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| Quick Links A closer look at the K&A West of Foxhangers East of Foxhangers Places to see & visit       |
A Brief Description of the K&A The Kennet and Avon Canal opened in 1810, and after restoration was re-opened by HM The Queen in 1990. It passes beautiful, tranquil and unspoilt scenery with an abundance of plant and wild life, through bustling market towns, picturesque villages and past historic monuments. Frequently there are inviting canal side pubs offering lunch or supper. The waterway includes the Georgian splendour of the City of Bath and the pastoral pleasures of rolling Berkshire and Wiltshire, with unique architectural and engineering features of majestic aqueducts and bridges. West of Foxhangers Wharf  Bradford-on-Avon - 5 hours from Foxhangers, precariously perched on Avon’s valley side, Bradford on Avon has been described as a clone of Bath albeit to a much smaller scale. Take time to see the 14th-century Tithe Barn and 8th-century simplicity of the Saxon Church of St Lawrence. Bath Valley - arguably the most attractive section of the Kennet & Avon canal is the Bath Valley. The canal enclosed in the wooded hillside twice swaps sides across the valley and over the River via the Aqueducts of Dundas and Avoncliff. Take time to explore the secluded settlement of Avoncliff. Dundas Aqueducts and Claverton pumping station are also must-sees. Bath - 10 hours from Foxhangers, a beautiful small city, stone terraces rising from the river on steep hillsides, moor on canal above top lock or drop down onto the river and moor below Pultney Bridge with views of the abbey across the river. Also visit the Roman Baths and take an open top bus tour through the city. River Avon - Allow a day to cruise down from the Bath to Bristol where the scenery is more varied than many rivers. But be warned the river rises very quickly after prolonged rain especially in early spring. Bristol - 19 hours from Foxhangers, Bristol combined with the attractions of a modern city and the history of a major Seaport closely associated with exploration of the north Atlantic and trade with the new world. Visit The SS Great Britain and the Matthew moored in the docks. Click here for close up look at the western Kennet & Avon Canal East of Foxhangers Wharf  Caen Hill Locks - a marvel of canal engineering raising boats 240ft in 29 locks over two miles. The last section of the K&A to be re-opened by the Queen in 1990. Devizes - 5 hours from Foxhangers, a Wiltshire market town renowned for its Wadworth 6x real ale, which is brewed alongside the canal and delivered by traditional, horse and cart to the local pubs. View the site of the 12th century castle and explore the surrounding medieval streets & buildings. Pewsey - 10 hours from Foxhangers, in the heart of the vale, Pewsey is a charming village which boast many half-timbered houses and thatched cottages. In particular, the vale is well loved for its mixture of picturesque villages and magnificent scenery. The mysterious and undated Wansdyke follows the ridge parallel to the canal for 20 miles offering circular walks with views of Silbury Hill, Avebury and the two largest hills in Wiltshire. Hungerford & Newbury - 19 & 25 hours from Foxhangers, the two largest towns in the Kennet Valley offering full amenities, with Hungerford particularly noted for its Antique shops. Reading - 33 hours from Foxhangers, seek out the Abbey Ruins for a peaceful mooring off the main line of the river Kennet. Click here for close up look at the eastern Kennet & Avon Canal  A Brief History of the Kennet & Avon Canal The Kennet and Avon was built as the industrial highway of its day to transport coal, iron ore, tobacco and all sorts of agricultural products between towns and villages stretching all the way from Bristol in the west to Reading in the east. In the early part of the 18th Century the river Kennet at Reading and the River Avon at Bath were made navigable. The areas between these were crying out for a waterway link and in 1794, Scottish architect and engineer John Rennie was appointed to close the gap – which involved construction of the Caen Hill Flight of locks. As a highly respected engineer, Rennie had been responsible for building many bridges, canals and docks and was honoured, after his death, with being buried in St Paul’s Cathedral. For the next 16 years, navvies risked their lives cutting and digging almost 60 miles of canal, built 100 locks, 2 tunnels and almost 200 bridges, viaducts and aqueducts between Bath and here at Foxhangers! A double-track iron railway on wooden sleepers linked the canal with the town of Devizes until the Caen Hill Flight of locks was completed in 1810; it was then possible to navigate from London to Bristol. With the advent of The Kennet and Avon Canal, The Somerset Coal Canal (at one time serving 80 Somersetshire collieries) now had access - from the Dundas Aqueduct - to previously unimaginable business opportunities offered by supplying London; not to mention the more local areas of Wiltshire and Berkshire where coal supplies had, until then, been very limited. The Kennet and Avon also linked with the Wilts and Berks Canal at Semington. Many of the stone quarry owners in Bath saw the potential of the Kennet and Avon Canal and became some of its biggest shareholders; soon their stone was seen along the length of the canal being used by various developers in many new locations (including the Foxhanger Barn and Lock Keepers Cottages for example). 1804 Cargo Lists for the Kennet and Avon Canal EAST (towards Reading & London) Bath building stone Chalk Hanham paving stone Limestone from Bristol and Bath Peat Slate Tin Plate Iron from Wales Copper Salt Timber Fruit from the Mediterranean West(towards Bath & Bristol Gravel Chalk Flint Peat ash Timber Grain & flour Timber and pitch from the Baltic’s Tea from the East Indies Fruit from the Mediterranean Grain & flour Sugar from the West Indies However despite high expectations, trade never achieved what had been expected and when the Great Western Railway bought the Canal in 1852 there was a deliberate policy not to invest too much in maintenance. By the end of the First World War the number of boats using the canal was in decline. During the Second World War, a large number of concrete bunkers known as pillboxes were built as part of the line to defend against an expected German invasion, and many of these are still visible. In 1948 navigation effectively closed and the Government planned to close the canal completely but this rallied local canal enthusiasts determined not to let that happen, and in 1962 the Kennet and Avon Trust was formed with the aim of restoring the whole waterway. After much hard work by the Trust and its volunteers, the Queen was invited to officially re-open the Kennet and Avon Canal and this happened at the top of the Caen Hill flight of locks on 8 August 1990. Restoration continued with the help of a £25m Lottery Grant – the biggest single grant ever given, with final completion of the project eventually taking place in 2003 when Prince Charles attended to help celebrate the event. Harriett, a 72ft x 14ft Kennet barge built by Robbins Lane and Pinnegar of Honey Street in 1905 stuck fast in a lock at Foxhangers on her delivery voyage to Bristol Docks! Eventually released, “Harriett” worked on the tidal Avon and Kennet and Avon Canal, for Fred Ashmead & Sons who had her carry timber pulp. “Harriett” beached at Purton in 1964 where she can be seen today, registered as a National Historic Ship No 2347 and sponsored by descendants of the Ashmead family. Since 1954, three generations of the Fletcher family have lived and run Lower Foxhangers Farm; diversifying into camping and farmhouse holidays since 1974 and canal boat hire since 1997. Today Foxhangers Wharf still shows remnants of the way life used to be, having been along the route of the old Wilts Somerset and Weymouth Railway Branch Line between Holt and Patney and Chirton. The broad gauge railway was closed as part of the Beeching Axe during 1963. Today, the Kennet and Avon Canal plays an important role in tourism and leisure as well as being a valuable asset to wildlife and conservation. More can be learnt of the history of the canal by visiting the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust who have a Museum at the Wharf in Devizes. |
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