A Bacon Butty in the Caen Hill Cafe.

Inside the cafe at the top of "Caen Hill."

This cafe sells the best bacon butties for miles around, so if you fancy one, this is the place to go.  The photos on the wall show scenes of the restoration of the famous flight way back the in the 1960's and 1970's.  The Queen eventually reopened the restored flight of 29 locks in 1990.   

The flight must have been a sorry sight to see after years of neglect.  The gates had rotted, and rubbish filled the lock chambers.  Most of the restoration was performed by volunteers, who at the time could clamber in and out of the locks using ladders, before "Health and Safety" put a stop to their adventures!  The Canal Trust had a youth section at the time, and the children and young people must have had good time messing about in the mud!

The cafe at the top of the hill!

The little building once housed the lock keeper, who kept an eye over the progress of the barges, as they came slowly up the consecutive flight of 16 locks.  I fell into this lock way back in 2005 and almost killed myself!   I have the good fortune to turn the fall into a jump, and managed to a void falling head first onto a steel boat.

to be continued

The Kennet & Avon trip boat "Kenavon Venture" in lock 47 of the "Caen Hill Flight."

The towpath and narrowboat, with lock 48 in the background.