Canal Walk

You would scarcely recognise this water as a commercial lifeline, yet in years gone by that’s just what it was. A thriving canal through the Hampshire town of Romsey but linking Andover in the north of the county with the port of Southampton at Redbridge.

Today, the old barge canal through Romsey is little more than a stream and in places substantially overgrown.

The Romsey and District Society record a fascinating history for the waterway which was built in the late 1700s, but eventually closed in 1859 when its usefulness gave way to the railway.

Its fascination today lies more in its home for wildlife and in part it runs alongside the newly established Fishlake Wildlife Nature Reserve.