The Thames & Severn Canal Towpath Guide

Two hundred and twenty five years ago, the Thames & Severn Canal was opened between the Thames at Lechlade and Stroud, where it met with the Stroudwater Navigation. The canal provided a route from the Midlands, via the Severn, and from South Wales and Gloucestershire, to London and the markets of Eastern England. The canal always suffered from a lack of water due to a lack of reservoirs on its summit level and the geology of the bedrock underneath and this, combined with rail competition saw the canal totally abandoned by the time of the Second World War. By 1972, plans were being made by canal enthusiasts to restore the Thames & Severn and the Stroudwater Navigation. Slowly, but surely, over the intervening 40-odd years, the work is beginning to come to fruition and sections of the Thames & Severn are once more in water. Parts, such as the route through the Golden Valley, are some of the best examples of unrestored and derelict canal landscapes in the country. David Viner has followed the restoration attempts of the Thames & Severn Canal for the past four decades and is uniquely placed to write on the subject. His commentary and images give a feel for the canal as it once was and as it can be again.