The Canal and Old Railway Track from Seend to Devizes.

Marsh Lane Bridge

Friday's walk took us along the towpath from Seend to Devizes, with a short diversion onto the old railway line that once linked Chippenham via Devizes to Lydeway and to trains for  London.  I have friends who remember travelling to Chippenham on the train many years ago.  The day was overcast but dry, and the photo right, shows us at Marsh Lane Bridge, which has two arches, one for the canal, and the other for  a rail track that once ran along the towpath.   This little track allowed horses to pull brick filled wagons up Caen Hill, when the locks was being constructed.  This flight of 29 locks is the second longest in Britain, and the "Fifth Wonder of the British Waterway system."

The group walking along the line of the old railway that closed in 1966.

We walk here along the line of the old railway track, now used as path, and in many parts of Britain, old railway lines have become long distance paths.  Fortunately the paths are flat,  and I now appreciate a flat walk with a nice pub at the end.  We had lunch in the "Black Horse," a cosy pub, which was recently renovated after a severe fire in 2011 destroyed its roof, kitchen and bars.  The pub is owned by "Wadworth" the famous Devizes brewery.  Cheers!

Peering over the line of the demolished railway bridge at Lower Foxhangers, which  took the line over the canal.