Kennet and Avon Canal Trail
155 km (96 miles) from River Avon at Bristol to River Thames at Reading, in England.
- Distance
- 154.7 km
- In miles
- 96.1 mi
- Day stages
- 8 at ~20 km
- Typical trip
- 6–8 days
- Countries
- England
- Listed summits within 2.5 km
- 0
- Managed by
- Canal River Trust
About the route
Rivers linked by a canal. The name refers to the entire navigable length. From Bristol the way is the Avon. The canal is from Bath to Newbury. From there to Reading the way is the Kennet. 53 locks to Summit Pound (150 m asl) and 54 down to Reading.
Route description as recorded in OpenStreetMap by its contributors (ODbL).
How long it really is
We measure Kennet and Avon Canal Trail at 154.7 km (96.1 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point . The route is tagged in OpenStreetMap as 140 km; where that differs from our figure, the difference is usually alternative sections, spurs, or a published distance that rounds.
This is horizontal distance only. Our trail dataset carries no elevation profile, so we will not quote a total climb or a confident walking time — on hill routes ascent can add hours a day. A flat-ground pace gives roughly 36 h 53 min of walking for the whole route, which is a floor, not an estimate. Add your own ascent figure in the walking-time calculator for something usable.
Access rights along the way
The route stays within England, so one access regime applies along its length.
England
Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Conditional Wild camping: Permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons.
A waymarked route is a route you may walk — it does not follow that you may camp beside it, leave it, or take a dog on it. Long-distance paths cross farmland, estates and access land in turn, and byelaws and seasonal restrictions override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Check a specific spot with the access checker.
The route in day stages
Kennet and Avon Canal Trail cut into 8 stages of roughly 20 km, measured along the line itself. These are equal-distance splits computed from the geometry, not an official itinerary — they will not always land on a village, a bunkhouse or a station, and the real day you walk should be set by where you can sleep.
OpenStreetMap does not hold Kennet and Avon Canal Trail as one continuous line, so the stages below run through the pieces in order of length and the joins between them are not walking distance. Treat the stage boundaries as approximate, and check the official route for the sections between them.
| Stage | Distance | Cumulative | Starts near | Ends near | Flat-ground time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 km | 21 km | ST 5674 7247 | ST 6878 6747 | 4 h 37 min |
| 2 | 20.6 km | 41.6 km | ST 6878 6747 | ST 7961 6044 | 4 h 32 min |
| 3 | 20.2 km | 61.8 km | ST 7961 6044 | ST 9777 6143 | 4 h 27 min |
| 4 | 20.8 km | 82.6 km | ST 9777 6143 | SU 1487 6157 | 4 h 35 min |
| 5 | 20.3 km | 102.9 km | SU 1487 6157 | SU 3090 6799 | 4 h 28 min |
| 6 | 20.2 km | 123.1 km | SU 3090 6799 | SU 4995 6660 | 4 h 27 min |
| 7 | 20.1 km | 143.2 km | SU 4995 6660 | SU 6773 7077 | 4 h 25 min |
| 8 | 10.1 km | 153.3 km | SU 6773 7077 | SU 3405 6864 | 2 h 13 min |
Positions are 8-figure (100 m) OS grid references for points on the line, computed from WGS84 coordinates. Flat-ground times are Naismith at 5 km/h with a 6 min/hour rest allowance and no ascent — add the climb in the walking-time calculator before you plan around them.
Conditions on the route
Weather at the route midpoint live
Loading forecast for the midpoint of the route…
Forecast for the midpoint of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trail, at MET Norway's own ground level — we hold no elevation profile for this route, so nothing here is altitude-adjusted, and conditions vary considerably end to end on a route this long. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
Daylight at the midpoint today
- Sunrise
- —
- Sunset
- —
- Daylight
- —
- Civil twilight ends
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Computed astronomically for 51.362, -1.962. Set a turnaround with the daylight safety planner.
Plan this walk
- Walking-time calculator — add ascent, terrain, pack weight and fitness to get a usable time.
- Pack-weight calculator — multi-day routes live or die on base weight.
- Kit-list generator — season and terrain aware.
- Access checker — what a specific grid reference on the route allows.
- Best month to walk — historical rainfall, temperature and wind by area.
- Safety notes — conditions change fast; build in margin.
Other long-distance paths nearby
Sources for this route
- Route geometry, name, waymark and operator: OpenStreetMap relation 8345184 — © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
- Distance, stages, country crossings, park crossings and summit proximity: computed by OpenFell from that geometry.
- Boundaries: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits: Database of British & Irish Hills v18.3 (CC BY 4.0).
- Official route website: canalrivertrust.org.uk
- Background reading: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database Licence. Our derived trail measurements are published under the same terms — see data sources.