The Kennet and Avon Canal - Aldermaston Area.

The canal goes through beautiful and quite remote English Countryside on it's way to Newbury.

This stretch of the canal offers really nice walking - with several locks and swingbridges to look at on the way. Notable of course is the very rare Monkey Marsh Turf-Sided Lock - the Kennet and Avon actually has two of these type of locks - the other being a little further along the towpath.

Aldermaston Lock and Lift Bridge.

The photos below show (hopefully) a nice view of the somewhat unusual curved edges on the sides of Aldermaston's Lock 95. The photos also shows the very weeded up lock-gates - these have actually now been replaced/renovated as of January 2015. Another perhaps quite unusual thing at the lock is the bridge over the canal - this is a very strong looking but narrow lift-bridge which carries the busy A340 Basingstoke road across the canal (controlled by traffic lights).

Monkey Marsh turf-sided lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal.

Located on the southern edge of Thatcham, The Kennet and Avon Canal has a second example of a rare turf-sided Lock i.e. Monkey Marsh turf lock 90. Built under the supervision of navigation engineer John Hore around the 1720s this lock has been sort of cleaned up a little compared to Garston's turf lock but is still a good example of such locks. Monkey Marsh turf lock is important enough to be listed as an ancient moument by English Heritage so hopefully it's care-takers - namely British Waterways - will not try and destroy it by replacing it for something modern.