Editing Kennet and Avon Canal (section)

===Bath to Devizes===
[[File:Start of Kennet and Avon Canal - geograph.org.uk - 940305.jpg|alt=A river slowly flowing from the mid-left to bottom-right, with an entrance to a canal toward the upper right. The canal goes immediately under a small bridge, and 100 metres later under another bridge. An attractive hilled area with houses forms the background.|thumb|left|Entrance to the canal from the River Avon in Bath]]
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The restored [[Bath Locks|Bath Bottom Lock]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442708 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019202752/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442708 |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 October 2012 |title=Bath Bottom Lock (442708) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref> marks the divergence of the River Avon and the canal. It is situated south of [[Pulteney Bridge]]. Just upstream of the Bottom Lock are a side [[Canal pound|pound]] and a pumping station that pumps water "upstream" of the locks, to replace that used each time a boat passes through.<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442710 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021231713/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442710 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 October 2012 |title=Former engine house (442710) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref><ref name=allsop21/> The next of the six [[Bath Locks]] is Bath Deep Lock, numbered 8/9 as two locks were combined when the canal was restored in 1976.<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442716 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116175605/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442716 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 November 2007 |title=Second Lock (442716) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref> The new chamber has a depth of {{convert|19|ft|5|in|m}}, making it the UK's second-deepest canal lock.<ref name=allsop21>{{harvnb |Allsop |1987 |p=21}}</ref> Just above the Deep Lock is another side pound as a reservoir for refilling the lock, followed by Wash House Lock.<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442711 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013163820/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442711 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 October 2007 |title=Wash House Lock (442711) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref> After a slightly longer pound is Abbey View Lock,<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442714 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071010051344/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442714 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 October 2007 |title=Abbey View Lock (442714) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref> beside which there is another pumping station and then, in quick succession, Pulteney Lock and Bath Top Lock.<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442717 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071202013750/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442717 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 December 2007 |title=Top Lock (442717) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref>

Above the Top Lock the canal passes through [[Sydney Gardens]] via [[Sydney Gardens Tunnels|two short tunnels]]<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442754 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071127212234/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442754 |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 November 2007 |title=Tunnel under Beckford Road (442754) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442751 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013163701/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442751 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 October 2007 |title=Tunnel under Cleveland House and Sydney Road (442751) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref> and under two cast iron footbridges dating from 1800. Cleveland Tunnel is {{convert|173|ft|m}} long and runs under Cleveland House, the former headquarters of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company<ref name=pearson13>{{harvnb |Pearson |2003 |p=13}}</ref> and now a Grade II* listed building.<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=443799 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012232130/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=443799 |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 October 2012 |title=Cleveland House (443799) |work=[[Images of England]] |author-link = Historic England}}</ref> A trap-door in the tunnel roof connects the canal with Cleveland House. It is often stated that was used to pass paperwork between clerks above and bargees below,<ref name="BuchananBuchanan1980 27">{{cite book|author1=C. A. Buchanan|author2=Robert Angus Buchanan|title=The Batsford Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Central Southern England: Avon County, Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xA8aAAAAMAAJ&q=barges|date=1 January 1980|publisher=B.T. Batsford|isbn=978-0-7134-1364-9|page=27}}</ref><ref name="pearson13" /> although it is possible that the hatch was a refuse chute.<ref name="NHLE Cleveland">{{National Heritage List for England|num=1395310|desc=Cleveland House|access-date=13 February 2020|mode=cs2}}</ref> Many of the bridges over the canal are listed buildings.<ref>{{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442749 |title=Footbridge Adjoining Top Lock (442749) |work=[[Images of England]] |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116175133/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442749 |archive-date=16 November 2007 |url-status=dead |author-link = Historic England}}<br /> • {{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442712 |title=Footbridge adjoining Wash House Lock (442712) |work=[[Images of England]] |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071118211846/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442712 |archive-date=18 November 2007 |url-status=dead |author-link = Historic England}}<br /> • {{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442752 |title=Footbridge over Canal (442752) |work=[[Images of England]] |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071014180935/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442752 |archive-date=14 October 2007 |url-status=dead |author-link = Historic England}}<br /> • {{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=444245 |title=Canal Bridge (444245) |work=[[Images of England]] |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022002952/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=444245 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |url-status=dead |author-link = Historic England}}<br /> • {{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442753 |title=Bridge over Canal (442753) |work=[[Images of England]] |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022003021/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442753 |archive-date=22 October 2012 |url-status=dead |author-link = Historic England}}<br /> • {{cite web |author=Historic England |url=http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/Details/Default.aspx?id=442713 |title=Canal Bridge (Pulteney Gardens) (442713) |work=[[Images of England]] |access-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122020509/http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/details/default.aspx?id=442713 |archive-date=22 November 2007 |url-status=dead |author-link = Historic England}}</ref>

