Wilts & Berks Canal

Beside the water again today. This time looking for bits of the 'long-defunct-but-being-restored' Wilts & Berks Canal.

Once upon a time the canal ran through Wiltshire and Berkshire linking the Somerset coalfields to the Thames at Abingdon. The Somerset coalfields didn't last long, and the final phase of the W&B's activities was carrying the building materials for the Great Western Railway which ultimately put the canal out of business.

An enterprising group has been reclaiming and rebuilding bits of the canal for the last 25 years, and has aspirations to have the canal back in operation by 2025.

Lots more on wikipedia and on the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust website.

This picture is at the point where the canal used to join the River Thames at Abingdon (and the Old Anchor Inn does a nice Sunday lunch). More pictures from today on Flickr.

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