WALKS IN WILTSHIRE at GREAT BEDWYN & WILTON (and THE KENNET & AVON CANAL) (4K)

In this episode of my series “Walks in Wiltshire”, I take a 5.5 mile circular walk from Great Bedwyn (in the East of the county) to Wilton and back. Once again I am accompanied by my Whippet, Logan.
I parked my car at a free car park at the River & Waterway's Trust car park by a bridge on the canal, just as you come into the village of Great Bedwyn (from the South).
The first section of my route takes me in a South Westerly direction along the towpath of the Kennet & Avon Canal. There is so much to see including a number of bridges & locks as well as plenty of wildlife.
At one of the bridges, I take a small detour over the canal to check out a WW2 Pillbox in Crofton Road.
I continue along the towpath to the Crofton Pumping Station at which point I leave the canal and head South, part Wilton Water, to the pretty village of Wilton.
After a visit to the Swan Inn at Wilton, I leave the village, heading Eastwards along a small country road.
After passing the Wilton Windmill, I take a bridleway & then a footpath North through some wonderful woodland called Bedwyn Brail.
Leaving Castle Copse & Ivy's Copse, the footpath takes me back to the canal by Church Lock.
My final section of the walk takes me through the village of Great Bedwyn itself where I get to explore the church of St Mary.
My final destination is the Three Tuns Pub in the village.
Map courtesy of Google Maps.
Aerial pictures courtesy of Google Maps.
OS Maps. Media License
Music from the KZbin Audio library.
Information Sources: Wikipedia, Historic England & British History Online.
Historic Maps NLS Maps 'Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland' maps.nls.uk/in...
For further videos in the series, please go to: / @daveford or my website at daveford5966.w...
My Facebook page is: / davescountrysidewalks
I use a GOPRO HERO 7, 8 or 10 Black Action Camera (sometimes with a Gimbal) & a Rode microphone (either a “Shotgun” or a Rode Wireless Go) together with a Canon Powershot SX530 HS.

[@ralphfeay8857]

Thanks Dave!! Made us feel cold for you.Beautiful blue sky and lovely Dorset walk. God bless

[@DaveFord]

Thank you both. It wasn't too bad, as long as we kept moving!

[@craigmarsh3221]

Morning Dave that was a beautiful video to watch i do enjoy the industrial side and the history and of course the fantastic scenery.

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Craig. There is so much history attached to canals which makes walking along them so interesting.

[@davidberesford7009]

You had a gorgeous bright day for your walk. Thanks for taking me along with you. Pace Yourself!

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. Yes, I am already planning to slow things down a bit going forward!

[@Micky-yo3ng]

That funny little red boat is a decommissioned lifeboat Dave. They must be cheap to buy because they're very common on canals but I wouldn't fancy being on one for very long without portholes. Nice change of venue for the walk.

[@DaveFord]

Thanks for the information about that boat - I did wonder where it had come from.

[@DaveKnowlesFilmmaker]

Just what Shashti and I needed this afternoon. Thanks for sharing your walk and thanks also to Logan for being there.

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Dave. There was so much to see on that walk for sure!

[@bosse641]

What a beautiful old church

[@DaveFord]

I was quite taken by that church as well. The stain glass windows were spectacular.

[@jade3968]

Love this one in particular because in 2022 and 2023 I walked the K and A canal from Bristol to Reading. I visited The Crofton pumping station too. Looks a lot tidier there now, when I was there that part of the canal was having major works done, a right mess and the water downstream was heavily polluted.

[@DaveFord]

It is a lovely area .... I hope to go back and walk more sections of the canal some time. Thanks for watching.

[@catherineshipley5799]

Another lovely walk

[@thebeatentrack156]

Wonderful walk Dave & Logan, right in my backyard 😊

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. There are some lovely walks around that area.

[@susantaylor927]

Just what we needed in January. Thank You and Logan too! We used to go on that canal in a canal boat 20 years ago. Fab memories!😊

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Susan & indeed thanks for watching.

[@susantaylor927]

@@DaveFord Your vid was a pleasure to watch! Much appreciated and keep snug!

