Wandering Ruth: Grand Western Canal

JC and I walked the Grand Western Canal over 3 days recently. We selected it as my sciatica is bad and I wanted somewhere flat and unchallenging to walk. You can't get much flatter than a canal (unless you march up and down a runway). We randomly started in the middle and walked west. If I'd known we were going to complete the whole thing I would, have course, been more organised and walked from one end to the other. However, it's probably only me that this bothers.

1. The first time we walked from Halberton to Tiverton Canal (and back of course) - 14.9 km.

2. The second time we started from the most easterly point, Lowdwells Lock, and walked west, pivoting back at Sampford Peverell - 16.8 km.

3. And the third time we walked from Sampford Peverell to Halverton and back - 7.1 km.

The Grand Western Canal was opened in 1814 between Tiverton and the limestone quarries at Westleigh (near Lowdwells Lock). The ambition was to create a cross Devon/Somerset canal - from the Exe to the Severn Estuary. Although they gave up on this idea, in 1838 it was extended to Taunton. As we all know, the advent of the railways quashed the profitability of the canal trade and in 1925 the canal was left unused due to persistent leaks and lack of traffic.

The canal was earmarked for in-filling in the 1970s when the successful 'save the canal' campaign enabled Devon County Council to take on ownership. The most feasible statutory tool it had was to designate it as a Country Park, so now we have the Grand Western Canal Country Park.

We enjoyed our walk, which had lots of pretty views/bridges.

This is the most easterly end where the canal stops.

The only canal traffic we saw were kayakers. As this is a 'closed' canal, with no water entry/exit, the only canal boats will have been craned in and stay going up and down, until they are lifted off.