• ANGLING INFORMATION
• BOATING INFORMATION
• CANOEING INFORMATION
• CYCLING INFORMATION
• WALKERS INFORMATION

ANGLING ON THE KENNET & AVON CANAL

Where Can I Fish?
Fishing is permitted throughout the year from the tow path of the Canal, but almost the whole length of the canal is leased to Angling Associations or Fishing Clubs who have sole fishing rights. Visitors to the canal should contact the relevant association or club. See below for details of the angling clubs and associations.

Fishing is only permitted on the towpath side of the canal and is not officially permitted from boats.

Not all stretches permit all-the-year-round fishing. Again, contact the relevant angling club or association.

Night fishing is also restricted by many clubs and is only permitted on a night permit from the local club.

What Licences Must I Have?
Anglers must hold an Environment Agency rod licence. The relevant angling association or club will issue daily fishing permits, fortnightly visitors’ permits or annual memberships.
See below for details of the angling clubs and associations.

What Fish are in the Canal?
The canal holds a good stock of Skimmers, Bream, Tench, Roach, Rudd, Perch, Gudgeon, Pike and a few Carp.

What Baits and Methods are Recommended?
A wide range of baits will work well on this canal. Best baits for general fishing during summer are Maggots, Caster, Worm and Sweetcorn.  Groundbait, loose feeding and hemp also work well.
Bread punch can be very productive in winter. 

The canal holds a good stock of Pike and produces many specimen fish; best methods are dead baits and lures. Some clubs and associations restrict the period when fishing for Pike is permitted; for example, the Devizes AA observes a Pike ‘season’ running from 1st October to 31st March in each year.

Best methods are pole or waggler fishing with light tackle. Width approx 11 - 16 metres. 

Boat traffic can be heavy during high summer and bank holidays, and so early morning fishing would be more productive during these times.

Angling Associations and Clubs on the Kennet& Avon

Devizes Angling Association: DAA control approx 15 miles of prime angling on the Kennet and Avon canal, from Ladies Bridge, Wilcot  near Pewsey, westwards through Woodborough, Honeystreet, Stanton St Bernard, All Cannings, Horton, Devizes, Seend and ending at Semington road  bridge near Melksham.
See website www.devizesaa.org.uk for more details on club rules and where to obtain your licence. You can also contact Devizes A.A’s angling coach for tuition or up-to-date information on fishing this stretch.

• ANGLING INFORMATION
• CANOEING INFORMATION
• CYCLING INFORMATION
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BOATING ON THE KENNET & AVON CANAL

The Kennet and Avon Canal is a broad canal/river navigation that runs from Reading to Hanham Lock, near Bristol.The Canal passes through a number of attractive market towns such as Newbury, Hungerford, Pewsey, Devizes and Bradford on Avon before dropping down to the River Avon at the historic Georgian city of Bath. At Devizes, boaters will experience one of the 'Seven Wonders of the Waterways', the Caen Hill flight of 29 locks - the longest flight of broad locks on the system.

Craft maximum dimensions are 70' (21.3m) long, 13.6' wide (4.1m) and an air draught of 8' (2.4m).

This web-site is designed around the seven sections of the canal that broadly match the seven Branches of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust. Contact details and lists of facilities for marinas and boatyards along the canal may be found by clicking on the 'i' icon on the maps.

An up-to-date boaters' guide for the Canal can be downloaded as a PDF document from www.waterscape.com/boating/guides. The contents of the guide can be configured to your requirements and can include stoppages if required. For details of stoppages and restrictions only, go to www.waterscape.com/boating/stoppages.

USEFUL NUMBERS
British Waterways Emergency Number:0800 4799947
The Wiggly Bus: 01380 860100

• ANGLING INFORMATION
• BOATING INFORMATION
• CYCLING INFORMATION
• WALKERS INFORMATION
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CANOEING INFORMATION

Paddling Your Canoe on the K&A

Joining a canoe club
There are numerous canoe clubs along the length of the K&A. You can find contact details of your nearest affiliated club by contacting the British Canoe Federation at www.bcu.org.uk.

Getting a licence and insurance
If you join the BCU (adult recreational membership is £29), you will get third party insurance and a licence for British Waterways waters. For more information, go to their website.

Where to hire a canoe
Bath and Dundas Canal Company, Brassknocker Basin, opposite Viaduct Inn, Limpley Stoke, on A36 east of Bath. Tel:01225 868068.

Safety tips
Canoeing is great fun, but water can be dangerous. Follow these tips for safe and enjoyable canoeing.

