Hungerford to Little Bedwyn
I started a little east of Hungerford at Lower Denford, exactly where I had stopped on the previous trip (I do like to be thorough), aiming for Little Bedwyn. I covered around eleven miles, the last two on the way back on foot following a front wheel puncture. Recognising the weight of the bike, there’s a push mode which propels the bike forwards at around 3.75 mph, an easy walking pace. That helped. The towpath was extremely bumpy pretty much all the way and I felt thoroughly rattled and shaken by the end. The main hazards are the tree roots which reach out across the path and occasionally the almost complete falling away of the path itself – I nearly went into the canal a few times. Get off and push was the safer option (and the less costly – the battery is rainproof but will not survive submersion). The towpath took me through Freeman’s Marsh, another part of the Hungerford Nature Reserve, but again wildlife was not exactly abundant. There were Mallards and Mallard hybrids around Hungerford Bridge as usual but precious little else, although I heard plenty of Chiffchaffs.
I liked this swing bridge and rather odd-looking footbridge.
The blackthorn seemed positively riotous, especially reflected in the canal.
Another bridge, arched below only,
Then picturesque Cobbler’s Lock with lock keeper’s cottage, a job I always rather fancied, especially after seeing David Essex in that role in The River, BBC, 1988 – it seemed a very tranquil existence. Cobbler’s lock has one of the bigger drops, 8’3″. Most of the locks have between six and eight feet, some only three, four or even 2.2.
The canal does not follow the River Kennet beyond Hungerford, but rather its tributary the Dun (the Kennet is a tributary of the Thames).
The canal and a beautiful stream to the side.
There was a Moorhen in the stream, largely hidden in the vegetation.
There is a lot of this along the banks. As far as I can ascertain, it is Carex secta, a type of sedge, native to New Zealand. Appropriately it only grows in still, not running water.
I had been so pleased to see the Grey Wagtail on my first outing but very disappointed with the photo. I was much more fortunate this time. Hiding at first, then in the open, these are the sorts of images at which my camera excels – and there are some nice reflections. I think that I would now recognise a distant wagtail from their undulating flight.
I rested by the relatively modern, curiously shaped bridge at Little Bedwyn, listening to the constant cawing of Carrion Crows.
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