1.6 miles of the Kennet & Avon Canal plus 2.4 miles of detours - 4 miles in total
Food - take a packed lunch or visit The Swan Inn, Wilton.
Kennet & Avon Canal - Great Bedwyn to Crofton
This is a lovely stretch of the Kennet & Avon Canal, taking you to the highest point of the canal at Crofton, where you will find the historic Crofton Beam Engines.
Notice Bridge 99 (New Crown Estate Bridge) which is thought to be the first skew bridge built by the canal's engineer John Rennie. A skew bridge is one that is built at a skew, i.e. not at right angles to the thing it is crossing.
Day 2 Kennet & Avon Canal Itinerary - Detailed Information
Morning
Walk the Kennet & Avon Canal - Great Bedwyn Wharf (Bridge 95) to Crofton (Sam Farmer Lock 58)
Approximately 45 minutes
1.6 miles / 2.6 kms
Visit the historic Crofton Beam Engines - check their website for opening times - and see the oldest working steam engines in the world! The steam engines are only in steam on special steaming days, advertised on Crofton's website and on our What's On page.
There is no direct access between the Canal and Crofton Beam Engines' site. Visitors wishing to visit from the canal can do so by leaving the Canal at Sam Farmer Lock (No. 58) and then following the lane east to Crofton. Access to the site is via the front gate located opposite the pay and display car park.
Approximately 1 - 1.5 hours
.5 mile / .8 km
Take a detour to walk the Wilton Windmill & Crofton circular walk. Starting at point 5 of the walk, go as far as The Swan Inn in Wilton.
Approximately 15 minutes
.7 mile / 1.1 kms
Lunch at The Swan Inn in Wilton or packed lunch
Approximately 1.5 hours
Afternoon
Continue the Wilton Windmill & Crofton circular walk taking in Wilton Windmill en route, taking you back to where you turned off the Kennet & Avon Canal.
Wilton Windmill is open all year round, but guided tours are only done on Sundays and Bank Holiday Mondays from 2pm to 5pm between Easter and the end of September.
Approximately 1 - 2 hours depending on whether you do the guided tour
1.7 miles / 2.7 kms
