Kennet & Avon - Devizes to Bedwyn (★★★★☆)

Today is the third of five days spent walking the Kennet & Avon Canal between Bristol and Reading. On the previous day I had walked from Bath to Devizes, and today the plan is to continue on to Great Bedwyn.

Here I will be catching the train on to Newbury, and I will be using that town as my overnight stop for the next two nights (walking from Bedwyn to Newbury on the following day).

Having stayed in the Travelodge in the north of Devizes, it is only a short run before I find myself leaving the town behind and heading out into quiet countryside - and the section from here to Newbury is the most rural section of the canal.

Here I make a lazy start to the day, stopping off at a quiet section of the canal to have an early breakfast - and then continue to lazily wander on, slightly worn out by the previous day's mileage.

When planning this walk I had realised fairly early on that Bath and Devizes were going to be the obvious first two stop over points, and Newbury the obvious last point - but there was a degree of flexibility about how approached today.

One option was to stop fairly early at Pewsey, and then have a very easy middle day - but instead I've opted to maintain a decent distance today (finishing at Bedwyn train station), before having an easier day tomorrow.

But in any case, the scenery suits quite a lazy wander out beyond Devizes - and I'm soon enjoying the sight of one of the ridges that form part of the North Wessex Downs.

Heading past Horton

On the approach to All Cannings

Just before Allington

Also just before Allington

Here the canal is meandering, but at it's most northerly points, it is getting very close to a ridge that runs to the north of the canal - and this area is clearly one to come back to and explore a bit more at a later date.

And as we pass by the (very) small village of Honeystreet, we are now almost directly south of the start of the Ridgeway National Trail, which starts near Beckhampton, or a four mile walk away.

The original route of The Ridgeway is believed to have been part of Britain's oldest road (the Icknield Way), and the National Trial runs from Overton Hill (just north of here) to Ivinghoe Beacon, over the course of 87 miles (generally following the route of The Ridgeway).

The most detail information about the Icknield Way comes from Medieval literature, where Ermine Street, Fosse Way, Watling Street and Icknield Way were the Medieval form of our motorway network - with royal protection being granted to travelers on these roads.

And prior to becoming a National Trial for walkers, the route is believed to have been used for at least 5,000 years - and it was part of a trading route that joined the Dorset coast with the Wash in Norfolk (near King's Lynn).

Unlike down by the canal, the route was chosen for it's high probability of having drier ground, and along the route it is possible to see the remains of a number of historic monuments.

During the Iron Age, a number of hill forts were constructed along the route - but the most notable monuments date back to the Bronze Age, and include the Uffington White Horse and a stone circle at Avebury.

At the moment that walk is not on my near-term list of walks to do, but stood here I think it just moved up the list a bit, as the countryside looks particularly exciting to explore.

But whilst we cannot do that walk today, we do get some benefits from being down here as a White Horse comes into view as we continue to walk along the canal - and for a long span of this section of canal we keep getting increasingly improved glimpses of the horse. The best view, however, comes as we move in line with the start of the Ridgeway National Trail at Honeystreet.

A White Horse

This is not the Uffington White Horse, which lies at the far north of the North Wessex Downs (and much closer to Swindon than to here), but is instead a more recent creation - dating back to 1812 (compared to an estimated date of 1380 to 550 BCE for the Uffington version - Britain's oldest hill figure).

This is a slight disappointment, but it is still an enjoyable addition to the landscape - and whilst it lacks historical pedigree of it's own, it does at least lie close to two Iron Age forts on two of the nearby hills

Beyond Honeystreet, we soon cross over the canal, and pass close by Woodborough Hill and Picked Hill - which give us more of an up close view of the hills in the area, and from here we head on past the village of Pewsey.

Crossing over the canal

Looking forward on the far side

Whilst the railways were responsible for the decline of the canal, those same railways do make up for that today, by making walking along it particularly easy - and at Pewsey we once again have access to the rail network.

From the Bristol end the rail network has frequent train stops all the way up to Bradford-Upon-Avon (or Trowbridge if you don't mind a bit of additional walking), and from here there are regular stops all the way to Reading.

With rain now set to come before I finish for the day, stopping here has it's temptations - but that rain promises to be fairly light, and so I maintain my decision to continue on to the next train station at Bedwyn.

