Week long breaks from Monkton Combe
Our Monkton Combe canal boat hire base is on the Kennet & Avon Canal at Brassknocker Basin in Somerset.
One of our best-loved canals, the 87-mile long Kennet & Avon Canal links the Bristol Avon with the Thames at Reading, passing through spectacular landscapes and the World Heritage City of Bath.
From the beautiful Bath Valley and the foothills of the Cotswolds in Somerset and Wiltshire to the North West Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the wooded Kennet Valley, this canal offers the chance to enjoy some of England’s most beautiful countryside.
Week long/7-night Canal Boat Boat Holiday Breaks from Monkton Combe
Pewsey and back (57 miles, 74 locks, 33.5 hours)
From Brassknocker Basin, you’ll first head over the Dundas Aqueduct and later the Avoncliff Aqueduct, with the canalside Cross Guns pub next to it. Then you’ll pass through the historic town of Bradford-on-Avon and its canalside Barge Inn and Beehive pub. The journey continues east through Semington and Seend, with its canalside Barge Inn. Soon after you’ll reach the base of the Caen Hill flight of 29 locks at Devizes, one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’. It takes around five hours to travel up the flight, which raises the canal 235ft across 2.5 miles. From the canal it’s a short walk to the historic market town of Devizes, with places to visit including the Wadworth Brewery Visitor Centre, Bear Hotel, Peppermill Restaurant and Dolcipani Bakery. After Devizes, you’ll pass through a series of pretty canalside villages dotted through the North West Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including All Cannings with its King’s Arms pub and Honeystreet, with its canalside Barge Inn. You’ll travel on through the beautiful Vale of Pewsey, passing Pewsey Wharf with its French Horn pub, and close by to the village of Pewsey, with its Royal Oak pub.
Great Bedwyn and back (74 miles, 102 locks, 46 hours)
Follow the Pewsey route above. After Pewsey, you’ll reach Wootton Rivers with its Royal Oak pub on the edge of the Savernake Forest. Then you’ll pass through The Bruce Tunnel, also known as Savernake Tunnel, marketing the highest point of the canal. Soon after you’ll reach Crofton with its historic Pumping Station and Beam engines. And flight of locks taking you back down the hill. Next it’s Great Bedwyn, with its Three Tuns pub and Great Bedwyn Wharf where you can turn your boat.
