A Trip Down Memory Canal by Michael Lidstone I am a retired Local Government Officer and have lived in Woking since 1979, during which time the Basingstoke Canal has undergone many changes, the main one I suppose being the re-opening of the canal in 1991. My wife and I live within a short walk of the canal, and have walked along its towpath on numerous occasions. It has been a wonderful recreational resource, and a place to escape from the hurly burly of modern life. About 15 years ago, we decided to walk the length of the canal, finishing up at the site of the former Penny Bridge on Greywell Road (in the middle of nowhere), now the western end of the water filled canal. I was working at the time, and it was completed over a period of several years. Early this year I had the idea (or a personal pilgrimage) of walking the complete length of the canal from the junction with the Wey Navigation at New Haw to Basingstoke town centre, where there was once a canal basin. Unlike my previous perambulation along the canal, this time I had a digital camera, and created a photographic record of canal features. A reminder of a few canal facts. The total original length is 37 miles, there are 29 locks, all in Surrey, except for one in Hampshire, it increases in height by about 200 ft from east to west and there is one tunnel which is 1,230 yards in length. As the
canal climbs in height from east to west, I suppose I should have entitled my article, A trip up memory canal! My canal walk (solo this time) began in February 2016 and finished in July, with a month off for my daughter s wedding. To plan my walks, including where to park the car, I used a map leaflet published by the Basingstoke Canal Authority, and for the section beyond Greywell I resorted to the more detailed 1:25,000 scale Ordnance Survey map centred on Basingstoke. An excellent little pocket guide I picked up in August at the canal festival in Woking, is A Guide to the Basingstoke Canal, 3 rd edition by Dieter Jebens, useful for both walkers and boaters. For the rest of this article, I would like to share a few personal memories of my canal adventure, without repeating lots of factual and descriptive information in many Basingstoke Canal publications. The Surrey section About half the length of the canal is in Surrey, and I started at the junction with the Wey Navigation, very close to the M25 (above), where there is a signpost stating a distance of 31 miles to Greywell, but not Basingstoke curiously the canal does not now extend to the location after which it is named. Although on my doorstep, I had not anticipated the canal having to be drained in February/March between Monument and Lockfield Drive Bridges, and as the towpath was closed I walked on the non-towpath side. The works were required to repair a culvert that takes the Rive Ditch underneath the canal near Spantons Yard site (below). Unbelievably, it was this section of the canal where I glimpsed a pair of Kingfishers and saw a Goldcrest close up
Groups of locks occur at Woodham, St. John s and Brookwood as the land gradually rises from east to west, and all these, plus all the other locks were photographed for posterity I suppose. (Note all the bridges were photographed as well) Another cluster of locks occurs further west, as the canal passes the Bisley and Pirbright Army Camps to the north. It was at this part of the canal that I met a number of army fitness fanatics, running or cycling along the towpath, and had one or two short conversations. I remember one lad telling me that he ran the whole length of the canal in 2 days during mid winter! Walking the Deepcut section, it is obvious how this obtained its name, a deep cut in the land and a straight section for one mile. Turning the corner at Frimley Aqueduct, it is easy to be unaware that the canal crosses the Woking to Basingstoke railway line. Nearby is the Frimley Country Park, popular for dog walkers, including the towpath, and it brought back memories of taking my children there for a good run around. Just to the south is the Canal Centre (below), a pleasant enough place to stop, but no full scale exhibition or models of the canal, which I might have expected. For the next 3 miles until just beyond the Hampshire border, the canal is criss-crossed by 4 railway bridges and 5 road/pedestrian bridges, with the railways heading to places like Alton, Reading, Aldershot, etc. An examination of a map shows that it is a focus of transport routes. Wading birds spotted in the Ash Vale and Mytchett area (with accompanying flashes, bottoms and lakes) included Swans, Great Crested Grebes, Canada Geese, Grey Herons and the ubiquitous Mallards, Moorhens and Coots.
The Hampshire section In the absence of a county sign on the canal, I was reliably informed by a local resident that the boundary followed the centre of the Blackwater Relief Road where it crosses underneath the Blackwater Aqueduct. Following the last lock (Ash Lock, above) where the canal reaches its final height of 260 ft above sea level, it is back to army territory again. Interesting war time features in this area included tank defences and pill boxes (below). Nearby I met a retired gentleman with a long lens camera, who was photographing dragonflies, in particular the Hairy Dragonfly, which was a new one for me. I did notice many dragonflies and mayflies on my walk, but was not able to capture them on film.
I recall walking past Farnborough Aerodrome on my previous walk, but on this occasion I was aware that it was concealed by taller vegetation and there was a security guard hut near Eelmore Bridge. The last major settlement the canal passes through is Fleet and Church Crookham, and here the canal towpath was popular with both 2 and 4 legged residents. It is only beyond this built-up area that the canal is truly within open countryside, where it twists and turns on its way to Greywell Tunnel. With glorious weather, the picturesque canal side pubs were doing a roaring trade, but unfortunately I didn t have time to sample the beer, relying on bottled water instead.
Near Winchfield, there were several public posters sited by the canal objecting to the large scale housing development. Should it go ahead, hopefully it will not have an adverse impact on the canal. Shortly after the marina at Odiham, the ruins of Odiham Castle (above) suddenly appeared, indeed an impressive site, and with open access. This is managed by Hampshire County Council, and there are a number of good interpretation boards. The limit of navigation shortly before the tunnel is marked by a rope across the canal. It was difficult to get good shots of the eastern entrance due to the prolific vegetation growth (above). To reach the western entrance, a detailed map with
footpaths marked was required, which was corroborated when I met an elderly couple who had failed in this mission. The last section of the canal was heavily overgrown in places, especially near the western entrance of the tunnel. I walked this section on a sunny summer afternoon and I did not meet another human being, dog or boat. All too soon the end of the canal was reached at the former Penny Bridge, a quiet nostalgic location I remembered reaching with my wife 15 or so years ago. I spent a day retracing the final 5 miles to the centre of Basingstoke. I parked my car at the Crabtree Plantation (off the A30), and walked along roads to Penny Bridge, again an Ordnance Survey map is indispensable. It is well worth visiting Little Tunnel Bridge (above), which is still intact.
I was informed by a local resident near Mapledurwell, that it is not possible to follow most of the canal route, as much of it has been in-filled and now in private ownership (above). Also, not many motorists would know that the M3 motorway at Hatch follows the former route of the canal for about half a mile madness! Later the canal circumvents Basing House, which attracts an entry fee. A footpath leads from here to the centre of Basingstoke, a heritage trail created by Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council. Shortly before Basingstoke town centre, the route follows past Eastrop Park, an attractive area of parkland, trees, ponds and a fitness trail, an ideal place for families. Journey s end was Basingstoke bus station, but no ceremony for completing the walk, though having walked from the M25 did feel like an achievement in itself. I m now tempted to do the walk again, maybe at a more leisurely pace next time.