Regional walking route · England

Kennet and Avon Canal Trail

155 km (96 miles) from River Avon at Bristol to River Thames at Reading, in England.

Data compiled by Ryan — sources and method

Route from OpenStreetMap (ODbL). Coastline, borders and national park boundaries from the Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits from the Database of British & Irish Hills (CC BY 4.0).

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.

No ascent in this figure

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.

Full access rules for England

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.

This route is mapped in 2 separate pieces

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.

Day stages of the Kennet and Avon Canal Trail at roughly 20 km each
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: —

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

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.