At the end of part one of our east-to-west journey along the Kennet & Avon Canal, we paused at Devizes "where the Long Pound comes to a very abrupt end". And it doesn't get much more abrupt than this. After a gradual climb up the Kennet Valley, the short summit level and the four spaced-out Wootton Rivers Locks followed by 15 miles of remote meanderings as the canal winds it's lock-free way along the contours of the Vale of Pewsey, the precipitate descent into the valley of the Bristol Avon marks a sudden change. The first six locks are spaced out at intervals of a couple of hundred yards, but then the Caen Hill flight 'proper' begins with a series of 16 barely a boat's length apart, leading arrow-straight down the hillside and making a spectacular sight. After Lock 29 there's a brief breathing space (and an impressive view back up the flight) and then the final seven locks complete the descent of almost 250ft in just a couple of miles.
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