Recently I wrote about another walk we went on from Kintbury towards Hungerford along the canal, this time we started at Aldermaston Wharf and headed in the direction of Woolhampton but didn't make it quite there.
There are in total 107 locks along the entire Kennet and Avon, starting with number 1 at Hanham (near Bristol) and 107 at Blakes Lock in Reading. The canal spans a vast distance of 87 miles in total. I plan to explore every inch of it, which could take years but that's the fun of it!
Lock 95 is called "Aldermaston Lock" but was once called "Brewhouse Lock" since Strange's Brewery once stood beside it. Built in 1718/1723 and designed by the engineer John Hore of Newbury. The lock was originally turf sided until the mid-eighteenth century when they replaced the edges with scalloped brick walls.
I've found a great way of tracking my walks using my Apple Watch and the brilliant Withings app Health Mate. It's super easy to track activities on a map like this complete with all of the metadata you'd expect. It's great, should use it on all posts!
There were plenty of narrowboats along our route tonight. Most were empty but we met an interesting guy who was chopping wood for his stove. On the back of his boat, tethered by a rope was what could best be described as a floating UFO! We thought it might have been a bath or a novel kind of sauna. It turned out to be where he kept his wood but he was gradually turning it into a mobile greenhouse. That's what he told us after we asked him.
Soon the towpath opens out into glorious countryside flanked by fields, rolling hills and friendly cattle. We talk about this being a great looking stretch of the canal for canoeing, it's such a tranquil place nowadays but a hundred years ago, it would have been very different being the main transportation route for industry across the country.
I was delighted with this photo. Captured on the iPhone 13 which has now become my main camera for many of my walks. Not far ahead of us, the village of Woolhampton.
All photographs are my own and were taken on my iPhone 13 Pro Max and edited in Darkroom on the Mac