[[File:Canal tunnel under Sydney Road - geograph.org.uk - 2171080.jpg|alt=A yellow stone building. On the left trees reach out over the water.|thumb|left|Cleveland House in Sydney Gardens, Bath]]
On the eastern outskirts of Bath a toll bridge near the George Inn links [[Bathampton]] to [[Batheaston]], on the north bank of the canal. When the [[A4 road (England)|A4]] Batheaston by-pass was built, the {{convert|22|acre|ha|adj=on}} Bathampton Meadow was created to provide additional flood relief. The resultant [[wet meadow]]s and [[oxbow lake]] have proved attractive to a number of migrants; [[Wader|wading birds]] such as [[dunlin]], [[common ringed plover|ringed]] and [[little ringed plover]], and [[green sandpiper|green]] and [[common sandpiper]] are frequent visitors in spring and autumn. [[Sand martin]] and [[common kingfisher|kingfisher]] have been seen regularly by the lake, and other migrants have included [[Western yellow wagtail|yellow wagtail]], [[whinchat]] and [[Eurasian hobby|hobby]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/bathampton.htm |title=Bathampton Meadow |work=Reserves |publisher=[[Avon Wildlife Trust]] |access-date=1 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716072518/http://www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk/reserves/bathampton.htm |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref> The canal turns south into a valley between Bathampton Wood and Bathford Hill which includes [[Brown's Folly]], a {{convert|99|acre|ha|adj=on}} biological and geological [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002510.pdf |title=Brown's Folly |work=Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) |publisher=English Nature |access-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303184120/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1002510.pdf |archive-date= 3 March 2016 }}</ref>

In the Avon Valley to the east of Bath the classic geographical example of a valley with all four forms of ground transport is found: road, rail, river, canal. The canal passes the remains of a loading dock, once used for [[Bath Stone]] from the quarries on [[Bathampton Down]], which was carried down a straight track to the canal over the Dry Arch rock bridge (demolished in 1958 to allow [[double-decker bus]]es to use the [[A36 road|A36]]).<ref name=thomas46>{{harvnb |Thomas |2008 |p=46}}</ref> Next, the canal passes the waterwheel-powered [[Claverton Pumping Station]], which pumped water from the River Avon into the canal. The building was completed in 1810 and the pump was working by 1813.<ref name=hackford35>{{harvnb |Hackford |2001 |p=35}}</ref>

On the eastern bank Warleigh Wood and [[Inwood, Warleigh|Inwood]] are ash-wych elm and ash-maple dry woodland, which comes right down to the canal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1004362.pdf |publisher=[[English Nature]] |title=SSSI citation sheet for Inwood |access-date=16 August 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013125919/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1004362.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2006 }}</ref>

[[File:dundas.aqueduct.arp.jpg|alt=Water in the canal passing over a bridge with stone walls, surrounded by trees. On the left and right are tow paths with cyclists and pedestrians.|thumb|left|[[Dundas Aqueduct]], built in 1805, lies between [[Bradford-on-Avon]] and [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]]. Here the canal crosses high above the [[River Avon (Bristol)|River Avon]] and the railway line (the narrowing is the [[Navigable aqueduct|aqueduct]]).]]

