Surprises in Devizes
This week’s walk is a town trail starting from Devizes Wharf. With its wharfinger’s house and warehouse, the setting makes a handsome canal-side scene. The crane belonging to the warehouse has long since disappeared, although the building itself has been sympathetically restored and houses the excellent Wharf Theatre. End onto the canal at the wharf lies a building that in its time has served as a granary and a bonded warehouse. Today it houses the K&A Canal Trust’s headquarters with a range of displays relating to this fine waterway. The exhibits focus on the characters who made the canal what it was: the navvies and engineers, the boatmen and lock keepers – the unsung heroes of southern Britain’s finest waterway. The restoration of the Caen hill locks west of the town provided the key to the final restoration of the K&A. it was with the royal opening, or rather reopening, of the staircase in the summer of 1990, that a through link between the Thames and the Avon was once again open to boaters. ironically, it was the completion of Caen hill in 1810 that meant that the waterway was originally fully operational throughout its length. Between 1802 and 1810, a temporary horse-drawn tramway linked the foot and summit of the incline, and hence the western and eastern sections of the canal. The walk is essentially an exploration of the town of Devizes itself, with a detour being necessary to explore the Caen hill Locks. Devizes, according to a rather bland description painted by Wikipedia “is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, in the southern United Kingdom. it has a population of about 15,000 in 2009. Devizes has the feel of a much larger town. it serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week. it has over five hundred listed buildings, a large open green at the heart of the town, splendid churches and an elegant town hall. its development has grown around an 11th-century Norman castle.” i much prefer the old adage that reads “Devizes, Devizes, full of surprises”, with its hints of interest and intrigue at every turn. These surprises would include the Wadworth Brewery, housed in red-brick premises that paint a picture of England’s industrial past. Pop into the visitor centre and you can discover everything and anything about one of our best independent breweries. There is also the Wiltshire heritage Museum that is home to the best Bronze Age archaeology collections in Britain. here visitors can see artefacts from some of the very first archaeological excavations at the World heritage sites of Avebury and stonehenge. A plaque beside the Crammer Pond on Devizes Green recounts the story of how a group of Bishops Cannings men brought contraband brandy over the plain from Orcheston. hearing of excise officers in the area, they wrapped the barrels of liquor in tarred paper and sank them in the pond. A few nights later, thinking the coast was clear, they returned to reclaim their loot by hooking the casks out of the water with agricultural rakes. They were challenged by a group of excise officers, who demanded to know what they were up to. One bright spark, pointing to the reflection of the full moon in the water, replied: “We’m tryin’ to get that girt big cheese out of the water.” The officers rode off, chuckling over the idiocy of these local yokels, while said yokels retrieved the precious brandy. What makes a visit to Devizes almost imperative just now is an exhibition at the Museum entitled Eric Ravilious: Downland Man. Ravilious had a fascination for the chalk downlands of both Wiltshire and sussex. As the museum’s website states: “his watercolours have such a spirit of place that you can almost feel the wind on your cheeks and hear the birds above!” The exhibition runs until January 30, with details at www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk – pre-booking is recommended, especially at peak times such as weekends.
GETTING THERE
■ Follow the A361 to Devizes, turn left by Wadworth Brewery and, in 250 yards, turn left to the signposted Wharf Car Park. Four hours’ parking should suffice if you plan to visit the museum, with the current parking charge being £2.80 for that length of time. To be on the safe side, an extra hour will cost 80p more! Parking on Sundays is free.
■ 1. Walk past the Wharf Theatre and along to the Wharf Centre. Pass to the right of the Wharf Centre to join Couch Lane, turn left and, having crossed the K&A, turn left down to the towpath. Follow the towpath for 600 yards to a lock, bridge 141 and the A361. Cross the A361 and follow what is Northgate Street to the left, passing the Old Court and Wadworth Brewery before reaching Long Street and Devizes Market Place. Continue to, and pass to the right of, the town hall before walking along St John’s Court to St John’s Church. Bear right and walk around to the back of the church before continuing through the churchyard to reach the main A360. To the right is the Wiltshire Museum, and the Ravilious exhibition.
■ 2. For the main walk, turn right to a pedestrian crossing before turning left into Morris Lane. Walk along to Sheep Street, cross over into Hare & Hounds Street and continue to a main road. Cross over using the pedestrian crossing and follow a Tarmac path across the green to the A342. Cross over and follow Church Walk along to St James’ Church, passing the Crammer Pond on the left. Bear left into the churchyard and walk through to the A361 – opposite is South Broom School House. Cross this busy road, turn right and continue for 200 yards to a bridge that crosses the K&A Canal. Immediately before this bridge, drop down some steps on the left and follow the towpath away from bridge 138 for just under ½ mile to bridge 140 and Couch Lane, passing bridge 139 along the way. Turn left, pass behind the Wharf Centre and turn right back into the car park.