Alright, take a good look at Newbury Lock on your left - she’s not just a pretty bit of brickwork. Built in the late 1700s, this lock is part of the grand old Kennet and Avon Canal. Think of this as the historic “elevator” for boats, raising and lowering them by just over a meter - about three and a half feet, for our American friends. Quite the feat for 1796, when it was all bricks, Bath stone caps, and not a whiff of modern machinery in sight.
Engineered by John Rennie - a bloke who practically invented ‘big infrastructure’ in the age of bonnets and breeches - this lock made Newbury a gateway between London and Bristol. In today’s money, the original canal project cost millions of pounds - picture laying out enough cash to buy several modern mansions, just to shuttle boats and cargo along. Not your average weekend DIY, is it?
And don’t miss Peter Randall-Page’s ‘Ebb and Flow’ sculpture nearby. As the lock fills, water whooshes underground and bubbles up in the granite bowl - a sort of modern art wink to the old engineering below.
Ready for Newbury, Berkshire? Just head east for about 4 minutes.
