Reybridge (Boxing Day 2022)

This watered stretch of the old Wilts and Berks canal runs from Pewsham, near Chippenham, to a site north of Reybridge, close to Lacock. Last November I tried to reach the Pewsham end from Pewsham but was defeated by lack of access points with parking and waymarking and had to return to the car as night fell without reaching it.

I had a Christmas Day walk mapped out starting from the other end, intending to park by the old bridge over the Avon in Reybridge and to have a picnic when I reached the canal. As I was loading the car to set off the light drizzle turned into a downpour, and looking up at the dark clouded sky I thought better of it and returned indoors.

Today the weather was better and I thought I would try again from the same starting point. I was almost defeated again on the walk when all the waymarkings suddenly ceased to be in the middle of nowhere and my guesswork proved inaccurate.

Guided by locals I was able to double back to the correct path which led eventually to a newly watered section of the canal on a path that had the canal to the east and the Avon in the valley below to the west. By this time the sun was setting and I had a hasty picnic on a bench seat facing the river some way away and walked on to Double Bridge, as seen in the blip.

I have walked in the past the other way from Pewsham to Double Bridge and a little way beyond, so that seemed the obvious spot to mark as my destination for the day, and I walked back to the car by the correct route before it was totally dark, as there was no visible streetlighting to be glimpsed anywhere.

An information board about the stretch is in the Extra.

Looking forward to The Detectorists tonight.

L.
Monday 26.12.2022 (1831 hr)

Blip #3788 (#3538 + 250 archived blips taken 27.8.1960-18.3.2010)
Consecutive Blip #000
Blips/Extras In 2022 #223/265 + #097/100 Extras
Day #4658 (1129 gaps from 26.3.2010)
LOTD #2929 (#2769 + 160 in archived blips)

Taken with Pentax K-50 (Red) and Sigma AF 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC Macro HSM lens

Reybridge series
Sunset series
Canals series
Landscape series
Wilts and Berks Canal series
Outdoor Places I Have Sat In series

A Reybridge-Double Bridge Walk, 26 December 2022 (Flickr album of 14 photos)

Lozarhythm Of The Day:
Blondie - I Love You Honey, Give Me A Beer (recorded 1980)
This early version of Go Through It from the Autoamerican album was released this year on the retrospective box set Against the Odds 1974–1982.