The Kennet and Avon Canal in pictures

The Kennet and Avon Canal is made up of three historic waterways. The Kennet Navigation created a navigable link between Newbury and Reading in the early 18th Century. Shortly afterwards the Avon Navigation similarly linked the cities of Bath and Bristol. A 57 mile long artificial canal was constructed between 1794 and 1810 to join these two waterways. This provided a link from Bristol to Reading and then on to London, via the River Thames.

At a time when road transport was costly, slow and ...