Related Pages. You’ll be surrounded by wildlife and a little history! Sports & Recreation Venue. Miller's Ark. The canal's unique composition of alkaline water from the chalky springs of Hampshire to the more acidic waters in Surrey, makes it a perfect home for aquatic plants which in turn provide a home for over 25 species of dragonfly. It is for this reason that most of the canal (with the exception of the stretch through Woking Town Centre) has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by Natural England. Select your choice of interests after entering your email address. This includes setting opening and closing times so that gates can be sealed after the last boat has gone through each day. Basingstoke Canal is a beautiful haven for wildlife and a great place to go for a walk, and with autumn colours soon to be showing, now is the perfect time to discover it. Use this tool to build your own journey or choose from an exciting range of specially selected tours. Top. From its junction with the River Wey Navigation at Byfleet, three miles from the Thames at Weybridge, the canal was built to rise 195ft by 29 locks to Aldershot. The project started in 1993 when 70 people got together to create a gallery and museum for Woking. By the mid 1960s all 29 locks on the canal had ceased to work. The Basingstoke Canal Marathon goes through the Hampshire and Surrey countryside along the tree-lined towpath of the restored 200-year-old canal and through woodland, heathland, wetland and pasture. These locks together raise boats travelling from Pirbright up onto … Basingstoke Canal. Basingstoke Canal St Johns Locks to Brookwood Locks. Basingstoke Canal. You will need a visitor licence (approximately £45) and are … Government Organization. Following the Government announcement on Monday 4 January 2021, Hampshire is in National lockdown: Stay at Home. Today the Canal is in public ownership with 32 miles and 29 locks from King John's Castle to the Wey Navigation, restored and … Ash Lock, the only lock in Hampshire, was restored in 1974 by Hampshire County Council canal rangers and fitted with lock gates built by volunteers. At this point 3 modes of transport appear to converge, the canal, the railway and the M25 motorway. Locks Days the flights are operational Boats can enter Boats to be ideally cleared by Woodham Flight Locks 1 – 6 Saturday and Sunday Tuesday and Thursday Between 9.30am and 11.30am 1.30pm St. Johns Flight Locks 7 – 11 Saturday and Sunday Tuesday and Thursday Between 9.00am and 1.30pm 3.00pm Brookwood Flight Locks 12 – 14 Dieter Jebens and Roger Cansdale Basingstoke Canal Tempus, 2007 ISBN 978-0-7524-3103-1. The Basingstoke Canal runs for 32 miles, from Greywell Village in Hampshire to Woodham in Surrey. After many years of restoration, it is now fully navigable and a boater’s paradise. Welcome to the Itinerary Planner. The canal does not have a major water source so there is a need to conserve water which means that we have to manage lock usage. The Basingstoke Canal was opened in 1794 to carry agricultural produce from Basingstoke to London via the rivers Wey and Thames. Dieter Jebens Guide to the Basingstoke Canal Basingstoke Canal Authority and the Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society, 2nd Edition, 2004. The fist Sunny trip of the year was a short one, and part of our bid to do the whole of the Basingstoke Canal. This required 37 miles of canal and 29 locks to be constructed to rise almost 200 feet as it headed west from the River Wey to Aldershot. Re: Basingstoke canal. Find out more here. Locks: 16: Status: open: Navigation authority: National Trust: History; Principal engineer: Sir Richard Weston: Other engineer(s) John Smeaton: Construction began: 1651: Date of first use: 1653: Date extended: 1764: Geography; Start point: River Thames: End point: Godalming (originally Guildford) Connects to: Basingstoke Canal Wey and Arun Junction Canal: Wey and Godalming Navigations . The canal runs through Woking, Ash … The Basingstoke Canal is famous for its wildlife, being home to many rare species of birds and insects. Tim Denton Wartime Defences on the Basingstoke Canal Pillbox Study Group, 2009. The canal flows between the village of Greywell in Hampshire to Woodham in Surrey before connecting to the River Wey Navigation, which in turn joins the River Thames. The locks on the Basingstoke Canal need a short paragraph of explanation. To provide you with the best experience, cookies are used on this site. Surveyed by William Jessop, the