You can still see its remains in the towpath arches in the road bridges over the canal. While the locks were under construction a tramroad provided a link between the canal at Foxhangers to Devizes. It was John Rennie's idea to climb the very steep Caen Hill - the last part of the 87 mile route of the Kennet & Avon Canal to be completed.

The proposed route was accepted by the then ‘Kennet and Avon Canal Company’, chaired by Charles Dundas. In 1793 a further survey was conducted by engineer John Rennie, and the route of the canal was altered to take a more southerly course through Devizes, Trowbridge and Newbury. The following year the engineers Barns, Simcock and Weston submitted a proposed route for this canal, although there were doubts about the adequacy of the water supply. Steep learning curveĪs far back as 1788 a ‘Western Canal’ was proposed to improve trade and communication links to towns such as Hungerford and Marlborough. As a result, 15 locks have unusually large side pounds, to store the water needed to operate them. The final set take you through Devizes and up to the wharf thereīecause of the steepness of the terrain, the pounds between the middle 16 locks are very short.The next 16 locks form a steep flight in a straight line up the hillside and are designated as a scheduled ancient monument.The lower seven locks, Foxhangers Wharf Lock to Foxhangers Bridge Lock, are spread over ¾ of a mile (1.2 km).

The 29 locks have a rise of 237 feet in 2 miles (that's 72m in 3.2 km or a 1 in 44 gradient).

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