The Grand Western Canal Country Park

Just a few miles west of Junction 27 on the busy M5 can be found another world. This section of the Grand Western Canal was built between 1810 and 1814, and now provides the opportunity for a lovely, easy afternoon stroll. Now run as a country park, the reed-fringed tow path along this stretch of canal invites you to walk to the canal basin in Tiverton. Note that the tow path between the walk start and Manley Bridge is shared with National Cycle Route 3 (Land’s End to Bristol) so keep an eye out for cyclists on this stretch.

The original plan, formulated by James Brindley in 1768, was for a canal system that would link Bristol to Exeter. In 1796 an Act of Parliament was obtained for the construction of the Grand Western Canal, to run from Topsham to Taunton, with three branches – to Cullompton, Tiverton and Wellington. But due to the Napoleonic Wars, the scheme was dropped until 1810, when the route was re-surveyed, and work began near Burlescombe. The section from Lowdwells to Tiverton opened in 1814, at a cost of over £220,000, a vast sum in those days. The section from Taunton to Lowdwells opened in 1838, but was never profitable and closed in 1869.

The development of the railway system in the area in the mid-19th century heralded an end to the commercial use of the canal, which was used primarily by barges conveying limestone from the quarries at Westleigh. These travelled to the Tiverton Basin where the limestone was processed in lime kilns, which can still be seen today. Operations finally stopped in 1924. Wharves and lime kilns can also be seen south of Waytown Tunnel at Lowdwells to the north. The car park at the Tiverton Road Bridge, where the walks starts, was also the site of a wharf where stone was unloaded and crushed for use in road-making.

Many of the bridges display mason’s marks: the stonemasons marked their work so that poor examples could be traced to the right culprit! Look to the left of the path before you pass under the road bridge at the start of the walk to find a milestone, its three bars telling you that there are 3 miles to go to the canal basin.

Cross the white bridge (the Dudley Weatherley Jubilee Bridge, opened in 2002 in memory of a local artist and long-term supporter of the canal) and turn right along the canal, soon passing under the road bridge.

Follow the tow path to cross the canal at Crownhill (or Change Path) Bridge, where horses were once lead over to pick up the tow path on the opposite bank; there’s another picnic area on the west bank. Turn left and continue along the tow path.

The canal runs over the now dismantled Tiverton branch line of the Bristol & Exeter Railway, which closed to traffic in 1964. Here it is in an aqueduct, built in 1847 and 40ft (12m) above the railway line, an information board gives more details. Just past the aqueduct there are glorious views left across farmland towards the Blackdown Hills. You may well see a brightly painted horse-drawn barge at some point between here and the canal basin; the Tiverton Canal Company operates trips along the canal from late April to end of September.

The path continues to East Manley Bridge, Manley Bridge (note the memorial to two members of the RAF who died here when their plane crashed in 1961) and Warnicombe Bridge, where there are glorious willows, oak, ash and beech trees.

There is a milestone just before the next bridge, Tidcombe Bridge: 1 mile (1.6km) to go. The loop in the canal here came about as a result of the then Bishop of Exeter’s refusal to let the canal run within 100 yds of his home, Tidcombe Hall.

As the edge of Tiverton’s residential area is reached, neat gardens front the water’s edge. The tow path passes under a modern footbridge, then an old stone bridge pier on the opposite bank, still showing the grooves for a stopgate. This would have been used to seal off part of the canal in times of emergency or when repairs were needed to this section.

The canal basin is reached after 3 miles (4.8km) of pleasant, gentle walking. Take a look at the Visitor Centre, which gives details of the canal’s history and current status. Once you’ve had a look around just retrace your steps back to the car park at Tiverton Road Bridge.