The Kennet and Avon Canal

Monday 3rd September
Leaving Hanham lock we made good progress heading upstream against a very limited flow. The Avon along this stretch is deep making easy cruising and we soon arrived at the lock at Keynsham.

The Avon below Bath

The lock is over looked by the imposing former Fry's Chocolate factory now sadly being converted into apartments. The factory became Cadbury's before finally been bought out by Kraft (Mondelez). Kraft closed the factory in 2011 despite assurances to the contrary, moving production to Poland. The famous names made here in the past included Fry's Chocolate Cream, Double Deckers and Crunchies.

The old Frys Factory

 Moving on we passed the Lock Keeper pub and the large Portavon Marina before rejoining the river, to soon arrive at the moorings at Bitton, we moored here two years ago but there was no chance of getting in there  now as the moorings were full of some of  the many boats that hang around these parts. Travelling through some lovely scenery we continued through Swineford,Saltford, Kelston and Weston locks before arriving in the outskirts of Bath.
At Kelston lock we found another boat ahead of us hanging around in the lock chamber with just one paddle half open, we were told that he was waiting for someone and didn't want to proceed, however, he finally agreed to fill the lock and move on.

Bath and Pulteney Weir from the river

On our arrival in Bath we decided to carry on the short distance upstream up to Pulteney Weir before winding and returning to the entrance to the first of the six locks up onto the canal.
Arriving at the second lock, which was empty, we found another couple of boats waiting above, they were just starting to fill the chamber, one of the deepest on the system, we pointed out that we were waiting to come up but they refused to stop and let us in, thus wasting a lock full of water. This is critical here because the short pound above is barely passable after two lock fulls have been removed from it. We had no choice other than to wait, another boat appeared from behind and joined us when we finally got to enter the lock. Having filled the lock we had to be very careful crossing the pound above as there was just enough water to get through.
The remaining four locks were trouble free and we arrived at the moorings just above the last one to spend a couple of nights here.
Bath is a beautiful city with plenty to see, much of which is documented elsewhere.
On Tuesday I decided to change the engine oil as we had reached the 250 hrs change interval following which we went off to explore the city. We had lunch in the Volunteer Rifleman's Arms, a great traditional pub away from the main tourist areas, we can recommend visiting here as the beer and food are both excellent.

Wednesday 5th September
Leaving Bath on a cool but sunny morning, we set off towards Bradford upon Avon passing through Bathampton and its sharp ninety degree turn. We had decided to stop and have a look at Claverton Pumping station en route and soon arrived at the substantial moorings adjacent to the lane leading down to the pumping station. We tied up and walked down to have a look around, crossing the busy Great Western railway line immediately before the pumps.
The current pumps are electric and take water from the Avon upto the canal, replacing the water lost to the locks at Bath. The original pumping station is driven by a pair of waterwheels, unfortunately  the building was closed so we walked along the leat leading to the weir built to feed the pumps.
Whilst here we noticed a few people preparing to swim in the river, it turns out that this is one of the best known wild swimming spots in the country.

Claverton Weir a Wild Swimming Mecca

Claverton Pumping Station

The weather was perfect for  painting so we decided to stay and tidy up the port side that had suffered over the summer.
The next day required an early start as we had arranged to meet old friends Fran and Taff in Bradford Upon. Avon. The morning was gorgeous and typical of this time of year, there was mist rising from the canal and river into a beautiful blue sky. The scene reminded us that summer was now slipping into autumn, the fruits in the hedges and trees dripping with an early dew.
The heat from the sun began to increase as we got underway, soon arriving at the facilities adjacent to the first of two iconic aqueducts at Dundas. The Somerset Coal canal leaves the mainline here but our route took a sharp left turn to cross to the north side of the valley.

Approaching Avoncliff Aqueduct

Steady cruising due to moored boats brought us to Avoncliffe to recross the valley before arriving at Bradford, fortunately finding the last available mooring below the town lock.
This little town is very busy particularly around the canal, with three pubs, a cafe and busy hire boat base, all located around the lock.

