The River Dun (historically known as Bedwyn Brook) is a tributary of the River Kennet, flowing through Wiltshire and Berkshire in England. [1] Its main source is in the parish of Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire and it flows 16 kilometres (10 mi) in a northeasterly direction into Berkshire. It discharges into the Kennet at Hungerford, [2] [3] which has a smaller average flow and width upstream of that point.
The Dun valley is an important transport route through the high chalklands between the London Basin to the east and the Vale of Pewsey to the west. It is the route by which the Kennet and Avon Canal (linking London and Bristol) enters the Thames basin from the Vale of Pewsey, crossing the watershed with the aid of the Bruce Tunnel and Crofton Pumping Station. The later Reading to Plymouth railway linking London and the south-west also follows the valley.
The Dun has two named tributaries: the Froxfield Stream joins on the left between Little Bedwyn and Hungerford, and the Shalbourne Stream on the right above Hungerford. [4] During or after the building of the Kennet and Avon Canal in the late 18th century, the Shalbourne was diverted into it. In 2000 the stream was returned to its original course, rejoining the Dun via a culvert under the canal. [5]
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to the west. The largest settlement is Swindon, and Trowbridge is the county town.
The River Avon is in the south of England, rising in Wiltshire, flowing through that county's city of Salisbury and then west Hampshire, before reaching the English Channel through Christchurch Harbour in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole conurbation of Dorset.
The River Avon is a river in the southwest of England. To distinguish it from a number of other rivers of the same name, it is often called the Bristol Avon. The name 'Avon' is loaned from an ancestor of the Welsh word afon, meaning 'river'.
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.
The Kennet is a tributary of the River Thames in Southern England. Most of the river is straddled by the North Wessex Downs AONB. The lower reaches have been made navigable as the Kennet Navigation, which – together with the Avon Navigation, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the Thames – links the cities of Bristol and London.
Hungerford is a historic market town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, 8 miles (13 km) west of Newbury, 9 miles (14 km) east of Marlborough, 27 miles (43 km) north-east of Salisbury and 60 miles (97 km) west of London. The Kennet and Avon Canal passes through the town alongside the River Dun, a major tributary of the River Kennet. The confluence with the Kennet is to the north of the centre whence canal and river both continue east. Amenities include schools, shops, cafés, restaurants, and facilities for the main national sports. Hungerford railway station is a minor stop on the Reading to Taunton Line.
The Vale of Pewsey or Pewsey Vale is an area of Wiltshire, England to the east of Devizes and south of Marlborough, centred on the village of Pewsey.
The Wilton Windmill is a five-floor brick tower mill, standing on a chalk ridge between the villages of Wilton and Great Bedwyn in the southern English county of Wiltshire.
Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about 4.5 miles (7.2 km) southwest of Hungerford, 14 miles (23 km) southeast of Swindon and 6 miles (9.7 km) southeast of Marlborough.
The River Pang is a small chalk stream river in the west of the English county of Berkshire, and a tributary of the River Thames. It runs for approximately 23 kilometres (14 mi) from its source near the village of Compton to its confluence with the Thames in the village of Pangbourne.
Burbage is a village and civil parish in the Vale of Pewsey, Wiltshire, England. It is about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Marlborough and 20 miles (32 km) west of Newbury.
The North Wessex Downs are an area of chalk downland landscapes located in the English counties of Berkshire, Hampshire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The North Wessex Downs has been designated as a National Landscape since 1972.
Froxfield is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire. The parish is on the Wiltshire-West Berkshire border, and the village lies on the A4 national route about 2.5 miles (4 km) west of Hungerford and 7 miles (11 km) east of Marlborough.
Shalbourne is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, about 3 miles (4.8 km) southwest of Hungerford, Berkshire. The parish has a number of widely spaced small settlements including Bagshot and Stype, to the north, and Rivar and Oxenwood to the south. Before 1895, about half of the parish of Shalbourne lay in Berkshire.
The River Bourne is a river in the English county of Wiltshire, a tributary of the Salisbury Avon. It flows in a generally southerly direction for about 48 km. In its upper reaches the river is a winterbourne, often dry in summer.
Grafton is a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, in the Vale of Pewsey about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of Marlborough. Its main settlement is the village of East Grafton, on the A338 Burbage - Hungerford road; the parish includes the village of Wilton and the hamlets of West Grafton, Marten and Wexcombe.
Wilton Water is a small reservoir, southwest of the village of Great Bedwyn in the English county of Wiltshire, which supplies the summit pound of the Kennet and Avon Canal with water. The reservoir lies in the parish of Grafton and collects rainfall from the eastern end of the Vale of Pewsey and the surrounding hills.
Semington Aqueduct is an aqueduct at Semington, Wiltshire, England, UK. It carries the Kennet and Avon Canal over the Semington Brook.
John Blackwell was an English civil engineer, known for his work as superintending engineer of the Kennet and Avon Canal under John Rennie and later as the canal company's resident engineer.