The hidden highway
West Berkshire's Kennet & Avon canal
When industry's early entrepreneurs mapped out England's network of canals, they little knew how highly their handy-work would be valued today. Their discreet highways now provide a charmed route for boating and walking through wonderful countryside - and none more so than the Kennet & Avon Canal. This impressive feat of architecture and engineering links Bristol and the River Avon to the River Kennet and the Thames at Reading, passing through more than 100 locks as it crosses some of the most beautiful scenery in southern England. Its many highlights include the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which encompasses such well-known areas as the Lambourn Valley or the Vale of Pewsey and historic landmarks like the World Heritage Site at Avebury and Uffington's White Horse. With its antique shops and welcoming pubs, the mellow market town of Hungerford, in West Berkshire, is a lovely spot from which to explore both the canal and the downs. Much of the town has remained unchanged for generations, retaining its unhurried air along with several of its coaching inns and the timber-framed High Street properties, with facades which were "modernised" in Georgian times. The waterfront between Hungerford Bridge and Lock is particularly attractive. The traditionally painted Rose of Hungerford operates motorised barge trips from here to Dunmill Lock, while horse-drawn barges offer pleasure trips from the handsome village of Kintbury just three miles away. You can also putter along the canal by motorised barge from the Wharf in historic Newbury - another ideal centre from which to discover the attractions of the downs.
Your country escape follows the towpath of the Kennet & Avon Canal for 3 miles between Kintbury and Hungerford (or vice versa) catching a train back if you wish. Starting from the car park opposite the Dundas Arms at Kintbury Wharf, pass the lock by the road bridge, go past the moored barges and under the bridge that links the village with Barton Court. This was the home of Charles Dundas who, as Chairman of the Kennet & Avon Canal Company, played an influential role in its construction. On the opposite side of the canal, immediately beyond the bridge, is the Old Rectory where Jane Austen often stayed as the Austens had connections with the Fowles, who lived in the Rectory. As the scenery opens out, walk on through peaceful water meadows with only the occasional train speeding by. Close to the next lock is the tiny settlement of Avington - do make a detour here to admire the beautiful Norman Church, shaded by a huge cedar tree. Near the halfway mark, the railway crosses the canal via Brunsden Bridge and the towpath takes a route between the canal and the River Dun, a tributary of the Kennet. After another half mile, the towpath meets a small lane at Denford Mill, the site of a cluster of WWII pillboxes, with Hungerford Common on your left. You can either take a diagonal route across the common to the Down Gate pub or continue to follow the towpath into the centre of Hungerford for more choices of refreshment.
Fact file
Distance 3 miles; time 1 hour. A towpath walk where no waymarking is required. Trains serve both Kintbury and Hungerford; call 08457 48 49 50 for timetables.
To complete your break you might also enjoy:
Kennet Horseboat Company - horse drawn barge trips from Kintbury Wharf;
West Berkshire Museum, Newbury;
The Living Rainforest, Hampstead Norreys;
Highclere Castle.
Travel by train to: Kintbury and Hungerford.
Tourist Information Centre Newbury:
The Wharf,
Newbury.
Tel 01635 30267
Email: tourism@westberks.gov.uk
Websites:
www.visitwestberkshire.org.uk
www.waterscape.com
www.northwessexdowns.org.uk
www.katrust.org
Sandham Memorial Chapel (National Trust)
Burghclere,
nr Newbury,
Hampshire
RG20 9JT
Tel: 01635 278394;
Email: sandham@nationaltrust.org.uk
Website: www.nationaltrust.org.uk
1920s chapel and internationally recognised monument of British art, decorated with Stanley Spencer's visionary murals inspired by the First World War. The orchard is carpeted with wild flowers and has lovely views over Richard Adams' Watership Down. Open: March - end of Dec. Dec. - Feb. by appointment only.
