River Wey Navigations

The many bridges on this section are because zealous landlowners demanded these be built to give access to villages (that were on the verge of becoming uninhabitated.) Despite their early obsolency they have proved to be an attractive feature of this section

Thatched Cottage scene near Stacey's Bridge

Stacey's Bridge

Colourful Sprats Hatch Bridge (restored 1975)

Memorial seat by Sandy Hill Bridge

This memorial seat by Sandy Hill is in memoriam of Mary Kathleen Godbold

Despite the name of the next section of route, known as Lousey Moor, the Basingstoke Canal isnt anywhere near lousy!

Posh narrowboats moored at Dogsmerfield Park

Several feeders enter the canal around Wilkes Water, near Broad Oak

Wilkes Water sited by the Basingstoke Canal at Broad Oak

The unique styled Hunting Lodge at Wilkes Water

Broad Oak Bridge, with Dawn heading eastwards. This is one of two boats operated by the Accessible Boat Project based at Odiham. Here's a link to their website: Accessible Boating

Broad Oak was one of the first to be rebuilt. As canal restoration progress began at the Whitewater Aqueduct and worked eastwards, bridges furthest west were thus restored, or rebuilt first and those at the eastern end last.

A rarity on the Basingstoke Canal. The Narrowboat Trust's Nuneaton at the Odiham By Pass

Galleon Marine's base at Odiham

    
Odiham Wharf

Views of Odiham Wharf and Colt Hill Bridge. This is where John Pinkerton, the Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society's trip boat hull was delivered, the superstructure built over the winter and the completed boat launched on 20th May 1978. For the first two years the boat was confined to trips from Odiham to the Whitewater (King Johns Castle) winding hole. The picture at the bottom of the page taken in 1979 shows John Pinkerton after one of its trips westwards. The wharf back then was a grassy bank, compared to the brick edging that can be seen today. The bridge itself looked in far better condition then, but it had just been repaired and repointed. A major difference between the bridge in 2002 and in 1979 is that then you could see the entire bridge! Odiham has some old buildings, including Mays Model Cottages

Links to Colt Hill Odiham sites:

Accessible Boating    Galleon Marine    John Pinkerton

Looking up the lane to the village from Colt Hill Bridge. The building on the right used to be the Cricketers Inn

The west side of Colt Hill bridge with the Surrey & Hampshire society's John Pinkerton at her moorings

The Waterwitch at Colt Hill, Odiham. This replaced an older pub that existed by the canal bridge, known as the Cricketers Inn. The Waterwitch was previously known as the New Inn

En route to North Warnborough is Lodge Lane bridge. This was once a swing bridge. The new bridge is a fixed structure with a substantial amount of headroom

For more information and pictures about Odiham see this extra page

Next: North Warnborough and Greywell