Kennet and Avon

[Kelley]

I am looking at (but not committed to) taking a one week trip from Reading to Pewsey. I have read that experience is recommended for the first part of the journey. We are new to narrow boating, but have other boating experience such as the ocean and water skiing. Our crew consists of 4 able bodied adults and two teenagers. My vision of our first experience includes several small towns (the kids aren't going to be impressed with just pretty countryside), not so interested in cities. Also is the route noisy from car traffic or trains? Like I mentioned, I am not dead set on this route, so any other routes that might meet our desires would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

[GSer]

Hello

 

Is it your boat? Where do you think you will start from? Reading itself?

 

If you start from Reading (say the kennet mouth on the Thames) first night could be Woolhampton, a few pubs, and a little shop, can be tricky if there is a bit of flow but hire boats do it on a daily basis, and by the time youve travelled from reading you will have already picked up some skills.

 

Second night could be Newbury, a mid sized town with most facilities avaiable.

 

Third night at Hungerford, a smaller town but a lovely place plenty of pubs, moorings and the last of the big supermarkets on your journey

 

Forth night great bedwyn, two pubs two shops and a bakery that sells the best lardy cake in the world.

 

Fifth night could be pewsey, but croften is nice and so is wooten rivers, but both are very quiet, croten has a great steam engine and wooten rivers a pub

 

The k&a in this area is flanked by the railway but apart from croften its never really intrusive, at croften the rail is right next to the canal but somehow, the canal the railway and the pump engine all seem to make it a nice place to moor.

 

Good luck if you need more info just ask.

 

Paul

Edited June 3, 2012 by GSer

[Neil2]

I am looking at (but not committed to) taking a one week trip from Reading to Pewsey. I have read that experience is recommended for the first part of the journey. We are new to narrow boating, but have other boating experience such as the ocean and water skiing. Our crew consists of 4 able bodied adults and two teenagers. My vision of our first experience includes several small towns (the kids aren't going to be impressed with just pretty countryside), not so interested in cities. Also is the route noisy from car traffic or trains? Like I mentioned, I am not dead set on this route, so any other routes that might meet our desires would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Anyone who has done the initial section from Reading would agree that it's not for the inexperienced, but if you have some boating experience you may not be intimidated by it. The problems are mostly to do with handling the boat through locks which are not exactly user friendly and I doubt you will have encountered anything like them in the US. For example there is one particular lock which has a vicious outflow at the entrance and it requires a high degree of confidence to fire the boat at the lock before it gets caught by the current. Dare I say this is probably of more concern to boat owners than hire boaters...

But it sounds like you have a willing crew and if you fancy a bit of adventure then why not go for it.

[GSer]

For example there is one particular lock which has a vicious outflow at the entrance and it requires a high degree of confidence to fire the boat at the lock before it gets caught by the current.

 

 

If that's woolhampton that you're thinking about, firing the boat at the locktail hoping it will all work out is not really the best way to do it, IME keeping the bow into the current( ie not too far left) balance the boat against the flow, then when the bow is aiming at the concrete bridge support on the upstream side of the lock tail, gently guide the boat into the entrance by the time you get there the bow will have lined up, inevitably you will start to enter the lock tail with the tiller arm to starboard but as soon as the bow is free from the current the tiller arm needs to be held to port, along with a quick blip of the throttle should see you in without all the drama.

 

The one problem with a run and ram attempt, it that there is often very shallow water where the river comes under the bridge, a gravel bar forms, that can extend out into your intended path by 3 or 4 ft, this can deflect the bow to starboard and once that happens it all gets messy, much to the delight of the pub garden occupantts.

