Kennet and Avon Canal Section 5 Kintbury to Bedwyn

Turning Circle

Our second day on this latest trip to the canal started at the last station of the commuter line from London, which rather curiously is the very rural Bedwyn.  It seems rather an arbitrary place to terminate the line and is about as far as you can imagine a London commuter station to look like.  Anyhow, it does mean that this is the last ‘easy’ stage of the route westwards along the canal for the next station at Pewsey is further away and after that there are no stations at all for a while.  All that though is for another day as this time we headed back to where we had finished yesterday at Kintbury.

Large House at Kintbury

Our route today would take us through the small town of Hungerford back to Bedwyn; a distance of 8 miles.  We hoped that we weren’t pushing the girls too much but had remembered that they completed a similar distance out of Reading on day 1.  The start of the day was a bit grey as the early morning mist and swirling low cloud hadn’t burnt off quite yet.  It did make for cool and clammy conditions to begin with, but none of us were particularly complaining for it had got a little hot the day before.

Goods and Chattles

We passed a cycling family eating their breakfast and soon realised that they weren’t the only ones.  Kintbury seemed gripped with breakfast fever as many of the canal boats had the various aromas of coffee, bacon, eggs and toast all wafting over the towpath.  Fortunately we had already had a substantial breakfast otherwise the smell of all this cooking would have been torture!

Poppy Side

Kintbury is obviously a very popular stop for boating traffic for the line up of boats was surprisingly long considering that we had not seen a moving vessel east of here for some miles.  Some of the vessels were not here for pleasure though as the banging and sawing sounds revealed.  I guess maintenance and DIY is a common theme for Sunday mornings in this corner of Berkshire.

Orange Tip Butterfly

At the next bridge though the moorings gave way to clear canal once again and at this point the clouds finally drifted away to reveal the true nature of the day, which was going to be another hot one.  We passed a very large and ornate house on the left hand bank and off into open countryside.  Bridges seemed to come along at regular intervals on this section and the number of locks seemed to increase too, suggesting that we were heading uphill a little more quickly.

Wire Lock Bridge

The path passed through some lovely shading woodland for awhile before coming out into open fields once again.  This change in scenery was to happen a number of times during the day, providing a nice balance between the two.  Along the towpath the flowers were attracting a number of butterflies, including small tortoiseshells and orange tips which were the most eye catching. 

Yellow Flag

We crossed under the railway and then across the canal itself to resume our trip down the left hand side.  Curiously this was to be the only canal crossing of the whole day.  Across the other side of the canal was the unmistakable features of an old mill, this one called Dunmill. It looked like the old place had had a significant facelift for the brickwork in places looked very new.  I suspect it is now luxury apartments although it was impossible to see them properly from our side of the water.

Dunmill Lock

The town of Hungerford soon came upon us and we took the opportunity to head into town for a little looks around. Sadly the first thing I think about Hungerford is that awful day in 1987 when a large number of people were shot dead by a deranged gunman in what was the first event of its type on this shores.  The fact that it happened in this fairly sleepy but very picturesque town makes it all the more shocking.  By now the day was getting properly hot and so we thought that a nice cold lemonade in the nearest pub would help flagging spirits.  We took the opportunity to sit out in the street and watch the world go by, which was very pleasant. 

Hungerford Town Hall

On the way back to the canal we caught sight of a very pleasant looking bakery, which to our surprise was actually open on this Sunday lunchtime.  I always have a hard time passing a bakery shop and it wasn’t hard to persuade me to go inside.  We grabbed some snacks and made our way back to the canal for our journey westwards.  As with Newbury the canal seemed to find a course through the town that did not seem to prolong the urban stretch very much.  The last sight before we headed into the open meadows was a view of the large and well appointed church that wasn’t dissimilar in style to the one we had passed in Newbury yesterday.

