Kennet & Avon Canal - Newbury to Reading (★★★★☆)

Today is my final day walking the Kennet & Avon Canal between Bristol and Reading - and having walked from Benwyn to Newbury on the previous day, I'm finishing off the trip with a walk from Newbury to Reading.

By now the ground has largely dried up from the rains two days ago, but in any case the path is a very good one as I head out of Newbury - and the only negative at the start of the day, is that I'm leaving too early to be able to get any supplies from the shops in Newbury (with it being a Sunday).

But having looked ahead on the map, I should be able to turn off at Thatcham, and buy some food from a shop that lies not too far off the route of the canal there.

And on the flip side, it being a Sunday morning means it is a very quiet walk out of town - and having got down to the canal, the first section of walking involves a trip out through the edge of town - where canal and river combine. 

From Bristol and Bath we primarily walked the navigation of the River Avon, at Bath we swapped onto a man-made canal, and here that man-made canal comes to an end, as we swap onto the navigation of the River Kennet (although there will be some short spells of canal along this remaining section).

From here we continue on - and after we dip under the railway, we find ourselves in a more natural setting.

Here we are no longer walking on the official cycle route, but the towpath is still very good - and from here we have a short run, surrounded by ponds of water, before we reach Thatcham - where I turn off to go buy some food and drink for the day.

Having made it up to the shop and back, we return to our task of following the river - and once again leave behind civilisation, as we start to make our way towards Woolhampton.

Between Thatcham and Woolhampton

On the same stretch of canal

Here we have the train following us once more, and there is a constant run of train stations along this section of the canal - having already passed stations at Newbury and Thatcham, and with Woolhampton, Aldermaston Wharf and Theale lying ahead. 

After Theale there is an additional off route option, and there you can drop down to Reading Green Park Station, instead of following the river up into Reading itself.

But for now our main focus is on our arrival at Woolhampton, which proves to be a pretty little village.

Woolhampton

From here we continue to follow the river,  but soon this splits off, and we remain on a short section of canal that will run until beyond Aldermaston Wharf.

And indeed, half way through this split in the canal/river, we find ourselves arriving into Aldermaston Wharf - and here we find a busy stretch of towpath.

Arriving at Alermaston Wharf

Some of the old looking homes (not sure if they are actually old or not)

Leaving Aldermaston Wharf

The towpath is once again excellent, but having crossed over to the far bank at Ufton Bridge, we not only pick back up the River Kennet, but have a change in the condition of the towpath, as we continue on across a grassy riverbank.

Now a grassy riverbank

Here we are still on the official cycle trail - and whilst the ground is fairly solid, this definitely isn't road bike territory.

But it is a lovely stretch of riverbank to walk along, and this would be a great stretch to walk in the summer months of the year.

As we continue on, the going gets a little tougher in places - but whilst this would be an issue for a cyclist, for a walker it never gets too bad - as we can hop over the worst of the muddy sections.

Further along the river bank

Here it is a meandering river and on the bigger meanders, the canal and river split apart once again - before rejoining slightly further along - and so there is a nice mix here between rural sprawling river, and the neat and tidy passage of a canal.

A Swing Bridge on a canal section

Before too long we are passing close to Theale (which again has a train station to the north), and here we are now passing through the middle of a large group of lakes that sit to the south of Theale.

A lock near Theale

One of the two turf sided locks left on the canal (just along from Theale)

Soon we come across the second turf sided lock along this canal (meaning that we have seen all the turf sided locks still operational in Britain).

These only have brickwork at the very base of the lock - and so when the water level is high there is an increased degree of water leakage from the sides.

When the Kennet was originally made navigable, all the locks were built this way - but the rest have by now all been changed over to a more typical design as otherwise the impact of water loss along the canal causes issues.

These two examples have, however, been left in order to show how these locks would have once looked originally - although with the steel rails they do look a tad messy in my opinion.

And here we have lost a bit of the rural charm we had so far been enjoying today - but we must bear in mind that we are now passing very close to Reading - with Purley-on-Thames now lying to the north of our position.

From here we pass under the M4, and whilst this section starts to drop away in quality, on the far side of the motorway, a more rural character does start to return.

Crossing over the river

Here we leave behind the route of the cycle path - which heads parallel to the M4, and then back up to the river (just past Burghfield Mill).

Instead we continue on along the riverbank, with what look very much like flood plains to our left.

Unfortunately, along here we come across a breach in the bank - and it is clear that we either get a bit wet, or go back and take the cycle route round.

By this point in the walk, I really can't be bothered with a long-diversion - and so roll up my trousers, and go straight through (shoes and all, due the sharp rocks lining the base of this breach).

Here I realise that the fishermen have been watching me to see what I would do, and from their position I hear one of them exclaim "he just went straight in", and it would seem that I have just impressed these fishermen with my remarkable feat of bravery.

Fortunately, I hit no more issues along this stretch, and go through another sock change at the next lock to help speed up the drying out process a bit.

And having got going again, I'm able to benefit from the fact that no one else is stupid enough to walk this stretch.

Nice quiet riverbank

That said, I do soon run into a pair of walkers, who I warn about the breach - one of whom has wellies, and one of whom does not - but they decide to try and brave the breach in the bank as well. So even if I am a bit stupid, at least I'm not uniquely so.

What follows next is an increasingly busy, but still very enjoyable stretch as the canal continues on, passing under a railway line, and then on past the waterworks.

Just before heading under the railway line

The waterworks really marks the end of this enjoyable stretch along the river - and as is usually the case, the waterworks has deployed levels of security that are normally only seen on military bases - with great reels of barbed wire fencing both ensuring that trespassers stay out, and killing the general mood.

Following this section, the river heads up into Reading, passing by a line of terraced houses, and whilst the onward route is neat enough, there is certainly a dip in enjoyment along this section of towpath - with a lot more tarmac, and a lot less nature.

But by now we are essentially done, and next we start to head into the core of Reading itself.

Entering the centre of Reading

If I were a better person, I would be continuing on round to the point where the Kennet and Thames join, but having done that stretch along the Thames before, I'm more interested at this point in just going direct to the train station, and bringing this walk to a close.

When I walked the Thames Path, I stayed over in Reading just off the canal, and so I know that the next section has some nice and well developed sections, but the route along the Thames from the join to the centre is not the best in my opinion.

And so here, I decide just to turn off as I come level with the train station - and to head off home feeling pretty satisfied with my recent days of walking.

Overall the Kennet & Avon Canal has been a mixed bag. There is an awful lot to enjoy, and it is full of really nice features. In particular the section between Bath and Devizes was amazing, but there have also been some very muddy footpaths to battle through along the way.

Without those same footpath issues, this is probably up there with the very best canal's in the country - and so well worth a visit in the drier phase of the year - but this one was probably slightly too early in the year for an optimal experience.

That said, it's still been fun, and I've enjoyed it.

Total Distance: 19.2 miles (18.3 miles along the canal)

Total Ascent: 140 feet (98 feet along the canal)

Note that these distances exclude the excursion to get foot at Thatcham - and if you went round to the meeting of the Kennet and Thames, and onto the station via the Thames Path, the total distance walked would increase to 21.1 miles.

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Click for connecting walks along the Thames Path, with walks from Maidenhead to Reading, and from Reading to Goring.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 174 and 175 OS Landranger maps (links redirect to Amazon). The route is very easy to follow