Basingstoke Canal

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Image:Woking-BasingstokeCanal.jpg The Basingstoke Canal is one of the waterways in the United Kingdom. It is a man-made navigation channel joining Basingstoke to the River Thames at Weybridge via the Wey Navigation. From Basingstoke it passes through or near Odiham, Fleet, Aldershot, Mytchett, Brookwood, Woking ending at Woodham where it connects to the Wey Navigation. This, in turn, leads to the River Thames at Weybridge. Its original intention was to allow boats to travel from the docks in East London to Basingstoke.

The canal was conceived as a way to stimulate agricultural development in Hampshire. Following a Parliamentary Bill in 1778, construction began in that same year and was completed on 4th September 1794.

The canal was never a commercial success and fell into disuse even before the construction of the London and South Western Railway, which runs parallel to the canal along much of its length. Commercial use ended in 1910.

After about 18 years of restoration, 32 miles of the canal were formally re-opened on 10th May 1991. The western section from North Warnborough to Basingstoke remains un-navigable from the point at which it enters the Greywell Tunnel. The tunnel is partially collapsed and is inhabited by a protected bat colony making it unlikely that the tunnel will ever be restored.

There is an information centre for the canal at Mytchett.

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