Hungerford Church

As we wandered along the towpath through the meadows to the west of Hungerford I got the unlikely sight of a canal boat coming towards me sporting a Brighton and Hove Albion flag, my local team in Sussex. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity of a photo & we exchanged pleasantries as he chugged by.  A little further on and we passed a sadly derelict house before finally finding the seat we had been looking for to stop and eat our snack.

Albion Fan

We passed under the railway once again and our onward walk from here seemed to be very much more open in character. We seemed to have finally left the woodland behind and the canal followed a much straighter course.  This had the effect of the mileage seeming to be chalked off more quickly but it also meant that there was less interest overall.  Every so often the trains thundered or rattled by, depending on whether it was a stopper or an express.  The difference between the two could be identified long before they passed by.

Derelict Lock Keeper's House

A couple of miles of pleasant but unremarkable countryside ensued with the main interest points being offered by the canal-side flowers in the shape of some lovely yellow flag irises and the odd orchid that hid surreptitiously in the grass.  We also passed by a section of canal that was being repaired, which forced us out into the neighbouring road.  Other than this annoyance though we largely had the towpath to ourselves until we got to Bedwyn.

Southern Marsh Orchid

Our arrival at Bedwyn was prefaced by another long line of boats, although this time there was a lot less activity.  We took our leave of the canal after eight miles and four and a half hours of walking - a pretty good effort from the girls & with no complaints.  The only sadness this time was that we didn’t have a third day as we had had last time out.  This was an enjoyable walk but short on highlights after Hungerford.  A stop at this small town is surely a must though for any walkers/ cyclists/ boaters along this stretch.

Burnt Mill Footbridge

Kennet and Avon Canal Section 4 Newbury to Kintbury

Newbury Market

Only a month after our last trip and we were eager to get back for more although this time we didn't have the luxury of a bank holiday so had to settle for a two day trip.  The weather had not promised anything other than being dry so it was particularly good to see some sunshine out when we got to Newbury.  We parked at the small station of Kintbury and took the short train journey to Newbury.  When we arrived it was rather busier than last time out & the town itself was busy with Saturday market traffic.

Feeding the Swans at Newbury

We wandered over to the park where we had completed last time out & found that it was full of kids and families out enjoying the warm sunshine.  It was quite a contrast to the deserted state that we found it in before.  We relieved ourselves of our picnic lunch in the park to enable us to have light loads for our walk today.

Newbury Lock

With full tummies and a sweet in mouth to get ourselves going we headed along the canal after lunch.  Like so many towns the canal seems to manage to avoid most of the built up area.  The town of Newbury seems to have grown up around the canal with it being only incidental to the town.  In that sense canals are very different to rivers, which tend to be the focal point and reason for being in many towns.  However, we crossed the main shopping street at level and for a moment at least we witnessed the hustle and bustle of the place.

Newbury Church

The busy High Street was a fleeting moment in otherwise peaceful surroundings and the canal cut a channel past the substantial church and past some beautiful old buildings that I guess were built around the same time as the canal (if not before).  There was also some buildings that clearly had some canal use although inevitably these are now just residential places.

Reflections at Newbury Wharf

Newbury is clearly a popular spot for mooring canal craft as the queue of boats continued for a long way along the towpath.  Eventually they petered out just before a rather strange looking wall on the opposite shore.  It turned out that this belonged to a long lost railway to Lambourn, which closed to passengers in 1960 and never managed to reopen despite an attempt to preserve it as a heritage railway.  It has now almost completely returned to nature here, with the brick wall of the bridge abutment as the only clue of its existence.  The bridge also rather strangely marked the limit of the built up area of Newbury and it would be countryside from now on.

Newbury By-Pass

Our progress westwards was along rather a straighter canal than we had been used to thus far.  We swapped to the other bank at Enborne Bridge and this was surprisingly the last time we would do this on this section.  According to the interpretive board here this was something of a milestone as we had moved officially from improved river to cut canal and this probably explained why we were now following a much straighter course.

