Wilts & Berks Canal Through Time

Always known as the Wilts & Berks Canal, never Wiltshire and Berkshire, the W&B has been derelict and abandoned for over a century, but plans exist to restore the waterway. Over sixty miles long, the project has many interesting challenges to overcome. With branches to Cricklade (on the Thames & Severn Canal), Chippenham, Calne and Wantage, and a route through the middle of Swindon, the plan is more than ambitious. Doug Small has written a photographic history of the canal showing the task of the restorers as they undo a hundred years of neglect. From the market towns of Abingdon and Melksham to the sleepy backwaters of the Wiltshire countryside, the canal also meandered into the middle of Swindon. The restoration will be exciting and interesting and this book will show the changing face of the canal from its once-bustling commercial period, to dereliction and restoration.