This is one of those marvels of engineering which we are lucky enough to have running through our village. I have spent a lot of time on and alongside it over the years, mostly with the children. It has long been an ambition to follow the towpath the entire distance, if only in short sections at a time, and yesterday I made a start with the most familiar stretch – Kintbury to Hungerford and back, just 6 miles in total. I have just acquired a folding electric bike for the purpose which feels like cheating but makes the cycling effortless. It’s a Hillmiles Mileport 1 and so far I am hugely impressed. It takes some getting used after a regular bike – especially the steering, I wouldn’t risk sharp turns at speed, and it’s heavy. The range is allegedly up to almost 80 miles, depending on how much pedalling you do, we shall see. To stay within legal requirements so that it can be ridden without insurance wherever you can ride a normal bike, it’s limited to 15.5 mph, which seems like plenty, and you have to be pedalling for the motor to kick in. Anyway, so far so good.
The waterway runs for 87 miles including two sections of navigable river, the canal part going from Bath to Newbury, 57 miles, constructed between 1794 and 1810. The river sections extend to Bristol and Reading. There are 105 locks.
Following the opening of the Great Western Railway and resultant disuse in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the canal became completely silted up for a long time but was restored, largely by volunteers, from the 1960s to the 1990s and is now protected. The banks are still lined with concrete pillboxes from the Second World War. It has a fascinating history, well worth looking into.
The bridges are lovely (this is one is further west than I travelled yesterday).
The bridge at the head of this post is number 81, Wire Lock Bridge, where I stopped for lunch, and this is the lock (number 76) behind it. There’s a winding hole, an indent in the side of the canal, allowing space for boats to turn, pronounced, to my surprise, wɪndɪŋ, that is with the first syllable pronounced “wind” as in moving air. That may derive from using wind to assist with the turn or Old English windan, meaning to turn, which seems more likely.
The route to Hungerford incorporates Hungerford Nature Reserve, now designated an SSSI. As often of late I do wonder where on earth all the ducks have gone – there used to be a plethora, now none at all. I saw not one Moorhen or Coot either, also once plentiful. However, I did hear and see Wrens, and heard Chiffchaff, whilst the Merlin app heard Marsh Tits and Blackcap. Also to be seen were a couple of Mute Swans, just one solitary Mallard, Magpies, Blackbirds and the ubiquitous (in this part of the world) Red Kites, and Small White and Brimstone butterflies (I have also seen a Peacock and a Red Admiral in the garden). The bird which made my day however was this stunning Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea, the first I have seen for some years.
The sun was overhead and very bright, the worst light for photography, although I was very glad of it in every other sense.
The light was kinder with this swan.
And who can resist a weeping willow?
The scenery is delightful wherever you look, although I thought this particular narrowboat looked rather sinister.
This seems to be Cuckoo Flower, Cardamine pratensis.
It’s also known as lady’s smock. A very pretty shade of pink.
Finally, a Herdwick sheep by the railway line, separated from the nearby flock.
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