European Railroad Discussion > Along the Kennet and Avon Canal

Last Friday, whilst visiting my father in law in Marlborough, Wiltshire, I took myself off for a walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal, from Bedwyn to Pewsey, roughly nine miles. It's a picturesque stretch of both the canal and the Paddington to Penzance West of England mainline. The Kennet and Avon was in many ways a precursor to the Great Western Railway, a 57 mile canal linking the River Kennet (a navigable tributary of the Thames) at Newbury with the River Avon, also navigable, at Bath and providing a through route from Bristol to London. The canal portion was constructed under the supervision of master canal builder John Rennie between 1795 and 1810, falling into disrepair and virtually abandoned after it was taken over by the railway! Today it has been fully restored and is navigable throughout. It provides a lovely walk as well as unrivalled access to photo spots on the WoE Mainline (also known as the Berks and Hants). Friday was a wonderful autumnal day, blessed with plenty of sunshine and trains. Here are a few.

1: The 10:06 Paddington to Penzance is still billed by Great Western as The Cornish Riviera Express, running non-stop from Reading to Exeter and reaching Exeter (171 miles) in two hours from Paddington, Penzance (305 miles) in five hours. Here it is between Bedwyn and Crofton, taken from the recently restored skew bridge. It won't be long before the HSTs are replaced by the new Hitachi built bi-mode IET (Intercity Express Trains).

2: The pumping station at Crofton contains two of the worlds oldest steam engines, beam engines built by Boulton and Watt (1812) and Harveys of Hayle (1842). Today they are owned by a charitable trust and steam on high days and holidays. Canal water levels are routinely maintained by electric pumps. A loaded stone train from Whatley Quarry to St Pancras (Churchyard Sidings) behind 66055 Alain Thauvette

3: Some of you may be acquainted with the historical novels by Hilary Mantell about England's King Henry the Eighth and his chancellor Thomas Cromwell? Well this was taken from Wolf Hall overbridge, just off the canal. Wolf Hall was the home of the Seymour family whose daughter, Jane, became Henry's third wife after he disposed of Ann Boleyn. The hall is no more. the train is another HST on a Penzance to London service.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/17 04:00 by 86235.

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4: I quickly nipped back to Crofton for the next westbound HST, to Plymouth, before striking out west again.
5: The only small settlement between Bedwyn and Pewsey is Wootton Rivers, which has a very nice, ancient pub. Before sampling a Ramsbury Pale Ale I shot 59104 on the 7C77 Acton Yard (in West London) to Merehead Quarry
6: Final picture is another empty stone train, 59206 on the 6C76 Acton to Whatley taken on the outskirts of Pewsey from where I caught a bus back to Marlborough. As you can see, as in so many places, Network Rail is allowing vegetation to encroach very close to the right of way.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/17 03:28 by 86235.

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Another great set of photos Nick Many thanks for posting.

Malcolm
New Zealand

Thanks Malcolm

Good show, Nick. Thanks. Gerry

Outstanding! I will definately put the Crofton pumping plant on my list of things to see
during my next visit to the U.K. Canals & trains can't be beat.

WrongWayMurphy Wrote:
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> I will definately put the Crofton
> pumping plant on my list of things to see
> during my next visit to the U.K. Canals &
> trains can't be beat.

Go on a steaming weekend, it's a good experience. Couldn't agree more about canals and trains, we're very lucky there are plenty of such locations across the country.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/31/17 10:04 by 86235.

Excellent pictures ! Thank you for sharing!!! :):):)

In one of the C.S. Forester novels about the sea captain Horatio Hornblower, he rides a canal boat to London. Through his eyes, it's absolutely the latest technology. I remember being fascinated reading it. Thanks for the pictures.