Kennett and Avon Canal
Click here for:
Short break
One week holiday
Short Break
BATH & RETURN
3/4 nights, 12 hours, 2 locks (east of Bath ), 14 locks (west of Bath ).
 |
|---|
Depending how adventurous you are feeling, you can choose to pass through just one lock (in each direction) on this cruise or try a few more at Bath.
Just an hour from Hilperton your reach the medieval town of Bradford on Avon . Weavers' cottages cling to the side of the Avon valley, looking down across the old mills to the 'Broad Ford' on the river that gave the town its name.
Here you will come across your first lock. With good moorings below the lock (and a choice of canalside hostelries) you can walk up to the lock and watch a few boats go through to gain confidence before you go through yourself. Being a widebeam canal, the locks take two narrowboats, so you can share the experience, and effort, with another boat.
Avoncliff Aqueduct makes a perfect stopping point for your first night. The Cross Guns Inn serves good food – with an entrance onto the towpath, next to the moorings.
Cruising into Bath is like gliding into Regency Britain. Your first morning on the boat offers 2 hours of easy cruising and splendid architecture. Mooring above the top lock in Bath puts you in line with the rooftops of the city and an enjoyable walk away from the city centre.
A few locks onwards and moorings are available very close to the city centre, near to the spectacular Pulteney Weir and Bridge. Bath has been designated a 'World Heritage City' with a history stretching back to the Roman Baths after which it is named and that can still be visited today. Bath is, without doubt, worthy of at least a couple of days of exploration. (www.bath.co.uk)
You can enjoy the rest of the day, and much of the next morning, exploring the city before heading back towards Hilperton for your third night nearer the marina. On a four night break you have the luxury of two nights at Bath , probably viewing the whole city and an excursion onto the River on your boat.
You can have a leisurely start from Bath and still enjoy an afternoon in Bradford on Avon (sometimes described as a little version of Bath ) where you will moor for the night before the short cruise back to Hilperton on your last morning.
One Week trips
BRISTOL & RETURN
7 nights, 25 hours, 28 locks
25 hours cruising would elsewhere be considered little more than a short break, but here the route includes Bradford on Avon, Bath, Bristol and, unusually, many more towns and villages that the canal passes through the centre of. Having followed the route of the River Avon by canal, after Bath the navigation uses the River itself, reverting to canal to divert into Bristol city centre.
HUNGERFORD & RETURN
7 Nights , 42 hours, 120 locks
Beyond Pewsey and through further lush Wiltshire countryside, the highest point of the Kennet & Avon is marked by the 502 yard Bruce Tunnel. The canal then follows close alongside the Great Western main railway line through the Bedwyns - Great & Little - and down to Hungerford. Pass by Savernake Forest , an ancient woodland mentioned in the Doomsday book.
