kennet & avon canal

A great place to walk. You can go forever in both directions. Classic English countryside. The walk is peaceful, flat and easy. Well marked. Fun on foot or bike.

Reading has many charms and, as I recently spent a day there for the first time in nearly 20 years, I was impressed at how pleasant the stretch of the Kennet River that runs through here has become. The Oracle Mall now spans a stretch of it in downtown Reading that was derelict when I worked here in the early '90s. From the County Lock just upstream of the mall through downtown to Blake's Lock at the east edge of the town this stretch of the river is now lined almost completely with apartments, shops, restaurants, and riverside paths. It has been transformed into a true asset for Reading. I was there on a cool, intermittently sunny, early March Sunday and enjoyed it thoroughly. I can only imagine how pleasant it is on a warm June weekend. Well worth visiting if you're passing near Reading. Stop, take a stroll, enjoy the river and downtown Reading, and have a meal and drinks.

There is a small peace of the path under construction between Aldermaston and Frouds Lane, so if you manage to find the entrance near the pedestrian bridge in Aldermaston Wharf, you might not be able to get out on Frouds Lane due to the high metal fences.

blissful canal cruising cook your own food as you like it moor up and enjoy the scenery fantastic. take as long as you like to travel this amazing canal it is really worth the trip

We stroll along the canal & sometime watching the pegeons flock together is really a view to have. With occasional visitors such as ducks, goose & seagulls relieve all your stress.

There are some lovely walks along the canal, past some gorgeous homes, fields and locks. Last year the Corn Exchange ran a festival of fire which ran for 1km along the canal, I've also taken a Kennet & Avon Canal boat ride up the canal which was lovely, with a great commentary. This weekend I'm joining the Christmas boat ride including Santa, gifts and mulled wine, all for a very reasonable cost. And of course there are several bars on the canal to enjoy the view and fresh air in summer. The canal is worth a visit and a wander

This place is amazing and really peaceful experience We have lived on the canal and loved to feed food to the birds The canal side pubs are must for chill-outs too

We've walked along many stretches of the Kennet and Avon Canal from Great Bedwyn & the Tunnel through to Aldermaston! It is really relaxing and good exercise during the warm summer season. We recommend taking drinks & picnic for lunch on the benches by any of the Canal Locks!

There is a good riverside walk with plenty to see, particularly for bird-lovers, as so many swans, geese, ducks and other waterbirds are always active on the water. Sometimes you can see grebes and cormorants too.

I often cycle from Reading to Newbury and back. Great countryside and terrain anyone can cope with.Busy but not overcrowded with other cyclists and walkers.One of these days I'll get the train to Bath and cycle the 80 miles back ... One of these days ...

Been through it in different ways, walking, cycling and even walking the dog with us. It's a great walkthrough one way or another, very calm, enjoyable and nice sightseeing. Links different areas of Reading with the big contrast of a quite and calm park to the crowded city centre.

A lovely place to go for a walk along and easy to access from the city centre. There is a pub but a shame theres not a few more places to stop off

This is a chance to get some air and see some nature although in the heart of busy Reading centre. Its worth walking from the Homebase carpark,crossing the bridge and turning East. You will see some cottages, swans,ducks and pass two pubs (or sit outside for a sip or two)! One can walk for miles in either direction if one wishes.

The main channel through Reading is still, if I'm correct, the River Kennet but it links the Thames with the K&A canal and is fast becoming a popular tourist attraction (many canal boats passing through the town and many stopping as well!) Possibly a bit naff as it goes through the Oracle shopping centre and there is a definite lack of moorings by the two pubs on Kennetside. However, the canal does wander down through the Berkshire countryside after Reading and then heads into Wiltshire and onto Bath and Bristol. Some lovely places en route and some interesting sites to visit (Crofton Pumping House for one and infamous Caen Hill flight of locks at devizes). I have travelled on sections of it but have yet to go all the way from Reading to Bristol which will probably take a week to complete - so that's the next challenge!

Great for a walk or bike ride, specially in summer. If you need a pub stop there are a lot of restaurants and pubs nearby, as the canal strolls all over the city centre and Oracle shopping centre.