This lock-free, rural section of canal offers a peaceful day out and is perfect as an introduction to canoe trails. The route is described as out and back but could be done one way, with a shuttle.
The Basingstoke Canal runs westward from its junction with the Wey Navigation, only 3 miles from the Thames, to Basingstoke. It was conceived in 1769 as an economical means of transport to develop agriculture in Central Hampshire and transport goods to market. The canal was never profitable, and by the 1960s was neglected and no longer navigable.
In the 1970s, Surrey and Hampshire County Councils took the canal into public ownership and funded a programme of restoration supported by volunteer work parties. In 1990, the work was completed, and the 31-mile canal formally reopened in 1991.
An attractive waterway, the Basingstoke Canal is also a notable wildlife habitat. It has one of the largest varieties of aquatic plants and invertebrates in the UK. Twenty-five of Britain’s 39 species of Dragonflies and Damselflies inhabit the canal. The entire length, except for a part through Woking, is a SSSI (Sites of Special Scientific Interest). Greywell Tunnel, which marks the end of the navigable section, is an internationally important haven for bats. Crookham Wharf is situated by Chequers Bridge, with a small public car park, picnic site, and pub. The car park entrance is by the bridge on the Crookham Village side.
If you choose to do this as a one-way trail, there is also car parking beside the canal at your halfway point: Barley Mow Car park, Spratts Hatch Lane, Winchfield, RG27 8DE.
