Alfold's lost canal

As you amble through the depths of Sidney Wood, along the sinuous towpath of the long-abandoned Wey and Arun Junction Canal, you can hardly fail to ponder the significance of this overgrown, muddy trench. In the closing years of the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. The roads, such as they were, simply could not cope with carrying coal, heavy raw materials and finished goods over long distances. But in southern England there was an even more urgent imperative. France was in turmoil and the dawn of a new century found Britain engaged in the Napoleonic Wars. Coastal cargoes in the English Channel were at risk and a new route was needed between London and the South Coast.

Building the link

Traffic had flowed by river between London and Guildford since 1653, and the River Arun had been navigable to Pallingham Quay, near Pulborough, since Elizabethan times. All that was needed was a link – and it came in two parts. In 1787, the Arun Navigation was completed northwards from Pallingham Quay to Newbridge Wharf, near Billingshurst. Then, in 1813, Parliament authorised the Wey and Arun Junction Canal between Newbridge and Guildford. It opened in 1816, completing the link between London and the South Coast.

The price of coal in Guildford fell at once by more than 20 per cent, and the canal also carried chalk, timber and agricultural cargoes, reaching a peak of 23,000 tons in 1839. But change was coming, and the following year the London and Southampton Railway forged a new link to the South Coast. There was little immediate impact, but in 1865 the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway opened between Guildford and Horsham, in direct competition with the canal. Within a few years the waterway was out of business and it was abandoned in 1871, though the Arun Navigation struggled on until 1896. The canal lay derelict until, in 1970, enthusiasts established the Wey and Arun Canal Trust to restore navigation between London and the South Coast along the waterway from Guildford to Pallingham Quay. Since 1971, the trust has worked on more than half the route with 24 bridges, 2 aqueducts and 11 locks either restored or rebuilt.

From the car park, walk back towards the road and, just beyond the height barrier, turn left by a short concrete post labelled ‘SEEB Cables’. Walk ahead and keep right at the fork 300yds (274m) further on. Cross over a tarmac path and take a bridleway nearly opposite, and shortly reach a waymarker. Continue to follow the path signed ‘Wey South Path’ as it bears gently right at a fork around the edge of Fir Tree Copse.

Reach the line of the canal at a gate. Turn left and follow the towpath for 1 mile (1.6km). Notice the gentle slope after you pass the ‘Arun 13/Wey 10’ milestone, deep in Sidney Wood; it’s the only clue that this section, down to Point 5, once had eight locks.

A gravelled track crosses the canal at Knightons Court (private). Leave the towpath here and turn left, following the waymarked route, pass a wooden barrier and sign for Sidney Wood and then continue straight over a forest crossroads. Go past a wooden barrier, and pass High Bridge, a large white house on the left, once a lock keeper’s cottage.

Zig-zag right and left across Rosemary Lane, and rejoin the old towpath. After 0.75 miles (1.2km) look out for the ‘Arun 11.5/Wey 11.5’ milestone, and continue for 150yds (137m) until the Sussex Border Path crosses the line of the canal, at Gennets Bridge Lock.

Turn left and follow the Sussex Border Path for 350yds (320m) until you reach a four-way fingerpost. Turn left and follow the hedge on your right. Continue ahead to pass Oakhurst Cottage; now, follow the public bridleway signpost that points your way on a broad gravel bridleway beside several fields and through a gateway and fork right onto a gravel path leading out to Rosemary Lane.

Cross the lane and follow the waymarked bridleway for 0.5 miles (800m). Turn left just beyond a waymarked footpath on your right; then, just a few paces past the prominent ‘Riding by permit only’ sign, turn right up the waymarked footpath through the woods. Soon fork right, then continue over a stile and follow the path alongside the woodland to a broken stile. Continue on the path until it bears left and meets the car park road just beyond a waymark post. Turn left for the short distance back to your car.