The Kennet and Avon Canal is a waterway in southern England with an overall length of 87 miles (140 km), made up of two lengths of navigable river linked by a canal. The name is used to refer to the entire length of the navigation rather than solely to the central canal section. From Bristol to Bath the waterway follows the natural course of the River Avon before the canal links it to the River Kennet at Newbury, and from there to Reading on the River Thames. In all, the waterway incorporates 105 locks.
A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the chamber itself that rises and falls.
Blake's Lock is a lock situated on the River Kennet in Reading, Berkshire, England. It is on the short reach of the River Kennet which is administered as if it were part of the River Thames and is hence owned and managed by the Environment Agency.
Hanham Lock is a canal lock situated on the River Avon, at the village of Hanham near Bristol, England.
The Semington Locks are situated at Semington, Wiltshire on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.
Tyle Mill Lock is a lock situated near Tyle Mill and the village of Sulhamstead on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England.
Sheffield Lock, at grid reference SU648706, is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, in the civil parish of Burghfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is also sometimes known as Shenfield Lock.
Dun Mill Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near Hungerford, Berkshire, England.
Brunsdon Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, near Kintbury, Berkshire, England.
Dreweatt's Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Kintbury and Newbury, Berkshire, England.
Hamstead Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Hamstead Marshall between Kintbury and Newbury, Berkshire, England.
Newbury Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal in the town centre of Newbury, in the English county of Berkshire. It has a rise/fall of 3 ft 6 in, and is situated just upstream of Newbury Bridge.
Monkey Marsh Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Thatcham, Berkshire, England.
Heale's Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Thatcham and Woolhampton, Berkshire, England.
Aldermaston Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Aldermaston Wharf in the English county of Berkshire. It stands at the junction of the civil parishes of Padworth, Beenham and Aldermaston.
Padworth Lock is a lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, at Aldermaston Wharf in the civil parish of Padworth in the English county of Berkshire.
Caen Hill Locks are a flight of 29 locks on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Rowde and Devizes in Wiltshire, England.
Ufton Lock is a degated lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal, between Padworth and Sulhamstead, Berkshire, England.
John Hore was an English engineer, best known for making the River Kennet and River Avon navigable. Hore was one of the earliest English canal engineers, and Sir Alec Skempton wrote that he was "in the first rank among the navigation engineers". The Hutchinson Chronology of World History described his work on the Kennet navigation as "[setting] a new standard for inland waterways, and is an important forerunner of the canals of the Industrial Revolution".
Pill Box at Garston Lock.
Canal Boat next to Pill Box at Garston Lock.
