This marvel of Victorian engineering takes the Kennet and Avon Canal up 237 feet over a distance of two miles.

There are 29 locks in all of which this flight provides 16 in a straight line and there are another seven behind the camera which are more spread out and another six beyond the top of this flight.

Traversing this flight of locks normally takes a boat five to six hours.

A large volume of water is needed for the locks to operate efficiently and a pump was installed which is capable of returning seven million gallons of water a day to the top of the flight, which is equivalent to one lockful every eleven minutes.

The Kennet and Avon Canal links the River Kennet at Newbury to the River Avon at Bath; a distance of 57 miles.

The canal is now a heritage tourism destination with privately owned and hired narrowboats and cruisers being much in evidence. Cruising the canals is popular as a holiday activity particularly in the summer months.

Because the locks are so close together they need reservoirs, known as Pounds, to keep them supplied with water. These Pounds have been built to the side of the locks and this is one such Pound which a local Heron, sitting on an inflatable barrier, obviously finds useful for catching fish.