Caen Hill in Devizes (Wiltshire)
Devizes? Never heard? No, you don’t necessarily have to know the place. Located in rural Wiltshire, about 150 km from London, however, this is a great engineering achievement of the late 18th century. In 1794, the 87-mile Kennet and Avon Canal was built, a waterway for the then highly popular Narrow Boats. But there was a hill in the way of this connection, which is so important for freight transport: Caen Hill near the municipality of Devices. The builder John Rennie had to find a way to transport the boats over this “mountain”. He found this in the form of 29 locks, 16 of which are in a rather unique arrangement close together. This made it possible to overcome the 72 meters of altitude in “only” 5 to 6 hours duration per passage. Completed in 1810, the last cargo boat operated here only in 1948. After an extensive refurbishment, the so-called “Flight of Locks” is very popular with the countless private narrow boats and a more than grateful photo motif. A small brochure is available for visitors.
The flight of locks from Caen Hill in Devizes from below
The staircase of Caen Hill in Devizes from above
