Scottie'sCanal Wharf

The Kennet andAvon Canal, opened in 1810, runs from Reading to Bristol, but its prettieststretch has to be the splendid waterway between Devizes and Bath.The steepflight of locks at Caen Hill bring you down into gently rolling countrysidebefore you pass into the beautiful Avon Valley with its steep wooded banks andspectacular aqueducts.

With competition from the railways, commercial use of the canal declined andthe waterway saw the last regular cargo traffic in the 1930s. By 1951 it was nolonger possible to navigate the whole 86 miles and the canal eventuallydeteriorated and closed.

For 27 years, the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust worked to restore the canalwith help from willing volunteers and the British Waterways Board and in 1990 HMthe Queen officially re-opened the canal.

The waterway has since won prestigious tourism and heritage awards and itstowpath trail provides an easy, accessible route for cyclists and walkers of allabilities. Follow the marked Discovery Trail at Devizes or Bradford on Avon.Have a picnic at Barton Farm Country Park or enjoy the wildlife in Browns FollyNature Reserve.

Thecountryside, rich in wildlife, is punctuated with pretty towns and villages.Spend an afternoon wandering around Bradford on Avon, visiting the old Saxonchurch and tythe barn, or stroll along the narrow streets, shopping for antiquesand gifts. The town is full of wonderful restaurants and tearooms and tumblingdown the hillside, it has to be one of the most photogenic towns in England.

On the canalside you will find Lock Inn Cottage and the Tight Squeeze Tea Rooms, whereyou can hire bikes to enjoy the towpath trail or hire canoes.

Bradford on Avon Marina has everything you needfor a canal holiday and is the home of Sally Boats .

A little further along the canal is lovely Avoncliffe. Here the canalcrosses the River Avon by aqueduct and the view of the old Mill rush, and theswans gliding beneath the willow trees is a real delight. Here you will find theold Cross Guns pub and restaurant and a pretty tearoom where you can sit out inthe garden and feed the ducks and rabbits.

The canal willtake you right into Bath, the elegant Georgian City with its beautiful Romanbaths and great Abbey. Vibrant and cosmopolitan, it is popular with visitors allyear round. In summer the streets are filled with entertainers, and the pavementcafes are alive with conversation in a dozen different languages. In winter ithas a different look. Steam rises from the hotsprings of the Roman baths and thecozy tea rooms and brightly lit shops in its old fashioned streets areparticularly inviting to the Christmas shopper. Some of the arcades look much asthey would in Jane Austen's time, but the modern shopper will be very impressedby the Neo Classical malls in the city.

A Scottie Dog Digital Production. Designed by CatherineSellars.

Click Logo to email us or the link togo

Back to the Scottie Dog Homepage

© Scottie Dog Digital 1996