Introduction

The Kennet & Avon Canal as it is now is the combination of three navigations – the Kennet Navigation from Reading to Newbury opened in 1723; the Avon Navigation from Bath to Bristol opened in 1727 and the Kennet & Avon Canal proper from Newbury to Bath built between 1797 and 1810. The peak of commercial success for the navigation was in the period 1824-1839. With the opening of the Great Western Railway in June 1841 long distance traffic rapidly fell away and in 1852 the GWR bought out the K & A Canal Company. Local traffic continued but in 1926 the GWR tried to abandon the canal. This attempt failed and a programme of repairs and dredging was put in hand to allow navigation to continue. With Nationalisation in 1948 control passed first to the Railway Executive and in 1949 to the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive. By 1951 through passage became impossible and a further attempt at abandonment was made in 1955 but the massive public opposition organised by the newly formed Kennet & Avon Canal Association ultimately defeated this. The British Waterways Board became responsible for the canal in 1963. A restoration programme was now possible and the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust embarked on the daunting task of restoring the canal to full operation. Through navigation was achieved when the Queen formally re-opened the canal on 8 August 1990. To secure the canal for the future major engineering work needed to be undertaken. This has been undertaken through a Heritage Lottery Funded scheme costing £29.4 million over 6 years which will be completed in December 2002. The end result is a historic waterway secured for a future of sustainable use by people with a wide range of interests.

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The Kennet & Avon Canal is a broad waterway across Southern England connecting the River Thames at Reading to the tidal River Avon at Bristol and then to the Severn Estuary. From the water meadows of the Kennet Valley the canal climbs up to the open chalk downland of the Marlborough Downs, through the Bruce Tunnel  at its summit the canal then descends to cross the Vale of Pewsey along the 15-mile Long Pound to reach Devizes. From Devizes the canal descends the spectacular Caen Hill flight of 29 locks and further flights at Seend and Semington to reach the Avon Valley at Bradford on Avon. Crossing the River Avon by the Avoncliff and Dundas Aqueducts as it threads through the Limpley Stoke valley to reach the World Heritage Site of the City of Bath where the canal descends through  Georgian Bath to join the River Avon  and then on to meet the tidal river at Hanham and the link to the Floating Harbour of the City of Bristol for the navigable link to the Severn Estuary.

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The long history and great variety of countryside through which the canal passes has created a unique waterway capable of satisfying the interests of a wide range of people.

 Use the navigation bar above to follow your special interest.

Boating ~ Top

 “… Dam You, if y. Work a bote any more to Newbery wee will Kill You if ever you come any more this way, wee was very near shooting you last time, wee went with to pistols and was not too Minnets too Late. The next time your Boat Lays at Redding Loaded, Dam You, wee will bore hols in her and sink her so Dont come to starve our fammeleys and our Masters …”  Anonymous letter 12 July 1725.

Times have changed a great deal and a warm welcome now awaits all boating visitors to Reading and the Kennet & Avon Canal.

 The Kennet & Avon Canal exists only because of the commercial need for improved transport as the Agricultural Age moved into the Industrial Age. Navigation is the fundamental use of the waterway and today this is represented largely by leisure boating. Narrowboats are now the dominant type of craft using the waterway but as a broad waterway a variety of wide boats can also be met with. Approximately 1500 boats are based on the Kennet & Avon Canal and these include about 80 hire boats, passenger trip boats and hotel boats. A considerable number of boats visit the canal from other parts of the inland waterway network each year. Most visitors will enter from the River Thames at Reading.

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Blakes Lock is the only Environmental Agency Lock on the K & A and is the gateway from the River Thames. The Kennet as it passes through the centre of Reading has been transformed by the construction of The Oracle shopping centre on its banks. The one-way traffic-light controlled section through the once notorious High Bridge and Brewery Gut section still remains in use. For visitors from the Thames the most important change to note is that the river is much narrower and the current can at times have a significant effect. For visitors coming on to the Kennet from the western canal sections they will have first met the river Kennet between Copse and Hampstead Marshall locks but the River Kennet proper will be met below Newbury Lock. For an upstream Navigation Guide Click Here and for a downstream Navigation Guide Click Here.

The major engineering works under Heritage Lottery Funded Project to complete the restoration work on the canal have been completed. Current work is providing additional visitor mooring facilities; improved sanitary stations with self-operated pump out facilities; by-washes to locks so that they don’t need to be left empty; improvements to car parking facilities and interpretation support. ACE members are the main providers of services to boaters and their services will be found in the Directory. For a wider range of services and information about the areas through which the canal passes see the various sites on the Links page.

The Caen Hill flight of 29 locks at Devizes is one of the major engineering wonders of any canal. Only the central section between Locks 29 and 44 is now controlled and with restricted access times.

British Waterways’ jurisdiction ends at Hanham Lock and beyond the navigation controlled by the City of Bristol Port Authority. Click Here for further details concerning navigation and licensing.

 Click Here for the Boaters’ Code.

 Canoeing ~ Top

The Kennet & Avon Canal is home to what has become one of the major long-distance international canoeing races – The Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race. This 125-mile race is held over the Easter Weekend. Senior classes cover the route non-stop whilst Juniors stop overnight in Newbury and Marlow. Visit www.dwrace.org.uk for information about the race’s history, rules and entry details. Other races based on Newbury (www.watersides.fsnet.co.uk) and Reading act as a forerunner to this major event. Information about canoeing in general can be found at www.bcu.org.uk.

In addition to competitive canoeing the canal provides excellent water for cruising by kayak or Canadian canoe. BCU membership includes a British Waterways’ permit for canoeing.

 Click Here for the Canoeists’ Code.