The Tithe Barn at Bradford Upon Avon

We walked up and met Fran and Taff, it was 1986 when we last sawt Fran and its was great to see them both again, we had an enjoyable lunch in the Lock Inn, a quirky place that has morphed from cafe to pub over the years and is now very popular even this late on in the season.
Saying our goodbyes, we walked down into the town, there are a few shops here but more substantial supplies can be found at the Sainsbury store about 10 minutes walk from the lock, on the Trowbridge road.
Friday morning we were underway early, passing through the town lock before calling at the facilities above. We set off towards Devizes passing through Hilperton  where we called to take on fuel, prior to the fuel stop there is a household recycling centre and I decided to walk up and see if I could dispose of the old engine oil, unfortunately Friday is the one day of the week they close so I returned  to the boat and will have to find somewhere later.
We continued through the seven locks at Semington and Seend, there are good moorings opposite the Barge Inn at Seend, there are also useful facilities here too as we discovered on our last visit, this time, however, we had decided to press on and find a mooring by the Three Magpies at Sells Green, unfortunately the moorings were full, mainly of boats that certainly don't look as if they move very far, something that was becoming more and more apparent as we progressed. We were starting to become concerned that we may have to moor part way up the Caen Hill flight.
Immediately before the locks is Foxhangers Wharf, a busy hire boat base, luckily we found, to our relief, that there are two day visitor moorings opposite so we tied up and relaxed before the busy morning ahead.

Saturday 8th September
The climb begins.... Caen Hill locks consist of 29 locks, there are 13 spaced out but the middle 16 make up the famous flight with each lock immediately following the next with a very short pound between, there are also side pounds to help maintain the water levels between each lock. Clearly such a flight of locks on a busy section of canal can consume a considerable amount of water. To reduce the losses, a system of pumps has been installed to return water to the top of the flight, it was good to see that the large pumping station at the bottom was largely powered by a field full of solar panels installed close by, there is an interesting information board with live data showing the amount of energy provided by the sun.
We got underway, immediately entering the first lock, we had waited but no other boats had turned up so we decided to go up alone. We soon got up the seven locks arriving at the bottom of the "sixteen" in readiness for the ascent, we noticed a boat behind us but this was a widebeam so unfortunately unable to share the locks with us.

The 16 lock flight at Caen Hill

View from the top

There was a boat descending the flight and they were being helped by a lock keeper, as we passed each other, three locks up, the lock keeper then joined us. We made good progress and were soon joined by another two lock keepers, they were preparing the locks in front of us and with all this help we were up the steep flight in 1.5 hrs. We had another six locks to do before arriving in Devizes and our mooring for the night.
We like Devizes, it is a small typical market town with a large market square and a good shopping centre with many shops, it is also the home of Wadworth's brewery. The town boasts many pubs, one of the oldest is the Lamb Inn, close to the site of the castle. This pub is one of only five that has a shooting range in the tap room, the range is basically a stone tube with a target at the end. Reputably this was installed to provide a practice facility during the civil war, where people were expected to practice their aim even when spending a night in the inn. We had to ask the landlord if he would  open the room for us and he willingly obliged.
The following morning we decided to press on as we had arranged to meet my brother, John and his wife Tracy who were in the area that day. There is a long pound from Devizes, some fourteen miles long, providing welcome relief from the locks. This stretch of canal is one of the busiest we  have been on with moored boats for mile after mile, on our last trip along here we had passed a busy pub, campsite and good moorings, just west of Honeystreet. It was a shame to see that the pub and campsite have now closed and the moorings over run by some of the many permanent moorers.

A typical scene on this canal

The scenery on this stretch is fascinating, with the high Wessex Downs to the north and views across to Salisbury Plain to the south. The hills to the north hint to times past with ancient terracing and white horse carved in to the hills overlooking the canal, on tick over passing the moored boats one certainly gets plenty of time to take in the sites.

The Pewsey White Horse (more grey these days)

Hillside Terracing

We passed the charming Pewsey Wharf,  with full boater facilities including a popular pub, before starting the climb to the summit of the canal.
We had arranged to meet John and Tracy just above the first lock at Wooten Rivers and, amazingly, they arrived just as we were leaving the lock. There are good moorings here, again there were moored boats but with a bit of shuffling we managed to squeeze in.
We walked up into the village just to the north of the canal, it is a charming little place and virtually all the buildings had thatched roofs, all combining to make a "chocolate box" image of old England.
We called at the Royal Oak for dinner, and the pub sat squarely with the image outside being a quintessential English pub offering beer straight from the barrel, a good range of gins as well as an extensive menu. Our choices all proved to be delicious. Saying our goodbyes to John and Tracy we settled down for a very peaceful night in wonderful surroundings.
Regrettably I forgot to take any pictures of this charming spot so I suggest if you are ever in the area make the detour to see it for yourself, I am confident you won't be disappointed.

Monday 10th September

Burbage wharf on the summit pound

 Our target today is Hungerford, some fourteen miles and twenty three locks away, so an early start was required. We had three locks to climb before reaching the short summit pound and its tunnel under the Tottenham Estate, built to appease the fears of the incumbent of the large house who was afraid that the canal would ruin the parkland around his home. The pound is only a couple of miles long and can, therefore, suffer varying water levels, our transit across was, thankfully, uneventful with plenty of water in the canal.