The canal then crosses over the river and the [[Wessex Main Line]] railway at the [[Dundas Aqueduct]], past Conkwell Wood, before recrossing the river and railway at the [[Avoncliff Aqueduct]]. At the western end of the Dundas Aqueduct it is joined by the remains of the [[Somerset Coal Canal]], a short stretch of which has been restored to create the Brassknocker Basin.<ref>{{cite web|title=Origin of Brassknocker Basin name |publisher=Monkton Combe Village |url=http://www.monktoncombe.com/poap/names/page20.htm |access-date=21 November 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702014817/http://www.monktoncombe.com/poap/names/page20.htm |archive-date= 2 July 2007 }}</ref> Excavations of the old stop lock showed that it was originally a broad {{convert|14|ft|m|1|adj=on}} lock that at some point was narrowed to {{convert|7|ft|m|1}} by moving the lock wall.<ref name=halse11>{{harvnb |Halse|Castens|2000 |p=11}}</ref> The Somerset Coal Canal was built around 1800 from basins at [[Paulton]] and [[Timsbury, Somerset|Timsbury]], giving access to London from the [[Somerset Coalfield]], which at its peak contained 80&nbsp;collieries.<ref name=clewscc91to95>{{harvnb |Clew |1970 |pp=91–95}}</ref>

After the Avoncliff Aqueduct the canal passes through Barton Farm [[Country park|Country Park]], past [[Gripwood Quarry]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003653.pdf |publisher=[[English Nature]] |title=SSSI citation sheet for Gripwood Quarry |access-date=22 July 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061013130256/http://www.english-nature.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003653.pdf |archive-date=13 October 2006 }}</ref> and a 14th-century Grade II* listed [[tithe barn]], {{convert|180|ft|m|0}} long and {{convert|30|ft|m|0}} wide, on its way into Bradford-on-Avon.<ref>{{NHLE |num=1364527 |desc=Tithe Barn |access-date=14 September 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=KandAC mile 66 |url=http://www.envf.port.ac.uk/kacanal/html/KAC0187.HTM |work=Kennet and Avon Scrapbook |publisher=University of Portsmouth |access-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322130430/http://www.envf.port.ac.uk/kacanal/html/KAC0187.HTM |archive-date=22 March 2012 }}</ref>
Further east, an aqueduct carries the canal over the [[River Biss]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Monument NO. 865929 (Biss Aqueduct) |url=http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=865929 |work=Pastscape national Monument Record |publisher=[[English Heritage]] |access-date=20 June 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007180602/http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=865929 |archive-date= 7 October 2012 }}</ref> There are locks at [[Semington Locks|Semington]] and [[Seend Locks|Seend]], where water flows into the canal from the Summerham Brook, otherwise known as the Seend Feeder. In the village of [[Semington]] the [[Wilts & Berks Canal]] joined the canal, linking the Kennet and Avon to the [[River Thames]] at [[Abingdon-on-Thames|Abingdon]]. The [[Wilts & Berks Canal|North Wilts Canal]] merged with it to become a branch to the [[Thames and Severn Canal]] at [[Latton, Wiltshire|Latton]] near [[Cricklade]]. The {{convert|52|mi|adj=on}} canal was opened in 1810, but abandoned in 1914&nbsp;– a fate hastened by the collapse of [[Stanley Aqueduct]] in 1901.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Brief History of the Wilts & Berks Canal |url=http://www.wbct.org.uk/history/brief-history-of-wilts-a-berks-canal |publisher=Wilts & Berks Canal Trust |access-date=19 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717004625/http://www.wbct.org.uk/history/brief-history-of-wilts-a-berks-canal |archive-date=17 July 2011 }}</ref> In 1977 the [[Wilts & Berks Canal Trust|Wilts & Berks Canal Amenity Group]] was formed with the aim of fully restoring the canal to re-connect the Kennet and Avon to the upper reaches of the Thames.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wilts & Berks Amenity Group&nbsp;— how it all began Part 1 |url=http://www.wbct.org.uk/history/the-story-of-the-trust/182-wilts-a-berks-amenity-group-how-it-all-began |publisher=Wilts and Berks Canal Trust |access-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110930020357/http://www.wbct.org.uk/history/the-story-of-the-trust/182-wilts-a-berks-amenity-group-how-it-all-began |archive-date=30 September 2011 }}</ref>

