Bath walk on BBC Television
May
18
The Kennet & Avon Canal in Bath was featured on television this week, and you can watch it on the BBC iPlayer until the 30th May, and go and walk, run or cycle along the towpath any time.
The Kennet & Avon canal starts in Bath, and links the River Avon to the River Thames, via the River Kennet in Reading. The first section from Bath to the beautiful aquaduct at Dundas is in the OutdoorsWest area. You could walk or ride along the canal with a return on the train, from stations at Freshford, Avoncliff or Bradford-on-Avon. At Bath, the Kennet and Avon canal meets the River Avon, and the River Avon Trail for walkers follows the river downstream all the way to the Severn estuary through Saltford, Keynsham, Bristol and Pill. Or, there's the Bristol and Bath Railway Path for walkers and cyclists. Or, just go for a short stroll! We'll add more information about the Kennet & Avon Canal to the OutdoorsWest website in time, but for now, look at this information provided by British Waterways.
There's more about the programme on the BBC website: "Seasoned stomper Julia Bradbury dons her walking boots once again to explore her own British backyard, travelling along the country's network of canals and their accompanying towpath trails. This sees her navigating Highland glens, rolling countryside and river valleys, as well as our industrial heartlands, following these magical waterways as they cut a sedate path through some of the country's finest scenery.
Julia starts this walk in the beautiful world heritage city of Bath, where the Kennet and Avon Canal provided a 19th century 'canal superhighway' between the country's two most important ports, Bristol and London. But only forty years later the trade along the canal was usurped by rail travel, leaving the once great waterway neglected and derelict. Julia's 20-mile walk, along what is arguably the most picturesque stretch of the canal, tells the story of how the waterway was restored to its former glory after it was awarded the biggest ever lottery heritage grant. The walk ends at the spectacular Caen Hill flight of locks, listed as one of the seven wonders of British waterways."