[@keithjoseph5671]

Awesome walking tour of Wiltshire and beautiful river and Waterways with the village of Bedwyn

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Keith. :)

[@hannureittu4310]

Three tons of thanks! Dave&Logan, very nice walk, once more!

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Hannu. Glad you enjoyed the walk.

[@markshrimpton3138]

A trip down memory lane for me Dave. I went on a school trip to the pumping station at Crofton in around 1973 on one of its steam days. Since then I’ve discovered that an ancestor of mine who was a stone mason and architect was responsible for quite a few of the bridges on the canal.

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Mark. I shall have to go back one day and visit the pumping station when it is open. Great to learn that you have a family connection with those bridges!

[@jade3968]

I love this film, over the last couple of years I have walked the K and A canal from Bath to Reading. It was great to see this section on film, makes me want to walk it again.

[@DaveFord]

It is a beautiful stretch of the canal along there for sure - especially when the weather is good!

[@jeanblemings5352]

Lots of industrial history packed into that one and two pubs! The soup looked yummy! I loved the cut out parapets on the church tower. Most unusual.

[@DaveFord]

Thanks Jean. It was amazing how much there was to see & explore in such a relatively small area around there!

[@rachelt-s]

Wow - what a wholesome and watchful wander around whimsical Wiltshire with a wonderful windmill.

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Rachel. I will certainly have to go back and check out that windmill when it is open!

[@gparry42]

Thanks Dave, that took me back a few years when myself and friends walked the length of the canal !

[@DaveFord]

Wow - I imagine that would have been great fun.

[@melissaphillips3088]

It is snowing here today Dave so this walk is making my day sunny! It looks so pretty with all the trees . Running with a canoe.. you don’t see that often😂You really are getting to see a lot on this walk Dave. It is beautiful there.Thank you so much. Give Logan a big hug from me . Take care and see you again soon. ☀️

[@DaveFord]

Thanks Melissa. Yes, it is a bit chilly here at the moment too! All the best.

[@thecountrysideexplorer9910]

Hello Dave. We've been there a few times, I can tell. You were lucky with the towpath, it can be quite muddy in places. The Crofton Pumping station still operates on special days throughout the summer and I believe each stroke of the piston delivers a ton of water. The water is drawn from Wilton Water and delivered via a gulley from the pumps to the canal summit, approximately half a mile ore more to the west. But as you say , electric pumps supply the power for most of the time. Wilton Windmill is also operational on certain days. It's a grand sight perced on top of that hill. That was a very interesting video, especially as we know the area well.

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. I must go back some time when the windmill is open to the public as I am sure it will be interesting to see inside.

[@lionelmarytravels6003]

Both the windmill and beam engines are often open on Bank. Holiday weekends

[@DaveFord]

@@lionelmarytravels6003 Thanks for the information Lionel.

[@newforestexplorer]

Made up for last week with the two beers Dave ! Lovely video

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. Yes - and what fine pints they were too!

[@LynnB_Ky]

I really loved this video Dave from beginning to end; Wiltshire is close to my ❤ I always learn something when I watch your videos with your wealth of knowledge. How lovely to see those emu. Nice you got to do some research at the pubs 😉I'm sure the soup was most welcomed. Logan is such a lovely boy. Thanks for sharing Dave🥰

[@DaveFord]

Thank you Lynn. Yes, both pubs got a "thumbs up" from both Logan & myself!

[@cathpeterson1944]

beautiful way beside the Kennet & Avon canal

[@DaveFord]

It makes for a lovely route along there Cath - especially when the sun is out!

[@eldred1809]

When you said you were going to walk from Great Bedwyn to Wilton Dave, I was a little taken aback, thought it was some sort of marathon training! Then I looked at the map and realised it wasn't the Salisbury Wilton. Phew! Poor old Logan's legs would've been worn down! Thought he looked fetching in his camo-jacket, trouble is he kept disappearing. Keep up the good work.

[@DaveFord]

Thanks . Yes, Great Bedwyn to near Salisbury really would have been a trek!

[@eldred1809]

@@DaveFord Lionel?