• Novices should always be accompanied by an accomplished canoeist.
• Wear a lifejacket or buoyancy aid while afloat.
• Remember that locks, weirs and sluices can be very dangerous.
• Don’t stay aboard your craft in a filling or emptying lock – carry it around. If it is too heavy, use ropes to keep control from the side.

Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race
This well-known event has been staged every year since 1948 with the exception of 2001 when the race was cancelled because of the Foot and Mouth outbreak. The race starts from Devizes Wharf at first light on Good Friday each year and the competitors have to negotiate 75 locks in the 125-mile route between Devizes and the finish at Westminster. The winning time is usually around 17½ hours.

• ANGLING INFORMATION
• BOATING INFORMATION
• CANOEING INFORMATION
• WALKERS INFORMATION
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CYCLING THE KENNET AND AVON

Cycling is permitted along the length of the canal towpath except for a short 600-metre section near Woolhampton. However, the canal is also popular with walkers and anglers and, at busy times, this can result in inconvenience for walkers, anglers and cyclists alike. Care, consideration and courtesy are recommended when meeting other users. Please ensure that your bike is fitted with a bell – and please use it to warn others of your approach.

Some sections of the canal towpath have been improved to provide a wider path which is more suitable for cyclists and disabled users. Under a partnership arrangement involving British Waterways, Sustrans and the riparian Local Authorities, two main sections of the canal have been improved. and, with a few short diversions, run from Reading to Marsh Benham and from Devizes to Bath as part of the National Cycle Network (NCN) Route 4.

Between Marsh Benham and Devizes, National Route 4 leaves the canal and follows the Wiltshire Cycleway along quiet rural roads before joining the canal towpath at Coate Road Bridge (Bridge number 136) just east of Devizes.

There is a choice of routes just west of Great Bedwyn. Rather than staying with NCN Route 4, cyclists can follow the canal towpath to the Crofton Pumping Station (where the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust owns and operates the steam-driven beam engines that pump water to the summit level of the canal) before rejoining Route 4 via Burbage and Stibb Green.

The Trust also operates shops and tearooms along the length of the canal:

• Aldermaston Lock Cottage: 200 yards east of Aldermaston Lock, selling hot and cold drinks, ices, canal souvenirs, and maps.

• The Stone Building on Newbury Wharf: On the south side of the River Kennet opposite Victoria Park. Open daily for hot and cold drinks, ices, canal souvenirs, and maps

• Crofton Pumping Station: Open daily Easter to end September for hot and cold drinks, ices, canal souvenirs, and maps.

• Devizes Canal Centre: Open throughout the year except January for ices, canal souvenirs, and maps. Co-located with the Kennet and Avon Canal Museum.

• The Wharf Cottage, Bradford on Avon: On the Wharf beside Bradford on Avon Lock. Open daily Easter to end September for hot and cold drinks, ices, canal souvenirs, and maps.

Kennet and Avon Rural Transport Partnership

A free leaflet and a dedicated website have recently been produced by the K&A Rural Transport Partnership to promote greater public awareness of the recreational opportunities provided by the K&A Canal.

Represented in the Partnership are British Waterways, the Countryside Agency, the riparian Local Authorities, Sustrans and the K&A Canal Trust.

The K&A Cycle Route leaflet is available from the Trust’s retail outlets (see above) and Tourist Information Centres in the area.

The website www.visitkanda.com will give you further details of the cycling opportunities on the Kennet and Avon Canal, and it describes some rides that cyclists might wish to consider.

Other relevant websites are:

British Waterways: www.britishwaterways.co.uk
Countryside Agency: www.countryside.gov.uk
Sustrans: www.nationalcyclenetwork.org

Useful telephone numbers:
British Waterways: 01452 318 000
Sustrans: 0845 113 0065

Public Transport Links

A Wigglybus Service operates in the areas to the east and west of Devizes. The Wigglybuses, most of which can carry two bicycles, operate over a network of flexible routes and can, within reason, deviate from the main route to deliver or collect cyclists. A Wigglybus Summer Service has been introduced from Pewsey Wharf in the east (not far from Pewsey Station), linking with other Pewsey Vale services and, through Devizes, services to villages in the corridor west to Bradford on Avon in the west.

•ANGLING INFORMATION
• BOATING INFORMATION
• CANOEING INFORMATION
• CYCLING INFORMATION
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WALKING ON THE KENNET & AVON CANAL

For information for walkers visit:www.visitkanda.com

• ANGLING INFORMATION
• BOATING INFORMATION
• CANOEING INFORMATION
• CYCLING INFORMATION
• WALKERS INFORMATION
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