 Walking ~  Top

The Kennet & Avon Canal towpath provides a continuous Public Right of Way from Reading to Bristol. Continuing improvements to the towpath seek to provide a wide, safe and accessible surface and trouble-free walking conditions. From Reading to Great Bedwyn the local railway service provides good access to many parts of the canal. Details of the services can be obtained from www.thames-trains.co.uk. Rail access returns between Trowbridge, Bradford on Avon, Bath and Bristol with services provided by Wales & West www.walesandwest.co.uk .

Bus services with access to the canal between Reading and Newbury are provided by Reading Buses www.reading-buses.co.uk. Wiltshire Bus provides services in the central area  with the ‘Wigglybus’ service providing access to several of the more remote villages in the Vale of Pewsey. BadgerLine www.firstbadgerline.co.uk  serves the West Wiltshire, Bath and Bristol areas.

Other useful contacts:

• TRAVELINE on 0870 608 2 608

• NATIONAL RAIL ENQUIRIES on 08457 48 49 50

•  Timetable leaflets, booklets and maps for public transport services in Wiltshire can be obtained by ringing Wiltshire County Council on 01225 713000 or by emailing buses@wiltshire.gov.uk

 Click Here for the Towpath Users’ Code

Cycling ~  Top

Cycling is a permitted use for most of the length of the towpath. Currently an individual Cycle Pass is required but shortly the Local Authorities will fund general access for all. Contact British Waterways in Devizes (01380 722859) for the up-to-date position. The towpath surface has been improved for cycling by funding through Sustrans  - www.sustrans.org.uk. The section from Reading to Bath is part of the National Cycling Route No. 4 from London to St Davids and for the most part uses the Kennet & Avon Canal towpath.  See the Directory for details of cycle hire.

Click Here for the Cyclists’ Code.

 Angling ~  Top

The Kennet & Avon Canal is noted for the quality and variety of its fisheries. However, most of the fishing is under the control of Angling Clubs with only limited day licence angling available. Coarse fishing is also available in adjacent gravel pits. In the upper Kennet valley, trout fishing is available and there are commercial trout farms close to the canal. The improved water quality of the Thames estuary has provided conditions for the return of salmon to the River Thames. The weirs on the Kennet are now provided with special passes to enable salmon to reach potential spawning areas.

 Click Here for the Anglers’ Code.

Birdwatching ~  Top

Recent surveys have identified up to 103 different species of bird over the length of the canal. Of these 38 could be classified as specialist waterway birds with 14 species confirmed as breeding. Sand Martins nest in the drain-pipes set in the brick walls of the canal in the centre of Reading. The relatively rare Reed Bunting is found in many parts of the canal. Wilton Water and the Kennet Valley gravel pits provide significant habitats for breeding and wintering waterfowl. The Red Kite has also been seen in the Great Bedwyn area as it extends its range over the Downs from its base in the Chilterns.

Conservation ~  Top

The Kennet & Avon Canal now provides facilities for people with many different interests. Some of these interests could be a source of potential conflict between users with different interests. Managing the canal to protect its fabric and sustain the canal for all its users now and in the future is a major task for British Waterways. A key requirement of the Heritage Lottery Funded Restoration work, which is now almost completed, was the early production of a Conservation Plan. Surveys of the Built Heritage, Landscape Heritage, Ecology and Visitor Amenity were undertaken and analyses made to assess their significance. From this a management plan has been developed to form the basis for conservation and sustainable development.

 Several Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) are found along and close to the Kennet & Avon Canal. They exhibit great bio-diversity and are homes to several rare species. The most important are the Aldermaston Gravel Pits, Woolhampton and Thatcham Reed Beds and Freemans Marsh, Hungerford. There are also many non-statutory nature reserves throughout the length of the canal. The area is particular rich in the range of species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies).

The Water Vole is a species which is under considerable threat. The Kennet & Avon canal forms one of its most important habitats. Measures to preserve and create vole habitat have had considerable impact on the restoration scheme and new techniques of bank protection have been developed which are ‘vole friendly’.

Copies of the Conservation Plan can be obtained from British Waterways in Devizes priced £40.

Heritage ~  Top

The canal has a long history and has been built, developed, repaired and restored using the technology and resources available to each age to meet the circumstances of the time. The earliest construction on the River Kennet used mainly elm and oak timber. The construction of a new Monkey Marsh lock at Thatcham enabled a full archaeological excavation of the old original lock to take place.  Garston Lock is the only remaining example of an early turf-sided lock and a Grade 2 listed structure.  The influence of the Great Western Railway can be seen in the use of old Broad-gauge railway lines to frame the central part of the chamber. Garston is also the site for two of the many WWII pillboxes which were constructed in 1940 as part of the GHQ ‘Blue’ anti-invasion defence line along the line of the Kennet & Avon Canal from Burghfield to Bradford on Avon. They are also Grade 2 listed structures.

The availability of Bath stone at the western end of the canal and its dominance as the construction material of the age has provided the canal with many historic and beautiful structures. The Dundas Aqueduct is perhaps the finest of these (Grade 1). The need to climb from the Avon Valley to the high level Vale of Pewsey has resulted in the magnificent Caen Hill flight of 29 locks. A major problem in crossing the high chalk downs was a reliable source of water and the means of making it available at the summit. John Rennie solved this by the construction of a spring-fed reservoir at Wilton Water and pumps at Crofton to raise the water to the summit. The latest technology was put to use in the form of the 1812 Boulton & Watt steam-driven beam engine – now the oldest steam engine in the world still in its original location performing its original function and also a Grade 1 structure. Now fully restored and open on a regular basis to the public with steaming weekends each month from April to October.