CRUISE GUIDE

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CRUISEGUIDE YOUR COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE WATERWAYS AROUND THE uk Easy-to-follow map • information for boaters • ten top pubs guide basingstoke canal You will need plenty of careful planning to tackle this 31-mile route but it’s worth the effort to discover a beautiful and interesting waterway

WORDS and pictures Derek pratt

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WATERSIDE 10PUBS

Canal Boat’s pick of great pubs on the Basingstoke Canal

Station Station Road, West 1 Byfleet. 01932 336353. five mins south from Lock 3 and left. Large modernised town pub with real ale, food and garden Victoria Woodham Lane, 2 Woodham. 01932 345365. five mins north from Lock 3. Local pub with real ale, lunchtime food and garden Bridge Barn Woking. 0870 3 197 7276. At Arthur’s Bridge. 16th century farm greatly extended, with real ale, food (part of Beefeater chain), garden, moorings Rowbarge St John’s Road, St 4 John’s. 01483 761618. Two mins south from Woodend Bridge and right. Family-friendly modernised pub with real ale, food, children’s play area and garden MUST SEE Swan Ash Vale. 01252 5 325212. By Heath Vale Bridge. Chef & Brewer modernised traditional pub with real ale, food, garden Fox & Hounds Church 6 Crookham. 01252 663686. Canalside near Coxheath Road Bridge. Refurbished pub with real ale, home-made food, canalside garden and live music KING JOHN’s CASTLE on Friday evenings King John’s Castle dates back to Barley Mow Winchfield. 1207, and reputedly King John 7 01252 617490. By Barley rode from there to Runnymede to Mow Bridge. Modernised sign the Magna Carta in 1215. The family-friendly pub, real ale, castle, which took seven years to food, board games, garden complete, had a two-storey stone Waterwitch Odiham. 01256 keep and a square moat. Today 8 702778. By Colt Hill Bridge. the ruins are very attractive and Chef & Brewer chain pub well worth a visit. with emphasis on food. Real ale and garden Mill House Hook Road, North 9 Warnborough. 01256 702953. Five mins north of he Basingstoke Canal is a lovely The canal opened in 1794, linking the town Swan Bridge. 17th century watermill with restaurant, real wooded waterway for most of its 31 of Basingstoke to the River Wey Navigation. ale, garden miles. It requires a bit of effort and There were plans to link up with other planning to reach it, and you may waterways to extend the navigation to the Fox & Goose The Street, 10 Greywell. 01256 702062. 2 Tneed to time your journey to avoid the canal south coast, but these did not materialise. It mins from tunnel, up path running short of water (see boaters notes), but was never a huge commercial success but for into village. 16th century inn with it’s well worth it because once you are there many years it did carry cargoes including real ale, food and garden. you will enjoy a beautiful and interesting coal, brick and agricultural produce to Details are likely to change: you are waterway. London. advised to phone to be sure

Journey Planner Follow the route with our map showing distances, locks and pubs to guildford 1 2 Distances/locks Direction Tunnel Waterway Our top ten pubs woodham between pins of locks junction see panel to weybridge

48 February 2019 Canal Boat canalboat.co.uk CRUISE GUIDE

Climbing the flight of 14 locks at Deepcut

The last regular commercial cargo followed by their neighbour in Surrey beneath the graffiti besmirched concrete was timber to Woking, but the trade eventually took over the ownership of pillars of the elevated M25 motorway ceased around 1949 after which the the waterway in 1976. Much of the and a busy railway towering over the canal began to decay and became restoration was achieved by volunteer River Wey Navigation. Don’t be put off, unusable. In 1966 the Surrey & labour, and the canal eventually for as soon as you leave the junction Hampshire Canal Society (now renamed reopened in 1991. It is now administered behind you begin to tackle the six to the Basingstoke Canal Society) was by the Basingstoke Canal Authority on Woodham Locks which are fringed by formed to restore the canal back to behalf of the two county councils. woods and greenery. There are lines of navigation. Hampshire County Council The canal has an inauspicious start moored houseboats, and a pumping