[[File:Caen.hill.locks.in.devizes.arp.jpg|alt=A series of approximately 20 black lock gates with white ends to the paddle arms and wooden railings, each slightly higher than the one below. On the right is a path and on both sides grass and vegetation.|thumb|left|These 16 locks at [[Caen Hill locks|Caen Hill]] form part of the [[Devizes]] flight of 29 locks]]

[[Caen Hill Locks]], at [[Devizes]], provides an insight into the engineering needed to build and maintain the canal. The main flight of 16 locks, which take 5–6 hours&nbsp;to navigate in a boat,<ref name=allsop27>{{harvnb |Allsop |1987 |p=27}}</ref> is part of a longer series of 29 locks built in three groups: seven at Foxhangers, sixteen at Caen Hill, and six at the town end of the flight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/Seven-Wonders.html |title=Seven Wonders of the Waterways |publisher=Jim Shead |access-date=15 May 2011 |quote="These seven wonders of the waterways are as listed by Robert Aickman (the co-founder of the Inland Waterways Association in 1946) in his book Know Your Waterways." |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120119085035/http://www.jim-shead.com/waterways/Seven-Wonders.html |archive-date=19 January 2012 }}</ref><ref name="scrapbook">{{cite web |url=http://www.envf.port.ac.uk/kacanal/html/KAC0043.HTM |title=Caen Hill Locks |work=Kennet and Avon Scrapbook 2000 |publisher=University of Portsmouth |access-date=15 May 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525034719/http://www.envf.port.ac.uk/kacanal/html/KAC0043.HTM |archive-date=25 May 2011 }}</ref> The total rise is {{convert|237|ft|m|0}} in {{convert|2|mi|km|1}} or a 1 in 30 [[slope|gradient]].<ref name=cragg154>{{harvnb |Cragg |1997 |p=154}}</ref> The locks were the last part of the {{convert|87|mi|adj=on}} route of the canal to be completed. The steepness of the terrain meant that there was no space to use the normal arrangement of water pounds between the locks. As a result, the 16&nbsp;locks utilise unusually large side ponds to store the water needed for their operation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Caen Hill Locks |publisher=Waterscape.com |url=http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/directory/3044/caen-hill-locks |access-date=19 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130121164527/http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/directory/3044/Caen-Hill-Locks |archive-date=21 January 2013 }}</ref> Because a large volume of water is needed a back pump was installed at Foxhangers in 1996, capable of returning {{convert|7|e6impgal|m3}} of water per day to the top of the flight, equivalent to one lockful every 11&nbsp;minutes.<ref name=pearson27/> From 1829 until 1843 the flight,<ref name="scrapbook"/> which includes the narrowest lock on the canal, Lock 41,<ref name=allsop27/> was illuminated by gas lights.<ref name="scrapbook"/>

At the top of the flight is Devizes Wharf, home to the [[Kennet & Avon Canal Museum]], which has a range of exhibits on the conception, design, usage, and eventual commercial decline of the Kennet and Avon Canal, as well as its subsequent restoration. It is operated by the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, which has its headquarters and a shop within the Canal Centre.<ref>{{cite web|title=Branches|url=http://home.btconnect.com/kenavon/Branches.html|publisher=Kennet and Avon Canal Trust|access-date=22 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111145734/http://home.btconnect.com/kenavon/Branches.html|archive-date=11 November 2011}}</ref> The Wharf Theatre is in an old warehouse on the same site.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Theatre |url=http://www.wharftheatre.co.uk/about |publisher=Wharf Theatre |access-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109065351/http://www.wharftheatre.co.uk/about |archive-date=9 November 2011 }}</ref> Devizes wharf is the starting point for the [[Devizes to Westminster International Canoe Marathon]], which has been held since 1948.<ref name=greenaway>{{cite web|url=http://www.dwrace.org.uk/history.html |author=Brian Greenaway |title=The Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race |access-date=16 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727001609/http://www.dwrace.org.uk/history.html |archive-date=27 July 2011 }}</ref>

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