Kennet & Avon Canal towpath in Newbury reopened after refurbishment

Work carried out by Canal & River Trust

The Kennet & Avon Canal towpath between the A339 flyover and Hambridge Road in Newbury has opened again after repairs carried out by The Canal & River Trust.

The path was shut from June 29 in order for the trust to carry out bank repairs and upgrade the path and it had been due to reopen on September 9, but it opened last weekend, ahead of schedule.

The path has now been tarmacked over and the new surface is an all-weather durable substance which should make it smoother for cyclists, wheelchair users and walkers. The works were funded by developer contributions from the Newbury Racecourse development.

And while many people are happy with the new smooth pathway – with comments ranging from "looks great" to "fab job", others are not so convinced.

Writing on a website called narrowboatworld in July, when the upgrade was first announced, Dave said: “The mystery is what 'improvement' is necessary to a path that already has a hard, relatively smooth surface and is even wide enough (just) for social distancing.

"It is well used by walkers and cyclists as it forms a pleasant traffic free route into Newbury.

"I cannot see what improvements are necessary, unless they are going to tarmac it for the benefit of cyclists, thus turning it into a race track.”

Some pedestrians have expressed concern that they will have to watch out for cyclists riding along the path too fast.

One person posted on Facebook: "Oh no, looks very nice, but tell the cyclist brigade to slow and sound your bell, or speak loud and clear..."

Another responded: "I totally agree, always get abuse off cyclists – dreading it now."

And horse riders have pointed out that a natural surface is better for horses to walk along and that an old towpath should be left in its natural state, with comments such as "so sad to see tarmac, that’s just ruined it" and "tarmac may benefit the cyclist but a natural surface is much better for the horse".