Towpath improvements, Wilts & Berks Canal east of Station Road Arch Bridge

Image: © Vieve Forward Taken: 9 Mar 2015

The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust http://www.wbct.org.uk/ began improvements to the towpath east of the Station Road Arch Bridge in 2013. http://www.wbct.org.uk/branches/west-vale/restoration/1233-realignment-of-the-towpath-by-shrivenham-arch-bridge-2013 Adjacent to the canal is an electricity sub-station. When it was built, the ground level was raised such that the towpath alongside was narrowed and displaced into the canal channel. Additionally, there was a very steep and often muddy climb from this towpath up to the level of the road (the towpath did not pass under this bridge as here it changed from the south side of the canal to the north). For some time, the West Vale Branch of the Canal Trust had considered how it could improve this section of towpath and so enable the canal to be dredged to full width. In early 2013 the electricity company drastically reduced the hedge that bordered their compound, so the Branch decided that it would take this opportunity to move the towpath up to the level of the sub-station fence. This required the removal of the remaining hedge stumps and raising the ground level adjacent to Station Road and alongside the sub-station with many tons of subsoil.

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