Tag: Wiltshire

Words on Wednesday

Built in 1755 to act as a grand arrival to the Estate, it is listed Grade 1 for its historical importance.

The 18th century Fonthill Arch, the historic entrance to the Fonthill Estate lies only a mile or so off the A303 in Wiltshire. This lodge has been transformed into a characterful holiday cottage, run by the Beckford Arms which is a pub with rooms on the estate. If you look closely you will see a Green Man carved in the archway.

View of The Arch from within the estate

We were staying, not in this lodge, but in a delightful B&B just around the corner. On our first night we walked through this entrance into the Fonthill estate parkland for about a mile (25 mins walk) to the Beckford Arms for a meal.

Through the arch there is a lake on the left, a cricket pitch on the right. You are in a valley with not a single house in view, just trees and sheep and horses and glimpses of the lake.

The tranquil lake on the estate – sadly there is no public access to walk around it.
The Arch – on the way back as the sun was setting.

Words on Wednesday

Caen Hill Locks are the longest continuous straight flight of locks in the country. Completed in 1810 by the famous canal engineer John Rennie.

The 16 locks that take boaters up the steepest part of the flight are a scheduled ancient monument.

In order that boats could climb or descend the steep hill, 29 locks were built between Town Bridge and the bottom lock at Lower Foxhangers. In the middle of this is the ‘staircase’  of 16 locks known as Caen (pronounced cane) Hill with enormous side pounds that hold water to fill the locks. It has a rise of 237 feet in 2 miles.

The side ponds keep it topped up with water – each holds 1 million gallons.

Lock and side pond

There is a café at lock 44 and mooring between locks 44 and 45.

Lock 44 and café
Hard work operating those locks! It takes 4 – 5 hours to navigate the entire flight. There are volunteer lock keepers to assist, but we didn’t see anyone on the small section we walked by.

The Kennet &  Avon Canal runs all the way from the River Thames to the River Avon, connecting the town of Reading with the World Heritage Site of Bath and Bristol. It is 87-miles (140km) long and is made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a 57-mile (92km) canal section.

The Canal & River Trust cares for 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales.