Is the Kennet & Avon really *that* bad in the summer?

[bigolslabomeat]

Looking for any recent experience of the K&A in the summer for around a three week trip up to Caen Hill Locks and back again. I am lucky enough to have a 6 week sabbatical from work this summer so it will be one of the few chances we have to take an extended break on the boat and actually *get* somewhere far away from our home on the Wey.  We had already discounted the London canals (our first idea) as being too busy with day boats and few moorings that might make our first proper trip away a little more stressful than we would like.

 

There has been some mention on another thread-that-shall-not-be-named that the K&A is also a bit of a struggle in the summer.  How much truth to this is there based on other boater's recent experience?  We're sort of planning to "race" to the finish line at Caen hill and then pootle back at a more leisurely pace.

[magnetman]

I have not been on the K&A since 2001. I think it is generally the western end around Bradford on Avon and bath which is very full. Reading is a horrible dump but once out of there past Sulhamstead? it was quite nice. 

 

Probably a bit different now. 

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

1 hour ago, magnetman said:

I have not been on the K&A since 2001. I think it is generally the western end around Bradford on Avon and bath which is very full. Reading is a horrible dump but once out of there past Sulhamstead? it was quite nice. 

 

Probably a bit different now. 

 

 

 

First part, I agree. Second part I would say after Fobny Lock it gets nice.

 

The only thing I would add is that mooring can be difficult unless you have a long plank and can make long jumps to the shore. Where it is easier to get into the bank it can get crowded at times so the usual plan to moor up earlier than you may wish, just like other popular canal moorings elsewhere.

[magnetman]

I was told the reason why mooring is awkward is because when the canal was restored there was quite a lot of input from eco worriers.

 

Some of the piling was submerged in order to allow water voles to do their thing without the critters needing angle grinders or plasma cutters. 

 

So there is a naturalised gap between the bank protection and the bank itself and to quote a woman who I spoke to about it 'You are not supposed to moor there'. 

I failed to get off the Boat safely at one of these moorings once. Wet foot. Only done that 3 times in 30 years. Dodgy situation. 

 

I don't know if the water voles were that bothered about it. 

 

 

[magpie patrick]

The canal changes character quite a bit, but whilst it was restored it wasn't restored to any particular standard. Practically what @magnetman says is true but the reason the banks are so wild is that restoration of many lengths didn't consist of much more than dredging the channel and hoping for the best. 

 

The infamous Limpley Stoke dry section does have a shelf, but it's beyond the end of your proposed cruise. 

 

I don't recommend mooring on the summit - the level drops alarmingly on occasion. 

 

Other than that, I've taken a 23 foot cabin cruiser, a 45 foot narrowboat and a 56 foot by 12 foot wide beam over much of the canal (all of it between them) and always managed to moor somewhere

[booke23]

Spent time on there in the last couple of years. Going from the Reading to Caen Hill and back, it's surprisingly nice. Probably the nicest section of the canal. Once you get to Pewsey heading west, it's actually stunning countryside all the way to Devizes. In fact it's lovely anywhere away from the urban stretches in Reading and to a lesser extent Newbury. You will absolutely need a long plank - I had a 9ft converted aluminum ladder and that was adequate. You could potentially do without a plank using visitor moorings, but it's hit and miss if you'll find space on them and it'll severely restrict where you can stop. Not to many CMers in this section either. 

 

The only issues in the past few summers is that there have been water shortages on the summit due to pumps being replaced.....this has resulted in reduced hours of operation of the summit locks and occasional stoppages, and I'm not sure if this has been resolved. 

 

To answer your question, I didn't find it bad at all.

Edited January 13 by booke23

[magnetman]

1 hour ago, magpie patrick said:

The canal changes character quite a bit, but whilst it was restored it wasn't restored to any particular standard. Practically what @magnetman says is true but the reason the banks are so wild is that restoration of many lengths didn't consist of much more than dredging the channel and hoping for the best. 

 

The infamous Limpley Stoke dry section does have a shelf, but it's beyond the end of your proposed cruise. 

 

I don't recommend mooring on the summit - the level drops alarmingly on occasion. 

 

Other than that, I've taken a 23 foot cabin cruiser, a 45 foot narrowboat and a 56 foot by 12 foot wide beam over much of the canal (all of it between them) and always managed to moor somewhere

It was Limpley Stoke where I fell in. 

Well I didn't actually fall in but got a foot wet. 

[NarrowboatTor]

I completed Devizes to Thames last year between April and may, took my time and enjoyed the run, a few broken and very stiff locks although still passable with a few hands.

Long plank definitely needed, shallow edges in many places.

Very pretty in a lot of spots, crowded in only a few, some areas a bit overgrown with reeds etc.

 

Pics are from a trip out the year before as I was marina based in Devizes for five years.

Definitely a bit reedy in places.

Boat is 55ft and single handed 

Look up "Woodborough" on Google maps and it'll show you the sunset pic I took moored near picked hill, was very peaceful.

