The Kennet & Avon Canal Walk
Steam Train at Crofton Pumping Station
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Canal Clutter
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Great Bedwyn to Pewsey Wharf
Saturday 13 August 2016
The Olympics are in full swing and I’m loving it. But that’s no excuse to become a couch potato, however tempting! I decided to return to the Kennet and Avon Canal rather than continue the Thames Path to Oxford (couldn’t face the train replacement buses currently in operation there).
Taking the direct train to Bedwyn I started walking before 10 o’clock in perfect walking weather. I spotted a heron on the opposite river bank. Then it was on the path in front of me before flying back to the other side. Suddenly it was on my path again. I tried to get a good picture of this elegant bird but each time I was ready to pull the trigger it flew off. I’m convinced it was teasing me!
After passing a few locks and a couple of bridges I arrived at Wilton Water and the lock at Crofton Pumping Station. Here I found an expectant crowd (well, maybe 20 people) all waiting, cameras ready, for the steam train which was due to arrive shortly as it made its way from Paddington to Minehead. Train spotting is alive and well! I (almost) got caught up in the excitement and of course I couldn’t let this photo opportunity pass by without get a snap for this website. I managed to get a decent view and photo but not before I made myself unpopular as I wandered in front of an enthusiast’s video camera! Excitement over I walked across the lock footbridge and treated myself to a coffee in the Engineman’s Rest Café in the Crofton Beam Engine Visitor Centre.
The Olympics are in full swing and I’m loving it. But that’s no excuse to become a couch potato, however tempting! I decided to return to the Kennet and Avon Canal rather than continue the Thames Path to Oxford (couldn’t face the train replacement buses currently in operation there).
Taking the direct train to Bedwyn I started walking before 10 o’clock in perfect walking weather. I spotted a heron on the opposite river bank. Then it was on the path in front of me before flying back to the other side. Suddenly it was on my path again. I tried to get a good picture of this elegant bird but each time I was ready to pull the trigger it flew off. I’m convinced it was teasing me!
After passing a few locks and a couple of bridges I arrived at Wilton Water and the lock at Crofton Pumping Station. Here I found an expectant crowd (well, maybe 20 people) all waiting, cameras ready, for the steam train which was due to arrive shortly as it made its way from Paddington to Minehead. Train spotting is alive and well! I (almost) got caught up in the excitement and of course I couldn’t let this photo opportunity pass by without get a snap for this website. I managed to get a decent view and photo but not before I made myself unpopular as I wandered in front of an enthusiast’s video camera! Excitement over I walked across the lock footbridge and treated myself to a coffee in the Engineman’s Rest Café in the Crofton Beam Engine Visitor Centre.
The sun now tried to make an appearance and I was pleased to be back walking in quiet solitude. There were further locks, pretty canal barges, ducks and swans, and waterside flowers to make the walk anything but dull. I made good progress and soon arrived at the impressive Bruce Tunnel. This tunnel is half a kilometre long and quite narrow and dark. I wonder if there’s ever been an accident inside with boats colliding?
The path diverted from the canal – it had to as there was no room for a footpath inside the tunnel – which felt strange as that was the first time since the start of the walk in Reading that the canal was out of view. For a short section it even followed a paved track – weird! Soon however normality resumed and I was back walking along the now tree-lined canal. There was a bit of drizzle in the air and I wished I’d packed the cagoule instead of the sunhat and suncream! Thankfully the drizzle soon stopped. Just after Burbage Bridge there was another historic canal relict on view (on the opposite bank): the Burbage Wharf Crane This is the last surviving wharf crane on the K&A (there were seventeen in the 19th century).
I was getting hungry now and I stopped for lunch in a quiet spot by Brimslade Lock and then continued walking to the village of Wootton Rivers where I made a brief detour to the church of St Andrew with its unusual clock tower. The church was open which was a pleasant surprise and I was able to check out the bell ringing arrangement. Back on the towpath the sun was now shining brightly and the views opened up to the Pewsey and Marlborough Downs. The countryside around here is lovely and as I approached Pewsey Wharf the towpath got quite busy with people enjoying the lovely Saturday afternoon. Colourful barges made for a pretty picture. The Waterfront Pub at Pewsey Wharf was packed but I walked straight past and up the road to Pewsey train station for the journey home, looking forward to a restful evening watching the action from the Olympics.
I liked this walk a lot. It was just the right length (approximately 10 miles), never dull, transport was straightforward, and the walking was on good paths – overgrown vegetation was recently cut back but summer flowering ‘weeds’ by the canalside left untouched. There is plenty of interest to canal historians on this section too.
My highlights:
Wildlife:
Useful information
Transport:
The path diverted from the canal – it had to as there was no room for a footpath inside the tunnel – which felt strange as that was the first time since the start of the walk in Reading that the canal was out of view. For a short section it even followed a paved track – weird! Soon however normality resumed and I was back walking along the now tree-lined canal. There was a bit of drizzle in the air and I wished I’d packed the cagoule instead of the sunhat and suncream! Thankfully the drizzle soon stopped. Just after Burbage Bridge there was another historic canal relict on view (on the opposite bank): the Burbage Wharf Crane This is the last surviving wharf crane on the K&A (there were seventeen in the 19th century).
I was getting hungry now and I stopped for lunch in a quiet spot by Brimslade Lock and then continued walking to the village of Wootton Rivers where I made a brief detour to the church of St Andrew with its unusual clock tower. The church was open which was a pleasant surprise and I was able to check out the bell ringing arrangement. Back on the towpath the sun was now shining brightly and the views opened up to the Pewsey and Marlborough Downs. The countryside around here is lovely and as I approached Pewsey Wharf the towpath got quite busy with people enjoying the lovely Saturday afternoon. Colourful barges made for a pretty picture. The Waterfront Pub at Pewsey Wharf was packed but I walked straight past and up the road to Pewsey train station for the journey home, looking forward to a restful evening watching the action from the Olympics.
I liked this walk a lot. It was just the right length (approximately 10 miles), never dull, transport was straightforward, and the walking was on good paths – overgrown vegetation was recently cut back but summer flowering ‘weeds’ by the canalside left untouched. There is plenty of interest to canal historians on this section too.
My highlights:
- Having a grey heron for company on the first couple of miles
- Getting caught up in the excitement of spotting a steam train at Crofton Pumping Station
- Learning about the Bruce Tunnel
- Colourful and artfully decorated canal barges
Wildlife:
- Grey herons, swans and ducks, farm animals and a friendly barge cat
Useful information
Transport:
- Train Theale (Reading) to Bedwyn
- Return: train Pewsey to Theale (Reading)
- Café at Crofton Pumping Station
- Pubs at Wootton Rivers
- Pewsey Wharf
- Crofton Pumping Station
- Pewsey
Burbage Wharf Crane
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Approaching Pewsey Wharf
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