construction contract was awarded to John Pinkerton. Frimley Lodge Park. I hate to think what the "dry" stretches are like now after all this time. or. It was built in 1794 to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge and mainly used to transport commodities. The canal was thirty-one miles in length when built and has 29 locks. The stretch of the Basingstoke Canal tow path from Pirbright Bridge to Curzon Bridge in Deepcut, is a picturesque two miles that takes you past 11 of the 14 locks in the Deepcut Flight. Public boat trips are offered from the Basingstoke Canal Visitor Centre in Mytchett at weekends from Easter – end Sept. Row boats, canoes, kayaks and pedalo are also available for hire at the Canal Centre at weekends during this time and also daily during the Easter, Spring Half term and Summer school holidays. This section of the canal fell into disuse after the closure of the Greywell Tunnel due to a lack of boat traffic, general neglect and a lack of water. It then required a tunnel of almost 1.5 miles under Greywell Hill. Seal of the first Basingstoke Canal company. Due to open in September 2007, Lightbox will provide two galleries, a museum and public meeting space. The gates were rotting, the brickwork was deteriorating and the chambers were knee deep in mud, vegetation and rubbish. The Basingstoke Canal was one of the earliest canals to be built, and was the first designed to satisfy agricultural, rather than industrial, needs. No need to register, buy now! It passes through wonderful countryside in Surrey and Hampshire. The Basingstoke Canal is a broad canal and is part of the Waterways of Mainland Britain. The Basingstoke Canal runs through Woking, and canalside in Chobham road an exciting new arts and museum venture is nearing completion. The canal used to start from the centre of Basingstoke, but the last 5 miles (8 km) of the canal route have now been lost. A crying shame after all the work that was put into it to reinstate it in the first place! It is perfect for paddlers who want an easy paddle on a flat stretch of water. The Basingstoke Canal was completed in 1794, built to connect Basingstoke with the River Thames at Weybridge via the We... y Navigation. The Basingstoke Canal Society finally chained many gates closed in the system to try and preserve what was left. The Basingstoke Canal in North Hampshire was built between 1788 and 1794 and is 32 miles long with 29 locks. The canal does not have a major water source so there is a need to conserve water which means that we have to manage lock usage. It was never a commercial success and, from 1950, lack of maintenance allowed the canal to become increasingly derelict. This includes setting opening and closing times so that gates can be sealed after the last boat has gone through each day. The Basingstoke Towpath Trail offers lovely views of the canal and its wildlife. See more of Basingstoke Canal on Facebook. We heard about the Basingstoke Canal, which I've visited and blogged about many a time. Different parts of the canal hold their own surprises such as the flights of locks in Surrey, the lakes and flashes near Mytchett or the rolling fields and picturesque cottages near Odiham. There is very little opportunity for angling throughout this section. The canal was approved by an act of parliament in 1778 and was to connect Basingstoke to the River Wey and then onwards to London. This a lovely canal, but there are flights of locks that we want to avoid. Packed full of facts and very interesting, here are my notes. As the Basingstoke canal does not have a major water source there is a need to conserve water, this means the locks have restricted opening times. After many years of restoration, it is now fully navigable and a boater’s paradise. The Basingstoke Canal was never commercially successful, went bankrupt in 1870, was never abandoned, not nationalised and yet 90%of it survives intact. A stunning bridge scene along the canal (Image: Basingstoke Canal Society) The Society says that in recent months three times the usual number of local people have discovered or returned to these natural surroundings to improve … Blueavocet. Basingstoke Canal. Heading north from the base will take you to the Greywell Tunnel. There were no locks on this part of the canal after Ashand so the route generally followed the contours of the land with occasional cuttings, tunnels and embankments. Enter your email to sign up and get the latest news in Hampshire. 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