 

Paul

[sueb]

You will be fine as you have a good crew. The Cunning Man at Burghfield is good for a meal

[warwickshireman]

This is an excellent route. Once away from Reading the countryside is beautiful and varied. Newbury and Hungerford are both good places to visit. Although a look at the map shows you following the railway and the busy A4 they are rarely intrusive. Much of interest on the canal, turf sided locks, swing bridges, river sections and the great Crofton pumping station. Yes, the locks are hard work and the flows can be tricky in places but nothing you won't be able to handle. One warning though - do watch out for the gate paddles on some of the locks. Incautious opening could leave you with a lot of water on the foredeck - or worse!

[George94]

Going the other way can be very tricky if there has been a lot of rain, but going against the stream, as you will be, is much easier.

 

I'd go along with all GSer's suggestions, but would add that Kintbury is a lovely place to pause and wander round - and the butcher is excellent. If you stop at Newbury, go through the town centre and moor beside the road called West Mills to avoid the yobs. And try to avoid Saturday night!

 

Better still, stay at Kintbury.

 

Have a great time.

[WJM]

There is some melodramatics in the responses above. As long as the river is not in spate then it is very enjoyable and manageable river, especially if you are four handed and agile.

 

One proviso - I had a horrible experience on one of the locks between Reading and Aldermaston, the one with the crinkly scalloped sides (very distinctive, you cant miss it). The scallops are quite capable of hanging a descending boat alarmingly. An absolutely stupid design in my opinion, it gave me one of the most frightening experiences of all my boating! When you are going down, watch the boat carefully that noting has snagged on the scallop protrusions.

 

Photo removed (Theo)

Edited August 29, 2012 by Theo

[sueb]

There is some melodramatics in the responses above. As long as the river is not in spate then it is very enjoyable and manageable river, especially if you are four handed and agile.

 

One proviso - I had a horrible experience on one of the locks between Reading and Aldermaston, the one with the crinkly scalloped sides (very distinctive, you cant miss it). The scallops are quite capable of hanging a descending boat alarmingly. An absolutely stupid design in my opinion, it gave me one of the most frightening experiences of all my boating! When you are going down, watch the boat carefully that noting has snagged on the scallop protrusions.

 

Photo removed

 

Did your fenders catch?

Edited August 29, 2012 by Theo

[WJM]

No - two boats in the lock and the bow of my boat (the metal protrusion that warps around the bow) caught. The boat couldn't fall off because the other boat was holding it in tight. I don't recall it ever catching on anything ever before. The damn scallops fly in the face of safe design, they can reach out and grab parts of boats that no other danger point can reach! I guess they date back to the restoration phase of the canal when they were probably cheaper to build than proper flat sides. The priority would have been to get the navigation restored however they could.

 

Edited June 19, 2012 by WJM

[GSer]

At least that's not a big drop 2' i'd think, enough though.

 

I was told the scalloped sides were built to give an indication of the original turf sided locks, Aldermaston is the same but 3 times as deep. But making them like that for strength reasons perhaps makes more sense.

 

Paul

[talisman]

I cruised my first narrow boat back from the Thames to Devizes 8 years ago. It was a sailaway and hence sat high in the water which didnt help.I had little experience and was warned about the various problem areas. To be honest i enjoyed every minute of it,and had no real problems. Well apart from falling in whilst moored that is lol. It was December and seriously cold lol.

[magpie patrick]

This has whetted my appetite for going further than Great Bedwyn, but unless someone else can bring Juno back, that will be our limit this year.

 

The Kennet was navigable to Newbury before the K and A was built (the canal section of the K and A runs roughly from above Newbury Lock to the Avon at Bath, but is part river navigation as far as Kintbury)

 

The original restorers did a huge amount of damage to the heritage of an ancient navigation. That said, they were trying to reinstate navigation, not heritage, and they did a good job. Today we wouldn't approve of building small locks within the chambers of much bigger ones, but it got the navigation open

 

However BW went to town on this idea, I suspect soemwhere down the line on of the earlier risk assessments was done and it said "turf sided locks bad". Hence Aldemarston and Shenfield had the scalloped walls taken all the way up to the top. Thankfully Garston never actually closed and BW couldn't mess about with it