[@DaveFord]

Oops -- So sorry. I have just been speaking to someone called Lionel before I replied to you (It has been a long day!). Reply duly corrected! Cheers. Dave.

[@SkylarkFields]

Wonderful, really enjoyed this one. Hubby and I have been there a few times. Wish we had the energy to walk the route you did but it is just lovely to have a little amble along the tow path and back anyway. We have seen lots of brown hare in the area, and the red kites flying overhead. The canal boats are beautiful too! Roll on some better weather as I hope we will go for a day trip there again!

[@DaveFord]

Thank you. Strolling along the canal path there certainly makes for a relaxing ramble for sure.

[@icba4907]

I lived in Wilton for 7 years and drank in the Swan, Bill the landlord is still there, the Mrs was canal walking there yesterday. I'm surprised you didn't show the famous grave stones on the post office walls in gt Bedwyn, you walked past them from the church to the 3 tuns.

[@DaveFord]

On the day of filming, I did actually record some footage of the shop (as it is amazing) as well as the village pump next door but as the video was already nearly 28mins long, I ended up cutting it out (I wish that I had kept it in now!). I think I will have to do another walk in the area and include it next time though! Thanks for watching.

[@icba4907]

@@DaveFord it's a lovely area Dave, sure you can manage another walk nearby. 👍

[@walthamwalker]

Great video The unusual boat is a former lifeboat off a much larger cruise ship

[@DaveFord]

Thank you - I did wonder what it's original purpose was.

[@markarnold5593]

Another brilliant video Dave, thankyou!! We've done this walk ourselves a number of times, and luckily enough one walk coincided with an open day at the pumping station. :-) Even so, you did manage, as always, to fill us in on additional interesting facts we were unaware off... so thankyou and fair play!! One tiny bit of info/feedback. anyone visiting Great Bedwyn would be entertained by passing past the Stone masons shop, with all its fantastic engravings from headstones to housenames, and some truly comical pieces..... well worth a look... Top man, all the best. :-)

[@DaveFord]

Thanks Mark. Yes, you are spot in with the information about the Stone Masons shop. On the day of filming, did actually record some footage of the shop (as you say, it is amazing) as well as the village pump next door but as the video was already nearly 28mins long, I ended up cutting it out (I wish that I had kept it in now!). I think I will have to do another walk in the area and include it next time though! Thanks for watching.

[@davidsecker5161]

As your excellent videos are in Dorset, Wiltshire, and New Forest I take it that's where you live. You are so lucky to live somewhere so beautiful, have you always lived in that area.

[@DaveFord]

Thanks David. I currently live just inside Dorset, close to the Hampshire border & not that far from Wiltshire. I moved from West Sussex nearly 20 years ago.

[@darrenharley6150]

Hi Dave I have watched a few of your videos. I camped behind the golden swan pub last year and the 3 magpies the year before. Even though we had horrible weather last year we still walked and mainly cycled the kennet and Avon canal. We got as far as the pumping station on our cycle before turning back because of the bad weather. We walked around the Bruce tunnel.

[@DaveFord]

It is a great area for exploring for sure. I must try the route further West and go by the Bruce Tunnel next time.

[@eleanorstraberrylaces2693]

We did the very same circular walk last year 😊

[@DaveFord]

It is a great route with plenty of variety for sure!

[@eleanorstraberrylaces2693]

We loved the Community Cafe in Great Bedwyn too!

[@JimNicholls]

Another very enjoyable walk, Dave -- thank you! Do you have any more Sussex ones to come this season?

[@DaveFord]

Thanks Jim. I have just finished the research & preparation for all my planned walks for 2024 (nearly 45 of them!). Most of them will be in Dorset, Hampshire & the New Forest with a handful in Wiltshire & West Sussex. Thanks for watching.

[@mikewalker8655]

​@@DaveFordBlimey Dave, already researched 45 walks for this year! That's real dedication and you must love it. Cheers

[@DaveFord]

@@mikewalker8655 I tend to not do to much filming between the end of November & February (although I have made a couple of "Winter Walk" films this week!) due to low light , shorter days & colder temperatures. I use the time instead doing all the research!