Editing Kennet and Avon Canal (section)

===Bristol to Bath===
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[[File:River Avon above Saltford Lock - geograph.org.uk - 181071.jpg|alt=Photograph|thumb|left|River Avon above [[Saltford Lock]]]]
The [[River Avon, Bristol|River Avon]] was navigable from Bristol to Bath during the early years of the 13th century, until the construction of mills on the river forced its closure.<ref name="hist"/>
The modern Avon is navigable from its mouth at [[Avonmouth]], through the [[Bristol Harbour|Floating Harbour]] in Bristol, as far as [[Pulteney Bridge|Pulteney Weir]] in the centre of Bath and just beyond the start of the canal. Beyond Pulteney Weir the Avon is still navigable as far as the weir and site of the old "flash lock" at Bathampton but the lock at Pulteney has been replaced only with a small boat slide for dinghies and canoes. The stretch from Bristol to Bath is made navigable by the use of locks and [[weir]]s at [[Hanham Lock|Hanham]], [[Keynsham Lock|Keynsham]], [[Swineford Lock|Swineford]], [[Saltford Lock|Saltford]], [[Kelston Lock|Kelston]] and [[Weston Lock|Weston]], which together overcome a rise of {{convert|30|ft|m|0}} within {{convert|12|mi|km}}.<ref>{{cite web|title=Keynsham Lock No 2 |work=Canalplan AC Gazetteer |url=http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=0ooo |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004093741/http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=0ooo |archive-date= 4 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Swineford Lock No 3 |work=Canalplan AC Gazetteer |url=http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=1i10 |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004093851/http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=1i10 |archive-date=4 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Saltford Lock No 4 |work=Canalplan AC Gazetteer |url=http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=fm1r |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004094012/http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=fm1r |archive-date= 4 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Kelston Lock No 5 |work=Canalplan AC Gazetteer |url=http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=cuft |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004094052/http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=cuft |archive-date= 4 October 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Weston Lock No 6 |work=Canalplan AC Gazetteer |url=http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=gpdq |access-date=22 May 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111004094301/http://www.canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?id=gpdq |archive-date= 4 October 2011 }}</ref>
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 Is this wood actually a feature of the canal? 
The {{convert|23|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[Bickley Wood]] is a [[geological Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI) on the northern bank of the river on either side of the bridge carrying the [[A4174 road]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1000535.pdf | format=PDF | publisher=[[English Nature]] | title=SSSI citation sheet for Bickley Wood |access-date=9 July 2006}}</ref>
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Lock number one on the Kennet and Avon Canal is [[Hanham Lock]], first opened as part of the Avon Navigation in 1727. It is the first lock east of [[Easton, Bristol|Netham]], the upstream limit of the Floating Harbour, beyond the suburbs of the city of Bristol. A colliery [[wharf]] was sited just west of the lock, but the nearby [[Coal mining|coal mines]] closed in the 19th century.<ref name=allsop15>{{harvnb |Allsop |1987 |p=15}}</ref> The river below Hanham Lock is considered to be [[tide|tidal]], as high tides often pass over the weir at Netham. Some [[spring tide]]s pass over the weir at Hanham, making the river tidal up to [[Keynsham Lock]].<ref name=colins60>{{harvnb |Nicholson |2006 |p=60}}</ref> Heading east, the river passes the [[Somerdale Factory]], on its southern bank, which was a chocolate production factory for [[Cadbury]] – originally built by the [[J. S. Fry & Sons|Fry family]] in the 1920s and 1930s. On the northern bank is [[Cleeve Wood, Hanham|Cleeve Wood]], the primary scientific importance of which lies in its particularly large population of Bath asparagus (''[[Ornithogalum pyrenaicum]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002574.pdf |title=SSSI citation sheet for Cleeve Wood, Hanham |publisher=[[English Nature]] |access-date=5 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319222321/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002574.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2009 }}</ref>
A public house has been built on the island between Keynsham Lock and the weir. The weir side of the island is also the mouth of the [[River Chew]].<ref name=pearson8>{{harvnb |Pearson |2003 |p=8}}</ref>

[[File:Pulteney bridge in Bath view from south before noon2.jpg|alt=A three arch stone bridge with buildings on it, over water. Below the bridge is a three step weir and pleasure boat.|thumb|left|The weir at [[Pulteney Bridge]], the limit of navigation on the River Avon]]
The river then passes through [[Avon Valley Country Park]] and past [[Stidham Farm]], another SSSI that contains [[Pleistocene]] terrace-gravels of the river. A depth of at least {{convert|7|ft|m|0}} of sandy gravels are recorded, consisting mainly of [[limestone]] [[Clastic rock|clasts]], but also with [[Millstone Grit]], Pennant [[Sandstone]], flint, and chert clasts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002564.pdf |publisher=[[English Nature]] |title=SSSI citation sheet for Stidham Farm |access-date=13 July 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013122643/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002564.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2006 }}</ref> The river passes under the old railway line that now forms the [[Avon Valley Railway]], a {{convert|3|mi|km|0|spell=in|adj=mid|-long}} [[heritage railway]], before reaching [[Swineford Lock]]. Here, between 1709 and 1859, there was an active [[brass]] and copper industry served by the river, which also provided water power for the cloth industry.<ref name=allsop17>{{harvnb |Allsop |1987 |p=17}}</ref> The remains of [[Kelston Brass Mill]], which was working until 1925, are next to [[Saltford Lock]]. The lock was opened in 1727 but destroyed by rival coal dealers in 1738, to prevent the river being used for transportation.<ref name="allsop17"/>

The [[Bristol and Bath Railway Path]] crosses the navigation several times before reaching the suburb of [[Newbridge, Bath|Newbridge]] on the outskirts of Bath. Here the [[A4 road (England)|A4]] crosses close to the [[Newton St Loe SSSI]], which is designated an SSSI because it represents the only remaining known exposure of fossiliferous [[Pleistocene]] gravels containing the remains of [[mammoth]]s (''Mammuthus'') and horses (''Equus'') along the river, and has aided the development of a scientific understanding of the history of early [[Glacial period|glaciation]] in [[South West England]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002500.pdf |publisher=[[English Nature]] |title=SSSI citation sheet for Newton St Loe |access-date=7 July 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524211652/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002500.pdf |archive-date=24 May 2011 }}</ref> The final lock before entering Bath is [[Weston Lock]], opened in 1727. Its construction created an island between the [[Cut (earthmoving)|cut]] and the river weir, which became known as Dutch Island after the owner of the brass mill established on the riverside in the early 18th century.<ref name=allsop20>{{harvnb |Allsop |1987 |p=20}}</ref>

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