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Kennet & Avon

You don’t have to head north to enjoy the National CycleNetwork’s signature rides. The 100-mile route from Reading toBristol, following the Kennet & Avon Canal, is just 25 minutesfrom London by train. And best of all, canals try to dodge hillsrather than going over them – so it’s easy cycling all the way.

It’s far from monotonous, though. As well as the canal towpath,there’s an enjoyable stretch on Wiltshire’s country lanesbetween Hungerford and Devizes. Then, after passing throughthe centre of Bath on city streets, you continue to Bristol on thefamous Bristol-Bath Railway Path, Sustrans’ first ever route.

Sights along the way include the dramatic Caen Hill Locks atDevizes, the elegant Dundas Aqueduct, and the narrow Avonvalley from Bradford-on-Avon into Bath. Take your camera – anda blank memory card. To slow your progress even further, youget to enjoy canal hospitality at a series of waterside inns, manyof them owned by Devizes’ own Wadworth brewery.

This is the ideal long weekend ride for cyclists in London and thesouth of England, and makes a suitable first-time cycling tour. Ifyou have limited time, you can stop at Bath, or start at Newbury;both have frequent train services.

What sort of bike?

The towpath isn’t tarmac, so you’ll find it more comfortable goingon a hybrid than a road bike. That said, the latter will be fine withdecent tyres (and mudguards). If you’re taking a mountain bike,you might prefer to stay on the towpath between Hungerford andDevizes instead of following the signposted route on countrylanes.

How many days?

It’s 100 miles from Reading to Bristol; plan for two or three days.Most of the route is a towpath shared with walkers and anglers,so faster speeds are inappropriate. In particular, any boaters youmeet will have settled into the rhythm of life at 4mph, and thelast thing they’ll be looking out for is a speeding cyclist barrellingdown the towpath at 20mph.

What’s the towpath like?

Most of it has a light gravel surface or is robust compactedearth. There’ll inevitably be puddles after rain, and the oddpothole. In general, the western section from Devizes to Bath isbetter surfaced than the eastern part from Reading.

The route leaves the canal between Hungerford and Devizes, tofollow a winding course on (roughly) parallel country lanes – allsurfaced, of course. You can choose to stay on the towpathhere, and indeed most boaters consider this the most attractivepart of the canal. However, the path is significantly rougher andnarrower, and you’ll make still slower progress. There’s a shorttunnel on this stretch that has no towpath.

Is it suitable for a first-timer?

Very much. The towpath itself is pretty much level, of course. Bygoing east-to-west, you’ll be descending the famous Caen Hillflight of locks at Devizes. (Watch your speed!) There are a fewhills on the road section between Hungerford and Devizes, butnothing too challenging.

How do I get there and back?

There are frequent, fast direct trains between London, Reading,Bath and Bristol Temple Meads. First Great Western is bike-friendly by railway standards, but services on this line do fill upwith bikes quickly, especially at weekends. Try and travel off-peak if possible, and consider booking.

The bike spaces are at the very front of the train (carriage A).The conductors will thank you for standing in the right place,with your panniers already detached, and with minimum faffingabout: they have to explain every minute of delay.

Reading to Hungerford

The Kennet & Avon Canal takes a curious course throughReading. It’s actually the River Kennet at this point – indeed, theKennet meets the Thames one mile west of Reading station. Butthe ‘natural’ river has been corraled into an artificial coursethrough the Oracle shopping centre, with traffic lights to regulatethe movement of boats through the town.

You can cycle through the town to join the towpath at the Oracle,or do the completist thing by starting on the River Thames.Whichever, keep an eye out for National Cycle Network route 4signs; this is the number you’ll be following all the way to Bristol.(You’ll also see route 5 beside the Thames, which runs fromhere to Oxford and beyond.)

After a brief diversion on residential streets, the towpath strikesout into the flat Berkshire countryside. The ‘K&A’ (as it’suniversally known) is a particularly interesting canal for thosewith watery interests. It fell into dereliction after the SecondWorld War, and was only reopened in 1990 after a mammothvolunteer restoration campaign. Even then, it was hardly inpristine condition, and required a £28m Millennium grant to‘finish the job’.

The towpath is mostly solid, compacted earth, though there’s ashort gravel path diversion before the M4 crossing. TheRowbarge at Woolhampton, 13 miles into the ride, is a goodplace to sit and watch the boats go by. (It’s now an outpost of thehighly regarded Cheshire-based Brunning & Price pub company,so not a bad place for lunch.)

In Thatcham, the official route follows cycleways alongsuburban streets. The towpath is more attractive, passing theturf-sided Monkey Marsh Lock, but the surface can be muddyand is best avoided after rain. It returns to the towpath untilNewbury, where the canal runs right through the pedestrianisedtown centre.

Three rural miles on, and the route leaves the canal at BenhamLock. Despite the bright blue metal sign, it’s easy to be lulledinto the rhythms of towpath riding and miss the turn. After asudden climb out of the Kennet valley, country lanes take you toattractive little Kintbury, with its village stores and pubs, beforethe canalside town of Hungerford.

