A rather belated end to my cruising notes for 2014 (posted14/04/2015) - mostly photos. I spent a few days at the start of October in Bath and Bathampton.
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| Bath Top Lock |
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| looking down the canal to Bath |
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| The Avon |
I had hoped to go through the Bath locks and onto the Avon down to Bristol but the forecast for river levels was not good so I made do with walking down to the Avon. It looks pretty peaceful but it can rise very quickly.
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| Entering Bath Deep Lock - not for the faint-hearted. |
Two locks were
combined when the canal was restored in 1976. A road constructed while
the canal was in a state of disrepair passes over the original site of
the lower lock.
The new chamber has a depth of 19 ft 5 in,
making it Britain's second deepest canal lock, second only to Tuel Lane Lock on the Rochdale, just deeper at 19 ft 8½ in.
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| That is a long ladder to ascend or descend |
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| And the influx of water is pretty fierce - I do not think I would like to attempt it on my own |
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| Bath Pump House |
Above the top lock the canal passes through Sydney Gardens where it passes through two tunnels
and under two cast iron footbridges dating from 1800. Cleveland tunnel
is 173 ft long and runs under Cleveland House, the former
headquarters of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company. A trap-door in the
tunnel roof was employed to exchange paperwork between clerks above and
barges below.
This is now a grade II listed building
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| Sunset at Bathampton. Nice mooring but noisy (road and rail) |
After a night at Bradford, where I manage one of the boater's breakfasts which I missed out on when coming down, I moor up and discover what is to become my favourite mooring on the K&A.
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| Perfect |
After staying over a week I remember to take some photos before leaving.
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| Reconstruction of a Tudor barn |
The owner may be a trifle eccentric but he encourages walkers and Scout camps - James particularly enjoys the woods and many fields.
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| No petrol price advertised!! |
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| And a sense of humour |
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| Ready to depart |
So, that was cruising over for another year. Well, almost. When I went back to winterise the boat it was a glorious Autumn day - I could not resist a final little outing.
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| The entrance to Caen Hill Marina |
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| All over - a lovely ending as a bonus |
TOTAL 2014
662 miles; 379 locks (140 broad; 37 large); 46 moveable bridges
2 YEAR TOTAL
1538 miles; 846 locks (365 broad or large); 124 moveable bridges
