Kennet & Avon Canal

The Kennet & Avon Canal, 87 miles long and with 104 locks, is made up of three historic waterways: 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 (from Newbury to Bath) construction of which was completed in 1810.

Following the opening of the Great Western Railway in 1841, traffic on the canal started to decline, which accelerated following the sale to GWR in 1852. Use of the canal continued until the 1950s, when it’s state of disrepair made navigation impossible.

The formation of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust in 1962 marked the start of a change in fortunes for the canal; decades of work by committed volunteers saw H M The Queen re-open the restored waterway in 1990.

For more information about the Kennet and Avon Canal, see The Kennet and Avon Trust, Canal and River Trust and Inland Waterways Association

Sustrans National Cycle Route 4 uses sections of the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath; for more information see Sustrans