Bound for Bath

Thursday morning we were all keen to set off for Bath. The weather was fine but with a wind developing.

Swineford Lock

Saltford Lock which is the highest tidal point of the River Avon.

This photo was taken after a battle with a very keen wind blowing through the lock where the bow of my boat ends up at the bottom of the weir and a right angles to it. My 20 ton canal boat had become a sailing boat much to the amusement of 2 guys in kayaks who thought I was trying to surf the weir with them.

This is Kelston Brass Mill which processed brass, using water power. The brass goods were sent to West Africa where they were exchanged for slaves, who were sent across to the West Indies, where they grew sugar which was sent to Bristol for refining. 

Calm waters again

My boat's namesake. It looks like this one is actually surfing!!

A really tranquil part of the River Avon

Last bridge before entering Bath and the hunt for a mooring for the night.

Commercial wealth of Bath and the Canal

Built as a commercial transport route between 1794 and 1810, the Kennet & Avon Canal transformed Bath, providing safe and efficient travel between London and Bath, and via the River Avon, to Bristol.

Before the canal, the journey to London involved a difficult overland route or a perilous sea journey via the Bristol Channel and around the south coast. The canal shortened the journey, offered a safe and efficient route and created new opportunities for trade and transport. Bath stone could be delivered easily to London and other cities, and tons of coal, food and other goods essential for Bath’s profitable tourist industry could be broughtinto the city.

Rise, fall and rediscovery

The canal flourished between 1810 and 1840, carrying stone from Bath and bringing coal and domestic goods into the city. It reached its trading peak in 1840 transporting building materials for the Great Western Railway.

Ironically the railway signaled the end of the canal’s prosperity as it offered quicker journeys for goods and people. Canal trade then gradually decreased until stretches became virtually derelict in the 1950s.

The creation of the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust in the 1960s reversed the decline, and now the canal and its towpath is popular with walkers, cyclists, fishermen and boaters.