Pickletimber Bridge

The next bridge was far less sympathetic to its surroundings as it carries the main A34 Newbury By-pass.  This was perhaps the most controversial road scheme of the 1990s and the one that became the watchword for fights between the Government and environmentalists.  I suspect it even contributed to the pulling of the plug of so many other subsequent road schemes.  Even though the environmentalists lost the battle here they could arguably have won the war on road building.  For my part I have mixed feelings about road schemes.  As a motorist I get frustrated by bottle necks, but as a walker I value the countryside.  It’s a very difficult one to balance.  However, I couldn’t help but smile at the permanent marker under the bridge.  The design had been celebrated by the Concrete Society and yet the environmentalists had also managed to scrawl ‘death to 10 thousand trees’ on it as the plaque had been placed.  I wonder what the local population made of the canal when it was first built?

Lunchtime

The climbing was still slow and steady with another lock just after the by-pass bridge.  We had already passed three locks and so far they had all been uphill since Reading.  We briefly headed through a wooded section of canal and under the wonderfully named Pickletimber Railway Bridge.  As we approached we heard the distinctive rumble of a train but for a change it wasn't one of the ubiquitous Inter-City 125s but a freight train; something almost unheard of for the girls to see.

The Red House

The next couple of miles was very pleasant walking. There was nothing remarkable to see and the countryside was nothing particularly special and yet it was.  Summer was in full flow and the canal banks were a riot of colour with thistles, cow parsley, buttercups and wild roses among the many flowers trying to vie for the attention of the local bee population.  Every now and again we would stop and catch up with each other but the afternoon wore on pleasantly with the adults nattering and the kids swapping stories.

The Drinker Moth Caterpillar

At Hamstead Bridge we began to realise that the children were starting to lag behind and we noticed a sign inviting us to a nearby pub.  We thought that the perfect tonic, although we weren’t prepared for the fairly unpleasant walk up the road.  Fortunately the pub, The Red House, was well worth a visit.  Sadly we weren’t much in the mood for food because the dishes being served looked absolutely mouth-watering.  Instead I grabbed a cup of tea (the first time ever in a pub) and the girls some fizzy pop and we sat outside in the delightful garden, enclosed by a large hedge.  It was the perfect antidote to tiredness as the pace quickened a bit after we returned to the canal.

Dreweats Lock

The remaining couple of miles of the walk were very peaceful and we saw no boat traffic whatsoever apart from a couple of boats moored some distance away from any settlement.  One in particular seemed to be the focus of a lot of work by its occupants as they hammered and chiselled away to the sound of heavy metal. It rather ruined the peace and quiet of the surrounding countryside but I couldn’t help but smile because it was obviously helping their productivity.

Maintenance

Other than a few cyclists though we had the towpath pretty much to ourselves, in contrast to the earlier sections.  After a section of open countryside in which we got to see a lot of the surrounding area we were suddenly plunged into woodland again and this persisted for the last mile into Kintbury.  By the time we got there we were feeling pretty hungry and saw what looked like the perfect spot on the island ahead of us.  The Dundas Arms certainly looked idyllic and we flirted with the idea of having an early dinner there until we saw the prices.  They were certainly proud of their food!  I think if had been just the two of us we probably would have gone for it, but with two tired children in tow and in our present state we thought twice.  Sigh – maybe next time?

 

The Dundas Arms

This was a smashing walk, every bit as enjoyable as what had gone before but quieter and more understated. While the countryside could not be described as remarkable it was English pastural scenery at its very best.  We all thoroughly enjoyed the six miles over from Newbury and were happy that we got to have a second helping the following day!

Kennet and Avon Canal Section 3 Woolhampton to Newbury

Newbury Station

This section was the last for our current trip and the route was a seven mile section from Woolhampton to Newbury.  We pitched up at Newbury station, a rather grand looking place with some fine old Great Western Railway features.  Today’s short train ride to Midgham was a much more relaxed affair as not only did we get a seat but also had most of the carriage to ourselves – a rather surprising change from the previous two days.

