Group walk: Wilton Brail, Holloway, Canal. Sunday 23rd February 2025

Wilton Brail, Holloway, Canal, 4.25 miles

Date: : Sunday 23rd February

Time: 10.00 am – 12.15 pm

Location: The Chains, Great Bedwyn (the island opposite The Londis, High St, Great Bedwyn SN8 3NU)

This walk was organised and led by Max, a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award student volunteering for this activity to qualify for his Bronze award. He was accompanied on the day by Susie Brew from Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP)

15 walkers plus a young family left the village centre to cross the wharf to the towpath. Canoe trials were taking place from the wharf, in advance of the traditional Easter Devizes to Westminster canoe race, so we had to weave our way through the many supporters and crew.

After a short distance along the towpath, we said goodbye to the young boys and their Mum at Church lock and continued to make our way uphill through soggy fields to reach Wilton Brail. On emerging from the woodland we saw that the field which leads to the Roman road now has kissing gates installed in new cattle fencing. Pewsey Community Area Partnership (PCAP) installed these fully accessible gates with a grant from the North Wessex Downs. Cattle might be grazing the field at times during the year, but a permissible alternative path around the field can be walked instead.

The walk was heavy going because of the wet surface and a strong head wind so rather than follow the full route as shown on the map we took this permissive path to rejoin our route on the path down to the Holloway. This was another saturated field with deep mud at the narrow exit. We appreciated the shelter of the Holloway and continued directly to the towpath rather than across to the ‘bridge to nowhere’ because the towpath there was extremely muddy.

The rest of our route home along the towpath was still muddy but we made it safely across the railway crossing by the church and home dry before yet more rain arrived that afternoon.

These route changes to adapt to the extremely wet conditions meant that our route was shortened from the 4.25 mile route shown on the map below to only 3.75 miles.

Contact for details. Bedwynfootpathsgroup@gmail.com