woking brookwood 4 miles / 6 locks 3 4 4 miles / 5 locks to weybridge

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Attractive tree-lined canal at Woodham Locks

station at the foot of the locks (built by inset). Also look out for Bedser Bridge the Canal Society to improve the canal’s with life-size statues of the cricketing water supplies) helps maintain levels. Bedser twins, Alec and Eric, who lived in West Byfleet Station and shops are the town. Public trip boat Kitty now accessible from Lock 3. operates from the Town Wharf. Woking is the only large town you will There is a large pub with restaurant at encounter on the entire route. At present Arthur’s Bridge, about half a mile from there are some big building Woking’s town centre. Five locks on the developments in the town itself, but St John’s flight soon follow, then there these do not intrude too much on the are good moorings with nearby shops canalside. Be sure to visit the waterside and pubs at Kiln Bridge at the top of the The canal skirts the back gardens of Sheerwater Lightbox museum and gallery (see locks.

brookwood ash 7 miles / no locks7 miles / 17 locks 5

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SEE ALSO

the lightbox museum

The Lightbox museum and gallery is situated by Woking’s Town Wharf. There are galleries of modern art and sculpture, and displays of local history including Woking’s Story, plus a cafe and gift shop. Closed Mondays. St John’s Locks, another wooded and rural-looking flight on the outskirts of Woking

Flashback to the 1970s: volunteers begin restoration of Deepcut Locks

Hermitage Woods has housing on one side and woodland concealing a busy railway line on the other, with the handy Brookwood Station close to the canal above the three Brookwood Locks. A gate from the station leads to Brookwood Cemetery which was established in the mid-19th century following the deaths of thousands of Londoners from cholera at a time when burial space in the capital was already running out. The cemetery had its own station and sidings for Walkers enjoy the towpath, close to where the canal widens out to form Mytchett Lake

fleet 7 miles / 1 lock

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funeral trains arriving from the London Necropolis Railway station at Waterloo. Brookwood Cemetery is one of the largest burial places in Europe with a quarter of a million permanent residents. The railway now runs parallel to the canal all the way to Deepcut where there are 14 locks. Pirbright Army Camp and the Bisley shooting ranges are just to the north and sounds of gunfire can at times persist as you proceed up this beautiful flight. The locks are situated in mature woodland throughout and the scenery gets better as you reach the top of the flight. Above the top lock the navigation enters the wooded Deepcut Cutting which gave this locality its name. At Frimley Green the canal crosses the Approaching Deepcut Bottom Lock. Below: a modern aqueduct spans the A331 main road near Ash railway on an aqueduct and turns to the south; soon afterwards comes the residential gardens. At Ash Vale the canal to its present terminus at Greywell Basingstoke Canal’s Visitor Centre at route bends back to the west, crosses an Tunnel. This is very much a military area Mytchett (see inset) with moorings and embankment and a modern aqueduct and there are three military museums summer boat trips. over a main road to reach Ash Lock near the canal soon after Ash Lock. The canal continues southwards where there is a canal depot. Continuing towards Fleet the canal alongside Mytchett Lake and on passing The lock marks the beginning of a passes through more woodlands, some through woods, heathland and by 15-mile summit pound that takes the with nature reserves. At one point

SEE ALSO

canal visitor centre Canal Visitor Centre, Mytchett, is a good place to start for those exploring the canal by car, bike or on foot. There is free parking and information about the canal and easy access to the towpath, plus a café, picnic site, public trip boat and small boat hire – including canoes, pedalos and rowing boats, a simple camp site and even a yurt for hire.

fleet winchfield 6 7 5 miles / no locks 8

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The canal runs along a hillside at Ash Vale