Setting off From Woolhampton

At Midgham we wandered down the short stretch of road to Woolhampton Swing Bridge.  The beer garden, so full of drinkers and diners less than one day ago was now very quiet early in the morning.  We resumed our trail westwards passing lock number 94 almost at once.  It was rather odd that we had not clocked the numbers of the locks before, but once we had spotted them the children wanted to count each one as we passed.

Express to the West

I passed the compact camera to my younger daughter to try and keep her interested in her surroundings.  This proved to be a bit of a mistake as for the next mile or so she played ‘click it’ and progress proved to be very slow indeed.  When I downloaded the pictures after getting home later I discovered dozens of pictures of seemingly every cow parsley plant that we passed!

Tiger Moth Caterpillar

The walk today had a slightly different character from yesterday.  We had lost most of the tree cover and alongside the canal in the early stages we were followed closely by the railway line.  Every few minutes trains rattled or thundered by depending on whether they were stoppers or express trains heading for Devon and Cornwall.  Eventually the memory card on the camera became full and so it was handed back to me for safe keeping. 

Distant Church

Sadly the lack of available memory meant that daughter was unable to capture a picture of one of the very hairy caterpillars that we found on the path.  I am fairly sure it was a Tiger Moth caterpillar looking for somewhere to pupate.  It certainly caused a lot of fascination for the girls and turned out to be one of a number that we saw along the way.

Canal Keeper Cottage

By now the canal seemed a lot less busy than the previous day.  There were fewer boats moored alongside the towpath and hardly any cruising by.  Even the number of bike riders seemed to have reduced, much to our relief.  There isn’t really room for walkers and cyclists to share the towpath simultaneously and we had got pretty fed up with giving way to the bikes.  One boat that we were not expecting though was a two person rowing boat, which passed us at fairly high speed!  The lack of other canal traffic did give us the opportunity to take in our surroundings more and the countryside through which we were passing.  Away on the hill we passed a grand looking church on a hill and then a beautiful canal cottage that we were all rather tempted by!

Portage

As we approached Thatcham the surroundings took on a decidedly more industrial look, with gravel pits starting to show themselves and large brick built warehouses on the opposite bank.  Not much of it looked very used though and those areas that were being used seemed to be for demolition rather than anything more constructive.  A couple of pipe bridges across the channel rather heightened the feeling of industry.

Getting the Best Leaves

The feeling of industry didn’t last too long though – when we reached the bridge by Thatcham Station we soon left it behind.  The towpath took the opposite bank now and as we reached the next lock we took the opportunity to stop for a rest.  We watched yet another boat pass through the lock in front of us and this was quickly followed by the crew of the row boat that we had seen earlier.  They didn’t use the lock though – merely portaged around it carrying their boat on their heads as they ran through.  I feel fairly certain that they were training for something or other.  It wouldn’t be the Devizies to Westminster race that is for sure – that was completed a couple of months earlier.  The famous kayak race has been a fixture on these waters for many years.

Canoe Sliding By

The next corner that we went around proved to be the last for awhile as we entered the longest straight section so far traversed.  Sadly I found this very uninteresting, except for a solitary cow on the opposite shore that had trampled through a bramble bush and was using its extremely long tongue to help it reach some more juicy leaves. I was astonished – I have never seen a cow eat bramble leaves before!

Obstacle

Eventually we did reach a corner and suddenly everything got interesting once again.  Away to the right we passed by another gravel pit, this one looking very pretty as it had been almost completely reclaimed by nature.  I was astonished to see a common tern fly over the gravel pit as we passed – sadly much too quick for my clumsy fingers on the camera shutter button.

Winged Craft

Further on we passed underneath the railway that we had been following all day so far.  The canal climbed through another lock and by now we were starting to see the buildings that suggested we were entering Newbury.  Fortunately, as with Reading at the start of our journey the canal cuts a pretty rural path through the town and maintaining a tranquil air about it.  Runners and more cyclists suggested that we were into short trip territory once again.