Hungerford to Devizes

Though the 32 miles from Hungerford to Devizes are all oncountry lanes rather than traffic-free towpath, it’s far from asecond-class section of route. True, there’s a little more climbingto do, particularly either side of Burbage – close to the summit ofthe canal.

Cycling through quiet Wiltshire villages is a delight in itself, anda welcome contrast to the isolation of the canal. The thatchedpubs, stone cottages, rolling pastureland and wooded lanesmake this a delight on sunny summer days and autumnevenings alike.

Hungerford, too, is an attractive little town. Its direct trainservice to London inevitably makes it popular with commuters,but its centrepiece High Street retains a small-town characterwith butchers and greengrocers rubbing shoulders with antiqueshops. The striking railway viaduct dominates the view downhill,especially when a High Speed Train rumbles across.

The road runs close to the canal around the two immaculateBedwyns (Great and Little). A little further on, at Crofton, thecanal pump-house still stands proud; it’s in steam once a monthduring the summer. There’s a final railway station at Pewsey,together with a brace of shops.

We’d suggest a brief diversion at Woodborough. Turn rightinstead of left at the T-junction, and after a mile you’ll arrive backat the canal and, more importantly, the splendidly eccentricBarge Inn at Honeystreet. An international centre for crop circleresearch, where “research” means “cider-fuelled speculationand implausible schemes”, it starred in the BBC’s Village SOSseries as locals clubbed together to rescue their pub. Do visit,though we can’t guarantee that you’ll be in any fit state to getback on the bike afterwards.

Returning to the route, the winding lanes take a gentle course tothe attractive market town of Devizes. Take an hour to ventureaway from the towpath into the town centre; the Market Place isespecially fine, with buildings from the 15th to 19th centuries.

Devizes to Bath

Back on the canal, the ride begins with the emblematic image ofthe Kennet & Avon Canal – the flight of locks at Caen Hill,Devizes. This is one of the steepest descents on the canalsystem, and the 16 broad locks are a tough workout for anyboater. Going downhill on a bike is much easier, but do keepyour speed down; several accidents have taken place here.

The towpath is better surfaced here than around Reading, andbusier, too. It’s still rural, but feels less isolated than the summitsection with boatyards and canalside pubs to provide interest.

Bradford-on-Avon is a famously pretty village, its narrowstreets often crammed with tourist coaches. The towpath isbarely less thronged, thanks to the popular café and pub.(There’s a bike shop here, too.)

From here, the canal follows the valley of the River Avon all theway to Bath. A 1920s traveller wrote that “The scenery of thiscanal from Bradford-on-Avon to the Dundas aqueduct surpassesanything this writer can adequately describe”, and it’s no lesstrue today. The natural beauty of the valley is only enhanced bythe elegant aqueducts at Avoncliff and Dundas. Perhapsunsurprisingly, many live-aboard boaters have made this sectionof the canal their home. The towpath can be a little cluttered asa result, but that’s no hardship – slow down and enjoy.

Immediately after Dundas Aqueduct, National Cycle Networkroute 24 leaves to the left. For an alternative route to Bath, youcan follow this, then after two miles, turn along the stunning newTwo Tunnels route (NCN 244) on the subterranean line of the oldSomerset & Dorset Railway. NCN 4 along the towpath morethan holds its own against this competition, sharing the Avonvalley with the mainline railway through pretty Bathampton.This is a very busy section of route, particularly at weekends.

Bath to Bristol

The Kennet & Avon Canal formally ends at Bath, and the naturalRiver Avon forms the rest of the watery route to Bristol. Ourcycle route changes, too. Instead of the towpath, it follows theBristol & Bath Railway Path, a superb cycling highway betweenthe two cities.

First comes Bath itself, where the route wisely chooses toplunge right through the heart of this architecturally marvellouscity, even if there’s a little more traffic to dodge. Great PulteneyStreet is stunning, a Georgian avenue leading to the famousbuilt-up bridge over the River Avon. NCN 4 has its own one-waysystem through the city centre, so keep a careful eye out for theblue stickers. (Connoisseurs of bike media may spot the officesof Future Publishing, owners of several top-selling cycling titles;the rather good road-cycling site road.cc is also based in thecity.)

The riverside path leads us to the incongruous start of therailway path at the Maltings Industrial Estate. From here, 13miles of gentle cycling lead us straight to the heart of Bristol withbarely a car in sight. You’ll see trains, though – part of the routeis shared with the Avon Valley Railway, a tourist steam operation– and the occasional boat on the River Avon below.

Don’t be tempted to put your head down and aim for a speedrecord along here. Though bikes are in the majority, it is ashared path, and you’ll encounter walkers and nervous familycyclists along the way.

Finally, the path deposits you on quiet city streets just a milefrom Bristol city centre. The route is well signed from here tothe harbour-front, which makes a fitting end to the ride. Take apicture of yourself in front of the nicely sculpted National CycleNetwork map by the @Bristol centre. Bristol rightly calls itself a‘Cycling City’, and there’s much to explore here; but if your timeis limited, Temple Meads station is directly signposted from thecycle route.

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