Editing Kennet and Avon Canal (section)

===Early plans===
The idea of an east-to-west waterway link across southern England was first mentioned in [[Elizabethan era|Elizabethan]] times, between 1558 and 1603,<ref name=clew15to18>{{harvnb |Clew |1985 |pp=15–18}}</ref> to take advantage of the proximity of tributaries of the rivers [[River Avon (Bristol)|Avon]] and [[River Thames|Thames]], only {{convert|3|mi|km|0}} apart at their closest. Later, around 1626, [[Henry Briggs (mathematician)|Henry Briggs]] made a [[Construction survey|survey]] of the two rivers and noted that the land between them was level and easy to dig. He proposed a canal to connect them, but following his death in 1630 the plan was dropped. After the [[English Civil War]] four [[Bill (law)|bills]] were presented to parliament, but all failed after opposition from gentry, farmers and traders worried about cheaper water transport reducing the value of fees on [[Toll road|turnpike roads]] they controlled, and cheaper produce from Wales undercutting locally produced food.<ref name=clew15to18/>

The main alternative to road transport for the carriage of goods between [[Bristol]] and London was a hazardous sea route through the [[English Channel]]. The small coastal [[sailing ship]]s of the day were often damaged by Atlantic storms, and risked being attacked by [[warship]]s of the [[French Navy]] and [[privateer]]s during a succession of conflicts with France.<ref name="hist">{{cite web | title=Kennet & Avon Canal Trust | url=http://home.btconnect.com/kenavon/history_page01.html | publisher=Kennet and Avon Canal Trust | access-date=20 September 2006| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402150258/http://home.btconnect.com/kenavon/history_page01.html| archive-date=2 April 2012}}</ref>