Newbury Boat Yard

By now the miles covered were beginning to catch up with the girls and lots of sweets were required to keep them going for the last mile or so into town.  They were also on the promise of a nice lunch if we could find one!  We crossed and re-crossed the canal and even had tree matter blocking our path along the way (that must have been fun for cyclists!).  The canal got steadily busier and as we reached the centre of Newbury it became quite clear that this was a major hub for the canal.  Boatyards had boats aplenty and there was even a repair yard stuffed to the gills with vessels all needing refurbishment.

Newbury

All the boat traffic and activity made the last mile or so into Newbury rather fascinating.  It needed to be for the children were getting very tired by now.  They did manage to get to the end of the walk without too much complaining but 21 miles over three days was clearly their limit.  They loved the whole experience though & it was wonderful to have such good family time.  One thing is for sure – we’ll be back to continue our journey along the next stretch of the canal very soon probably for a shorter weekend.

Kennet and Avon Canal Section 2 Theale to Woolhampton

Shenfield Millhouse

Today our walk started back at Theale, but before walking we took the train on the short ride over from Midgham station.  Amazingly the train was as packed as the day before – maybe there is a case for a more frequent service?  Luckily we were uncomfortable for only a few minutes for the short distance between the two stations.  At Theale we wandered back down to the Swing Bridge, seeing that this time we didn’t have any boats to wait for.

Passing Traffic

The onward walk was immediately fantastic with beautiful and classic canal scenery from the off.  The day was shaping up to be better weather than yesterday and the light across the water was particularly good.  A pattern developed on the walk almost immediately – one child would walk off with Mum further on while the other child would hang back with me and be on ‘nature patrol’.  Every so often we would swap children to keep things fresh!

Hovering Gull

For us nature patrollers the first interesting sight was watching the aerobatics of the black headed gulls that seemed to like this stretch of canal.  We thought they might be helping themselves to the hapless Mayflies that buzzed around just above the water.  We soon passed the first historical building of note, Shenfield Millhouse.  This is apparently a grade II listed building but sadly we could only see glimpses of it from our side of the canal.  We did see a boat moored on our side though that was from Arundel; it was good to see this local connection so far from home.  The boat itself looked as if it was still equipped to carry goods rather than passengers.

Purple World

The canal had a tree-lined course for quite awhile and with the still weather the reflections in the water were quite special.  Sadly it also meant that we could not see the surrounding countryside and felt like we were largely cocooned from the countryside around us.  One place that we did manage to see beyond the towpath was one of the many gravel workings along the way that had now been landscaped into a delightful fishing lake.  As I took the picture of the lake I couldn’t understand why my youngest daughter was so scared and worried – turns out that she had seen signs saying ‘Danger – Quicksand’ and thought I was going to be sucked down to a horrible death.  The fact that I was standing on a tree stump at the time appeared to have escaped her…

Sulhamstead Weir

It was apparent along the next part of the canal that the waterway was becoming less river and more canal at last.  Each lock passed by saw another height differential between the two and the canal was finally coming into its own.  Just before the next lock we were also treated to the opening out of the countryside too.  I probably made a mistake at this point by handing over a compact camera to my youngest daughter to play with and grab some shots as we went along.  I thought it would help keep her interested in what she could see and find some cool things to take pictures of.  I was completely unprepared for the amount of time that was subsequently spent on taking pictures of the cow parsley alongside the canal.  When she discovered that trying to capture the black headed gulls was impossible she finally gave up.  Later when downloading the shots, I discovered well over 100 of cow parsley and a further 20 self portraits!