Bruce Tunnel

A shadowy figure in the tunnel

Soon after leaving the tunnel we reached the first of the fifty two locks making up the descent to the Thames. The first flight of the descent is the Crofton flight consisting of seven locks passing the famous Crofton Pumping station, good moorings are provided here for those wanting to visit the station, something not to be missed.
The Pumping station was built to supply water to the summit as there are no reservoirs at the top, water is taken from a lake fed by springs and we noted that this was full during our visit.The station is home to two beam engines powered by steam generated in two large Lancashire boilers. Occasionally they have steaming days showing the pumps operating in all their glory. Further details can be seen at https://www.croftonbeamengines.org/

Crofton Engine House

Crofton Feeder Lake

These days the water is pumped using electric pumps with occasional help from the steam engines.
We visited the station on our last visit here so we continued down the flight, progress is impeded by the requirement for most of these locks to be left empty, ok for us as we were going down, but, as no boats were coming up, we had to fill each one before we could enter.
Just before reaching Great Bedwyn we caught up with another boat on its way down to Hungerford so were able to join them through the remaining locks of the day.

The K&A Trus't horse drawn trip boat

A little further on we arrived at Little Bedwyn locks, we remembered out last time here, we were travelling in the opposite direction then and as we approached the lock we saw someone stood by the lock with a camera, at first we thought it was a woman but as we drew closer we realised it was a man dressed as a woman, but there was no attempt to disguise the fact he was a man. He and his colleague, who was stood on the nearby railway bridge were waiting for a steam train to pass by and because Lucia had engaged him in conversation the train went by and he missed his chance to photograph it! luckily for him the engine had been replaced by a diesel loco so he wasn't too bothered.
We continued our descent finally reaching Hungerford and, luckily, managed to find moorings for both boats.
We had arranged to meet family again here on Tuesday, this time Dad, my sister Carole and husband Jim. They arrived in the morning and we had a walk around the town, it is a small linear town on the side of the hill with its main street being intersected by the London to Taunton railway line. It seems to have more than its fair share of Antique shops as well as a few other useful shops.
We had an agreeable if somewhat expensive lunch at the John O'Gaunt Inn just north of the canal bridge.
On Wednesday we continued our descent down to Newbury, progress was easy as we joined forces with a timeshare boat, there were four crew on board and due to the frequency of the locks they walked ahead so most were set ready for us as we arrived. Finally arriving at Newbury we decided to have the following day off and get the washing done at the local laundrette.
We used the Laundry Basket located close to the canal just east of Newbury Marina.
Newbury is another typical English market town, with all the usual shops and a busy market square, particularly in the evening with its wide selection of pubs and eating places.

Newbury Wharf

Friday 14th September
Another busy day today, complicated by the fact that the lift bridge at Aldermaston was only being operated twice a day due to a fault. We left Newbury and made our way down to Aldermaston on a very quiet canal only passing a couple of boats on our way down, we passed through the lock before the bridge with an hour to wait before the 4pm opening, this finally happened at 4.30 and CRT had a volunteer on hand to marshal the boats through. Below the bridge we were assisted through the next couple of locks by a party of ex navy who were celebrating their 30 year reunion by hiring a boat for the weekend, needless to say this made an entertaining end to the days proceedings. We finally arrived at Theale at 7pm tired and hungry.

Woolhampton Swing Bridge

We are now six and a half miles and seven locks away from the Thames at Reading, and reflecting back on our trip along this canal we agreed it was a lot better than we were anticipating as our memory was of a lot of locks and struggles against high river flows.

One of the unusual "Turf Locks" unique to the K&A
This was also the most heavily defended during the war, overlooked by two Pill Boxes

Whilst there are a lot of locks we were travelling downstream on the Kennet this time making for a much easier passage, with only the high flow through Reading to consider before turning north on the Thames and new waters for us.

Saturday 15th September
The trip down to Reading is mostly done on the deep waters of the Kennet, I was not looking forward to this section as bad memories of our trip in the other direction loomed large. I needn't have worried as we were carried swiftly along the deep river on a beautiful morning with warm sunshine and blue skies.
We soon arrived in Reading passing through the traffic light controlled section through the middle of the busy Oracle Shopping Centre, before arriving at the last lock, dropping us onto the Thames.

Looking back at the Oracle

Reading Bridge

The last lock is operated by the Environment Agency so the lock gear is totally different to that on CRT waters.
We reached Kennet Mouth at what is a rather dreary junction over shadowed by a large gasometer and railway arches, a sharp turn to port put us on the large waters of the Thames for the next chapter of our adventures.

The Thames junction

Looking back at Kennet Mouth