county of Wiltshire, which supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. The reservoir lies in the parish of Grafton ...
by
Crofton Locks Crofton Locks are a flight of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near the village of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, England. The nine locks achieve a total rise/fall of 61 ft 0 in (18.5 m) and were built under the supervision of engineer John ...
and the Kennet Valley
gravel pit A gravel pit is an open-pit mine for the extraction of gravel. Gravel pits often lie in river valleys where the water table is high, so they may naturally fill with water to form ponds or lakes. Old, abandoned gravel pits are normally used either ...
s provide habitats for breeding and wintering waterfowl. Several species of
Odonata Odonata is an order of flying insects that includes the dragonflies and damselflies. Members of the group first appeared during the Triassic, though members of their total group, Odonatoptera, first appeared in Late Carboniferous. The two com ...
(
dragonflies A dragonfly is a flying insect belonging to the infraorder Anisoptera below the order Odonata. About 3,000 extant species of true dragonfly are known. Most are tropical, with fewer species in temperate regions. Loss of wetland habitat threa ...
and damselflies) and other invertebrates have also been recorded.
Common reed ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of plant. It is a broadly distributed wetland grass that can grow up to tall. Description ''Phragmites australis'' commonly forms extensive stands (known as reed beds), which may ...
is among the plant species growing along the edges of the canal. Measures to preserve and create water vole habitat have had considerable impact on the restoration of the canal, and new "vole-friendly" techniques of bank protection have been developed.


See also

*
List of locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon Canal is a canal in southern England. The name may refer to either the route of the original Kennet and Avon Canal Company, which linked the River Kennet at Newbury to the River Avon at Bath, or to the entire navigation betw ...
*
Waterways in the United Kingdom Water transport played a vital role in the UK's industrial development. The beginning of the 19th century saw a move from roads to waterways, (i.e. canals, rivers, firths, and estuaries). Rivers in the United Kingdom Major navigable rivers in ...


Notes


Sources

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External links


The Kennet and Avon Canal trust

National Cycle Route 4
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennet and Avon Canal Canals in Berkshire Canals in Somerset Canals in Wiltshire Somerset coalfield Tourist attractions in Somerset Tourist attractions in Wiltshire Canals opened in 1723 Canals opened in 1810 CKennetandAvon 1723 establishments in England