Walking the Kennet & Avon Canal

It is a 94 mile walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal from Reading to Bristol along peaceful countryside towpaths. 

The River Kennet joins with the Thames in Reading but becomes a canal as it passes through Reading town centre about a mile from its end. Make sure you explore Reading Abbey Ruins, the remains of the medieval abbey set on the banks of the Kennet as you follow it through Reading. It was from a boat on the Kennet that the body of King Henry I of England was brought ashore to be buried in Reading Abbey in the 12th century. You'll also pass the walls of the former Reading Prison where Oscar Wilde was famously incarcerated. If you back track around the walls for 200 metres, you'll also see Banksy's street art celebrating a fictitious escape by Wilde from his imprisonment.

Walking through the centre of Reading  along the Canal you will soon pass the Oracle Riverside with its riverside eateries and the launch point for the Matildo Too Kennet & Avon boat tours. Last chance to stock up on essential items. Before leaving Reading town centre, you'll see the remaining buildings from Reading's historic breweries by the weir and walk along the backs of riverside homes with gardens running down to the canalside, before you head into the countryside of West Berkshire. 

First stop along the towpath after 4 miles should be the Cunning Man pub and then it is on to Aldermaston Wharf tea rooms. You'll pass through occasional towns such as Newbury and Hungerford before the canal continues its journey through rural Wiltshire, famous for its crop circles and white horses on the hillside.

Between Pewsey and Devizes you will reach the summit of the canal as you cross the watershed between the Kennet and Avon. At Devizes, a magnificent staircase of 29 locks takes boats down to the valley floor.  Bradford on Avon is a charming town where river, canal, road and railway meet. And so to Bath: once a Roman city and spa that became popular in Georgian times leaving a legacy of magnificent terraces.

The final walk to Bristol is a fitting end. Your walk ends at the Neptune Statue in Bristol. You can admire the SS Great Britain, designed by Brunel who also built the Great West Railway.

The walk can be done in either direction although the guidebook is written from Reading to Bristol.

Accommodation and Baggage Carrying along the Route

For ideas of walker-friendly accommodation, visit Where to Stay in Reading for Walkers. The Novotel, Ibis and Roseate are walker/pilgrim-friendly hotels with stamps for pilgrim passports. Reading-based Walking.Holiday can support you on the walk either by booking your accommodation or by just carrying your bags.