Tyle Mill

The open countryside didn’t last long, which was a pity for we had a respite from the cycling traffic.  They found it easy to get round us on the open field – not so easy along a narrower towpath.  The next lock was a popular mooring spot – this was Tyle Mill Lock.  There were lots of boats moored here and much maintenance activity from proud owners making repairs, adding stuff and repainting their boats.  I noticed a nearby car park, which probably explains the popularity of this spot.

Quarantined Vessel

A little way past the lock we saw the curious sight of a boat that had been quarantined on account of it being mostly destroyed by fire.  It looked rather a sad sight lying next to the bank.  The bunding around it had managed to contain the debris and pollution though, which was some good news for the local area.

Tea on the Go

We were starting to feel the heat a bit from this point.  Jumpers and fleeces came off as we basked in the sunshine of the warmest day of the year so far.  Sweets and drinks were passed around to keep the girls going.  They worked to a point but what really grabbed their attention was watching a canal boat negotiate the latest swing bridge at Ufton.  Strangely for a moment we had found ourselves on the adjacent river and so crossing the bridge to maintain our onward course was a stroke of luck before the boat came.  We sat and watched as one of the crew got off and controlled the bridge by button.  I can’t imagine how much effort these electric bridges must have saved.  As the boat passed through I was amused to see that the man at the tiller had a cuppa on the go.  I have decided that all canal boat crews have permanent cups of tea on the go.

Lilac

By now the pace was slowing considerably so at the next bridge we gave the girls a breather and allowed them time to explore a bit and lay around enjoying the sunshine.  Our rest was punctuated by the arrival of a boat called Avent Got One – one of our favourite names of vessels we have seen so far.  The boat needed to get through Towney Lock so my daughters both seized the chance to help out with the locks!  They git to turn the handle and heave the huge gate open, much to the amusement of the lady crew member who had been sent to do the job.

Lock Keepers

After that moment of excitement onward progress became a lot easier.  We were now approaching Aldermaston, where a lot of canal holidays seem to start on this particular route.  I expected a large boat yard to service the holidays but all we saw was a lengthy mooring spot where a couple of guys were doing some painting of one of the vessels.  Sadly the tea shop that is adjacent to the hire shop was closed for renovation.  This was a big disappointment as we had hoped to stop here for refreshment.  It was now lunchtime and we were in a bit of a quandary – should we push on with the momentum we had built up or stop somewhere for lunch?  We decided to push on and have lunch at the end – probably a wise choice as we only had a couple of miles more to do.

Aldermaston Yard

The last section from Aldermaston to Woolhampton was largely through woodland.  The shade was very helpful and the pace picked up again as a result.  Our path suddenly became a lot fluffier along the way.  At first I couldn’t see where the fluff had come from but eventually we passed by the culprit – a large willow tree shedding what I assume are its fluffy seeds.  My daughter wondered why it wasn’t used as cotton wool, so soft it was.

Aldermaston Tea Shop

We crossed and re-crossed the canal passing by lots of walkers along the stretch near Aldermaston.  Clearly we weren’t the only ones who wanted to enjoy the route of the canal. We passed by some very fit and active young girls, who rather looked like they might be in training for an award of some sort judging by all their gear.  My daughters looked at them in awe – I think the sight of older girls always sparks their interest.  It certainly helped push them on to the end!  The second footbridge was huge, much like the one we had crossed the day before and clearly designed to help bikes get across the canal smoothly.

Hand in Hand

The end of today’s walk was much like yesterday in that we finished at a swing bridge, this time the one at Woolhampton.  Next to the bridge the pub was serving up some fantastic looking barbecue food.  The smells were delightful and we were seriously tempted to stay.  Sadly there were no available tables and we didn’t really want to wait.  Maybe another time?

World of Fluff

For me this was the most scenic and enjoyable of the three days we had away.  The weather really helped too, as did the amazingly lush canal banks which were all alive with flora and fauna for the girls to check out along the way.  All in all a thoroughly enjoyable six miles, which felt like so much further due to the amount of interest that we packed into this short distance.

Wickham Knight Footbridge