Farnborough Airfield, which stages the food and a garden, can be found by the Farnborough Air Show, is close to the canal a short distance west of Reading canal. Road Bridge. Occasionally, the John Pondtail Bridge, at the approach to Pinkerton II trip boat does public return Fleet, has a useful supermarket close to cruises from this location. the canal. There are more shops in the Fleet is left behind as the canal centre of Fleet with moorings near reaches Crookham Village, which has a Reading Road Bridge. Boaters and swing bridge and nice pubs in the walkers should be aware that the bridge village. The canal is now completely has only around 5ft 9in headroom (see rural and will stay that way for almost boaters notes). The Fox & Hounds, with the entire remaining journey. After Double Bridge is the start of a two mile loop to the north visiting Dogmersfield and Winchfield villages before returning Trip-boats in operation at their base at Colt Hill to its westerly course. There are good pubs in each village. Pinkerton II which is owned by the Winchfield Wharf is one of the main Basingstoke Canal Society, licensed to stopping places for the John Pinkerton II carry 50 passengers and is crewed by trip boat which is based at Colt Hill, trained volunteers with all proceeds Odiham. No roads or railway intrude on going towards future maintenance of the this idyllic two mile section between canal. Colt Hill also has a popular pub Winchfield and Colt Hill Wharf, home of near the bridge. More pubs and shopping Galleon Marina. Here you can hire a can be found in Odiham village which is narrowboat, a canoe or a kayak for the a pleasant half mile walk from Colt Hill. day from Galleon’s boatyard. In the next mile the canal passes Canal wharf and crane by Ash Lock Colt Hill is also the home for the John through open farmland to North

4 miles / no locks 9 10 greywell

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waterways factfile

Boatyard services

Chandlery Diesel Elsan disposal

Gas Holiday hire Moorings

Pump- Repairs Slipway out

Canal Centre, Mytchett 01252 370073

Galleon, Odiham 01256 703691 Barley Mow Bridge on the canal’s summit level near Odiham

Warnborough where there is a mechanised Try also these nearby on the lift bridge that requires a key. Soon after River Wey: the bridge you will see the remains of Odiham Castle, also known as King John’s Weybridge Marina Castle (see inset), which are worth a visit. 01932 847453

It is just a short distance from Odiham Castle to the mouth of Greywell Tunnel where the navigable Basingstoke Canal TLC Byfleet 01932 355311

comes to an end. The 1,230-yard tunnel had no towpath so boatmen would have had to ‘leg’ through. The last commercial Pyrford Marina 01932 340739

boat passed through in 1914 and a section of roof collapsed in 1932. The tunnel has remained closed ever since, and is today BOATERS’ NOTES

home to a large colony of bats. This would Visiting craft will need a be an issue if there were any proposals to Basingstoke Canal visitor reopen it, but in any case much of the final licence. Boaters will also need stretch of canal beyond, running into to book passages through the Basingstoke, has been obliterated by flights of locks (exceptA sh infilling and road building. So visit Lock), which (to conserve the limited water supplies) are only Greywell village, with its handy pub, open certain days each week before turning round and returning along and are sealed up with ashes to the 31 rural miles to the River Wey. The collapsed Greywell Tunnel cuts off the final few miles prevent leakage outside of operational hours. Contact the Canal Centre on 01252 370073.

There are three very low bridges on the canal: Wharf Bridge, Aldershot (approx 5ft 10in, lowest on towpath side), Pondtail Bridge near Fleet (around 6ft) and Reading Road To Weybridge South Bridge (5ft 9in).

Woodham Locks Woodham Junction River Wey Navigation Although the water supply has St Johns West improved with the Deepcut Locks To Guildford 5 Byfleet construction of pumping Frimley Locks Woking and Godalming Brookwood systems at Woodham and St Canal unnavigable Farnborough 14 Locks beyond Greywell North Winchfield Fleet Mytchett Lake John’s, the canal can still run Warnborough Basingstoke short of water in summer, Ash Greywell Tunnel Odiham Ash Lock resulting in closure of some (blocked) lock flights.P lanning your visit Aldershot eariler in the year is likely to reduce the chance of closure.

54 February 2019 Canal Boat canalboat.co.uk