BASINGSTOKE CANAL PHOTO GUIDE

THROUGH WOKING

The Basingstoke Canal passes through Woking's town centre - from Chobham Road Bridge there is just a stone's throw between the canal and the main shopping areas.

Chobham Road Bridge

Chobham Road Bridge (also known as Wheatsheaf or Hospital Bridge) is quite an elaborate affair, with its fancy lamposts. Nearby Chertsey Road Bridge has similar adornments. The towpath has remained on the south side of the canal since the River Wey, but now takes to the north side at Chobham Road Bridge. As a general rule, Basingstoke towpath changes are not effected by turnover bridges, but by crossing the road at which the bridge stands. The canal has taken on a more attractive appearance since this section was first encountered in the early 1980's. It used to be quite a stark stretch of canal through Woking, but some landscaping and this new footbridge seen here, below, makes a more attractive proposition for boaters wishing to tie up for the town centre. The moorings here have posts that interestingly depict the Basingstoke Canal's seal of 1789 (the year it was begun) as shown further below. The two different perspectives of the same section show that I do not take pictures just in good weather. The second view (and the one further down) were taken in a torrential downpour, as was the one in the previous section of the canal just before Chobham Road bridge.

 
View of Woking (Horsell) Wharf

The Basingstoke seal as depicted on the mooring posts at Woking.

This is a view of the canal from the new road that skirts some of the more recent redevelopment in Woking. No cars and no people within sight! Rain, rain, dont go away!

Skew Bridge, Woking

Another view of the Woking section. The canal has blended in quite well with the new development. The bridge is known as Skew Bridge - an unusual name for a modern structure.

Slococks Nursery section - now the Bridge Barn

The Bridge Barn and Arthurs Bridge herald this apparently peaceful scene. In the summer it can be a busy place with pub goers, and there is also a new road that runs adjacent to the towpath for some distance towards Goldsworth Park, adding bustle and noise to the otherwise apparently peaceful scene. In the distance can be seen another new bridge, it carries the road to Goldsworth and Knaphill. In between the boat and the new bridge was an area known as Slocock's Nursery. This lay on both sides of the canal and the nursery was interconnected by means of a private chain ferry across the Basingstoke Canal. Just before Arthurs bridge (coming from Woking) there is a new footbridge called Step Bridge, built on the site of an older sturcture of the same name.

Parley Drive Bridge   

The new road crossing for Knaphill and Goldsworth destinations. This bridge seems to have recieved some inspiration from a much older type that crosses the canal at the Hermitage, except that in this case, the towpath does not go through the smaller right hand archway as at the Hermitage. The structure is called Parley Drive Bridge

As far as trees go, this is an interesting example. In fact there are two trees here, one behind the other. What is interesting is that they have taken root bang in the middle of the towpath itself. Ye take the left hand or the right hand route, but it is still the towpath anyway! This sort of circumstance occurs quite a number of times further up the canal too.

BASINGSTOKE CANAL PHOTO GUIDE:

R. Wey - Scotland Bridge    Scotland Br - Woodham Top    Woodham - Chertsey Rd    Woking    St. Johns - Hermitage    Brookwood - Pirbright    Deepcut Locks   Deepcut - Frimley Aqueduct    Frimley - The Canal Centre    Through Ash Vale    Ash Aqueduct - Eelmoor    Eelmoor - Norris Hill    Norris Hill - Reading Road    Fleet - Chequers Bridge     Chequers - Double Bridge    Double Bridge - Dogsmerfield    Barley Mow - Broad Oak Bridge    Colt Hill - North Warnborough    N. Warnborough - Greywell    Main Page