Edited January 13 by NarrowboatTor

[GUMPY]

With six weeks to spare you could go up the Oxford to Braunston then on to Fradley  back down the Old Union then the GU and home. 

Far more adventurous than the K&A mooring ditch 🤔

[bigolslabomeat]

*I* can do 6 weeks, but the Mrs can't and I think our kids would try and drown themselves in the canal if we tried to keep them out that long 😂

 

The other three weeks will also be spent on maintenance/upgrades/paint

[GUMPY]

Even 3 weeks would allow the Thames ring via Braunston to be easily done.

Is that other 3 weeks to repair the paintwork after the trip 😁

[blackrose]

I did the whole length of the K&A in spring 2013 on my widebeam and I really enjoyed it. I was on a bit of a mission as I was relocating for work so I didn't get to spend as much time as I'd have liked to in certain places. I was single-handed and went from Thames & Kennet marina at Reading to Bristol floating harbour in 8 days.

 

I appreciate it may have changed a bit over the last 12 years, but the only difficulties I had was on Easter weekend when I had to make use of the days off work to move and there were so many hire boats between Bradford and Bath, many of which didn't seem to know what they were doing. It was pretty chaotic, with lots of boats bashing into each other - but it was fairly good-humoured and my fault for moving at Easter.

[bigolslabomeat]

18 minutes ago, GUMPY said:

Even 3 weeks would allow the Thames ring via Braunston to be easily done.

Is that other 3 weeks to repair the paintwork after the trip 😁

and removing dents

 

I'll look that ring up, I originally just planned "how far away can I get and back in that time"

[MtB]

I'd second the Thames/GU ring. We did it many years ago without rushing (but equally not hanging about) in a fortnight, including a day or two diverting off onto the River Wey.

[Stilllearning]

19 hours ago, magnetman said:

I was told the reason why mooring is awkward is because when the canal was restored there was quite a lot of input from eco worriers.

 

Some of the piling was submerged in order to allow water voles to do their thing without the critters needing angle grinders or plasma cutters. 

 

So there is a naturalised gap between the bank protection and the bank itself and to quote a woman who I spoke to about it 'You are not supposed to moor there'. 

I failed to get off the Boat safely at one of these moorings once. Wet foot. Only done that 3 times in 30 years. Dodgy situation. 

 

I don't know if the water voles were that bothered about it. 

 

 

Back in the 90s when I moored at Great Bedwyn I was told that the canal was originally dug with a saucer shape, probably as a way to deal with the underlying chalk, which is not a stone you want to try building a wall out of.

So yes, a long plank, and remember to have longer ropes than you might have otherwise, and walk the plank carrying your pegs and lump hammer with you.

 

[David Mack]

24 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

Back in the 90s when I moored at Great Bedwyn I was told that the canal was originally dug with a saucer shape

Why would it have been built any other way? Away from locks, bridges and wharves all you needed was a channel with a centre section deep and wide enough to allow loaded boats to pass (with just inches between them), then a bottom sloping up to the edges at a stable slope angle. Probably no bank protection along the offside (as horse drawn boats didn't throw up the wash of today's powered craft), and on the towpath side, if needed, only a simple low height protection in the form of rough stone blocks or shallow timber piles, depending on local availability.

[Ronaldo47]

On the 1970's when there was not  much Armco and plenty of collapsed towpath, one of the boats we hired had both a short and a long gang plank. When we couldn't get close to the bank, we wedged one end of the long gang plank under the offside  rim of the rear deck with the rest of the plank cantilevered over the gap to the  towpath, so an intrepid crew member could step ashore with mooring pins and mallet, after which the gangplank could be deployed conventionally. 

Edited January 14 by Ronaldo47

[bigolslabomeat]

On 14/01/2025 at 11:51, GUMPY said:

Even 3 weeks would allow the Thames ring via Braunston to be easily done.

Is that other 3 weeks to repair the paintwork after the trip 😁

Been looking into this ring more and it's looking very likely that it will be the trip we do.  Will avoid the tidal Thames part and go Wey->Brentford and counter-clockwise the rest of the way so that we're not fighting against the stream of the Thames.

 

Looked at a few videos of parts of the route and it all looks lovely, so again, thanks for the tip!

[David Mack]

2 hours ago, bigolslabomeat said:

Been looking into this ring more and it's looking very likely that it will be the trip we do.  Will avoid the tidal Thames part and go Wey->Brentford and counter-clockwise the rest of the way so that we're not fighting against the stream of the Thames.

You can't avoid the tidal Thames between Teddington and Brentford.

Fighting the stream on the Thames isn't really an issue. If there is enough current to make a significant difference you don't want to be navigating upstream or downstream.

[bigolslabomeat]

Living on the Wey you can really tell the difference from going down or up stream. Just being tight and trying to save fuel, however little that is  

 

 

[nb Innisfree]

We had a folding ladder thing as a boarding plank, 3m long, with chequer plate, pinned to boat & shore, moored where we fancied.