And here on the run out of Pewsey, we get to enjoy the last of the ridge line that has been accompanying us since Devizes - but after heading over Bruce Tunnel, we are now walking along flatter terrain on the final approach to Bedwyn.

Heading out of Pewsey

On the run towards Bruce Tunnel

The tunnel itself

Here we are at the summit of the Kennet & Avon Canal, and Bruce Tunnel is one worthy of HS2 in it's pointlessness - for instead of being built to cut through a large hill, this tunnel resulted from the need to appease the wishes of a wealthy landowner, who did not want a cutting through his land.

In some ways though, I'm happy not to see a cutting - as they are generally twinned with very soggy towpaths - but in any case, from here on it is a slippery journey on towards Bedwyn, as the now falling rain has turned the chalk base of the towpath into a fairly slick surface.

But we still have sites of interest appearing along the canal, with the next coming in the form of an old railway crossing, that has since ceased to exist.

Old route of the railway to Marlborough

And the lock just down from here

The railway has been running parallel to the canal from Pewsey, but trains also used to head up from here to Marlborough

Prior to cuts in the 1960s this area had a busy and entwined rail network - and a branch line opened in 1864 to connect Marlborough up to Savernake - which was a train station that used to sit at the site of Bruce Tunnel (and which would in turn connect to the line that runs parallel to this canal).

By 1882 this line had been extended - with a section added between Marlborough and Swindon, and a second between Savernake and Andover, with this canal crossing being for the southern extension down to Andover.

In time the route suffered due to competition from roads, and this section of railway closed in 1961 - although the vast majority of the route between Marlborough and Swindon has been retained as a cycle trail.

In 2013 attempts were made to reopen the original branch line between Marlborough and Savernake, with a plan to have trains running direct from Marlborough to London (with Bedwyn until recently having been a terminus for the occasional direct train to London, and still being the terminus for services to and from Newbury).

In the end though, the £30m cost was too much - and in 2018 the scheme officially came to a halt, and these days the focus is on improving the bus services between Bedwyn train station and Marlborough (although most pop in their car and park at the station).

Continuing on, we next pass by Crofton Beam Engines - and here we have a pumping station that was used to restore water supplies at the summit of the Kennet & Avon Canal.  

Crofton Pumping Station

The steam-engines here still operate on occasional weekends, and date back to 1812 - and whilst this is not the oldest working beam engine that continues to operate in it's original engine house, it is supposedly the oldest working beam engine that continues to operate in it's original engine house and still doing the job for which it was installed.  For reference the oldest beam engine seems to be the Elsecar Newcomen Engine (between Barnsley and Sheffield), which is no longer used for the job for which it was originally installed.

This site at the peak of the canal has a lack of natural water sources, but a set of springs were found, and the role of the pumping station was to pump water up from those springs into the canal.

Later a reservoir (very slightly to the south of the canal at Wilton Water - and on the right as we walk past) was installed to improve the water supply.

These days water continues to be pumped up by electric pumps, but the steam-engines are still able to pump water up into the canal.

The pumping station can be visited on the right days (see their website), and is free to visit (though a donation is appreciated).

But it is closed today, and from here we face a very muddy final run into Bedwyn - where the mud starts to get the better of my mood (and seemingly of a jogger, who is trying to jog along the muddy towpath) - and in the end I decide to turn off slightly early, and complete the final run into Bedwyn along the road.

The church at Great Bedwyn

Here we arrive at the train station just in time to see the previous train depart, leaving us to settle in for a long wait until the next hourly train. 

Here I could go exploring, and find somewhere in town to dry, but by this point I haven't the energy - and I settle for taking the opportunity to dry off a bit in the train shelter.

From here the plan is to take the train to Newbury, and then tomorrow morning we will return to Bedwyn, and then walk the next section of the canal to Newbury.

Total Distance: 20.3 miles

Total Ascent: 371 feet (up to the summit)

Note the distances only include getting to Bedwyn, there was additional mileage in Newbury getting from the station to my accommodation.

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Click for the next section of the Kennet & Avon Canal from Bedwyn to Newbury.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 173 and 174 OS Landranger maps (links redirect to Amazon). There are no challenges following the route, but for those using bikes note that the mud is very tricky unless it is very dry, and there are steps at Bruce Tunnel