Re-enactment of the K&A opening

THE Lord Lieutenant of Wiltshire, the Queen's representative in the county, descended the top locks of the Caen Hill Flight in a narrowboat last Friday in a re-enactment of the re-opening of the Kennet & Avon Canal by the Queen on 8th August 1990.

The boat stopped at lock 43, the Queen Elizabeth II lock, where she officially re-opened the restoration when the original ceremony took place on August 8th 1990.

Biggest lottery grant

It was a £25m Heritage Lottery grant, one of the biggest in its history, helped complete the waterway, that connects the Thames at Reading with the Avon at Bath and subsequently Bristol and the sea.

The event on Friday was followed by a towpath celebration that included displays of locking, boating, canoeing, cycling, pond dipping and wildlife trails. Also present were Wiltshire and Berkshire Canal Trust, the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust, Sustrans and the Kennet and Avon Trade Association. The picture below shows Caen Hill Flight as it was before its restoration.

The impact

Russell Fletcher, of a trade association, describes the impact the original opening of the canal has had on his and others' businesses. He was just 14 when he and his sister Shelley went to walk the Caen Flight to witness the opening, remarking:

"When I look back on the opening of the K&A, I see that it was the start of a new life for us and for hundreds of local people who have begun canal-related businesses as a result of the K&A becoming properly navigable. The canal supports a huge range of thriving businesses, from boat builders and repairers, marinas, miscellaneous makers and artisans, to the many pubs and eateries that line its 87 miles route."

Gave up their farm

Like many others, not long afterwards, Russell, his sister and parents Cynthia and Colin gave up their struggling 90 acres farm to start a camp-site and holiday business adjacent to the canal, followed by the creation of a small canal boat marina in 1994. Over the years, this has grown into a thriving canal boat company with 16 boats at Foxhangers, and the business employs around 30 staff. The picture shows work on the waterway near Newbury.