The Kennet and Avon Canal is a navigable waterway crossing southern England from Bristol to Reading.
The canal, completed in 1810, passes through a rural landscape, over chalk vales and river valleys. It winds its way through villages, market towns and the City of Bath.
The waterway is a thread linking many architectural and engineering triumphs, including aqueducts, pumping stations and lock flights. It is a combination of three waterways: the River Avon to the west, the River Kennet to the East, both of which are linked by fifty-seven miles of man made waterway.
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The towpath is flat and well maintained and there are no stiles to lift your Labrador over :)
There is parking at N51 24.861 W001 31.797.
This is a two-stage multi-cache. The first stage is a small box 40mm in diameter and 15mm tall and contains the coordinates and hint for the final stage. The final cache is a small 'Tupperware' box covered in black tape and contains the usual goodies. To the North of the lock you can see two blue figures. They are statues of the comedians Morecombe and Wise. The property is Hopgrass Farm and used to belong to Johnny Morris, the TV presenter of Animal Magic fame. There are some souvenir cards, including a first finder's card, so please help yourself but let us know if you take the last one so that we can replace them.
This cache is 1 of 37 caches hidden along 19 miles of the Kennet and Avon canal between and Thatcham and Great Bedwyn via Newbury, Kintbury, Hungerford, Froxfield and Little Bedwyn.
GCNX4V Monkey March Lock
GCJTY7 Between Two Locks by Subarite
GCNX4N Widmead Lock
GCNX47 Bull's Lock
GCNV5Y Ham Lock by Alibags
GCNV6B The Narrowboat by Alibags
GCMRDJ Greenham Lock by Alibags
GCDAFC Along the canal (Berks) by Paul Blitz
GCK0K9 Lock, Stock and Barrel (Berks)
GCN79X Monkey Bridge by d&c
GCKA2W Guyer's Lock (Berks)
GCJCPG Canal Bypass by dogastus
GCK87H Benham Bridge
GCK8NP Hamstead Lock
GCK8NR Copse Lock
GCK8NV Dreweat's Lock
GCGGHW Shepherd's Bridge
GCMMBM Kintbury Lock II
GCK87T Brunsden's Lock
GCK87P Wire Lock
GCHGKY Hunger for this too (300 yards from the canal)
GCK87W Hungerford Lock
GCKYHA Marsh Lock
GCKYHC Cobbler's Lock
GCM1KV Picketfield Lock
GCQGK6 Between by The White Family
GCM3G2 Froxfield Lock
GCHRBT Something for Everyone by The Scooby Snacks + The Rangers of Ithilien
GCM547 Fore Bridge
GCM6V4 Little Bedwyn Lock
GCM6V5 Potter's Lock
GCM86J Great Bedwyn Lock
GCM86M Church Lock
GCN0PV Mill Bridge
GCN0R6 Beech Grove Lock
GCN0RB Wilton Brail Lock
GCJCBJ Crofton Beam Engines
The towpath is well maintained and suitable for cycling. There is a railway line running parallel with the canal with stations at Thatcham, Newbury, Kintbury, Hungerford and Great Bedwyn, so you could park at one station, walk the towpath finding caches and then catch the train back.
Please check out the Geocaching Association of Great Britain
offering support for Geocachers in the UK
