Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Bathampton has a 19th century church but the haunted George Inn is 14th century,
formerly part of a priory, and had to have its door moved to the side as the canal passed so
close. It was the location of the last duel fought in England. A huge collection of gnomes in
a garden will not be to the taste of everyone.
Large gardens with an air of affluence slope down to the canal. This part of the canal, as
it heads south-west, gives the best views over the Iron Age hill fort on Solsbury Hill and the
dazzling white stone housing of the city. Below, on the river, is the Victorian Bath Boating
Station, which offers skiff, punt and canoe hire. Higher up, space is more cramped and part
of the canal had to be moved to the left in 1839 to accommodate the GWR. Sydney Gardens
were created in 1794 and hid the canal when it arrived in this fashionable part of Bath, fur-
ther concealment taking place in the meandering hedges of the maze, which was to go on to
inspire the one at Glendurgan.
No. 2 tunnel is 50m long with an Adamesque portal and carries the A36, McAdam's 1830
turnpike, over the top. Two cast-iron footbridges were imported from Coalbrookdale in 1800
and the canal is noted for its Chinese-style bridge. The final tunnel is 54m long and is topped
by the Georgian Cleveland House, a stone building of 1820 by the Duke of Cleveland. It was
the original headquarters of the Kennet & Avon Canal Company and has a trap-door from the
cellar. The adjacent Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel distils its own whisky. Nearby is the Holburne
Museum of Art in the former Palladian Sydney Hotel, which sets the tone well for Bath.
From Sydney Wharf, the Widcombe Flight continues right down to the Avon, starting with
an interesting lock keeper's cottage and cast-iron footbridge of about 1815 by the Bath Top
Lock. Halfway down the flight is the ornamental chimney with 2˚ lean for a pump engine
house and there was another at the bottom lock. Side ponds were dug into the hillside for the
locks. After Pulteney and Abbey View Locks, the A3062 crosses and then Wash House Lock
has a footbridge of about 1815. Roadworks have resulted in Bridge and Chapel Locks being
combined into Bath Deep Lock, the second-deepest inland lock in Britain at 5.7m. The route
on the left goes down a flight of stairs into a tunnel with a piece of railing at the bottom,
which is unhelpful to anyone portaging. The alternative route is to brave the traffic. Beside
Widcombe Lock, the Thimble Mill pumphouse has become a restaurant.
