Somerset, England

Bridgwater Canal slipway (Canal Path)

Launch — A slipway on Canal Path in the Hamp area of Bridgwater, beside the Bridgwater YMCA's George Williams Centre, which fronts the canal.

Parking — No dedicated car park at the slipway. The adjacent Bridgwater YMCA (George Williams Centre) offers free parking to its own customers who register in the café or at reception, with a charge when the centre is closed. The nearest public car parks are in Bridgwater town centre, around half a mile away, run by Somerset Council.

Access — Canal Path, the towpath alongside the slipway, is a public route which the Canal & River Trust states is always open.

Season — No seasonal closure of the towpath or slipway is published. Check the Canal & River Trust's notices and stoppages feed before travelling, particularly for works affecting Newtown Lock or the Bridgwater Docks basin downstream.

Regulations — All portable unpowered craft, including canoes, kayaks and paddleboards, need a Canal & River Trust licence (a day, short-term or annual option, or a Paddle UK waterways membership) to use this canal. The Trust's General Canal Byelaws 1965 require every vessel to be navigated with care and reasonable consideration for other users.

This slipway sits on Canal Path in the Hamp area of Bridgwater, launching onto the non-tidal Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, a broad canal running a little over 14 miles to the River Tone at Taunton. Wessex Water pumps drinking water from the canal up to Durleigh Reservoir.

From the slipway, paddling upstream (south) follows the canal through open country past North Newton, Creech St Michael and Bathpool towards Taunton. Downstream (north), the canal reaches Newtown Lock and then its terminus at the former Bridgwater Docks. The docks' Barge Lock has been unnavigable since a spring tide overtopped its gates in 2002/3 and let saline water into the docks and canal, so there is no through passage to the tidal River Parrett.

Herons, moorhens, coots, dragonflies and kingfishers are recorded along this stretch of towpath. Further upstream, the Somerset Space Walk, a 1:530,000,000 scale model of the solar system centred on Higher Maunsel Lock, runs out along the towpath in both directions, with each model of Pluto set about 11 kilometres from the sun.

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The Purple Spoon

Cafe within the Bridgwater YMCA's George Williams Centre, on the canal bank beside the slipway.

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Conditions to check

Lock

Newtown Lock (Lock 2) lies downstream toward Bridgwater Docks; the docks' Barge Lock has been unnavigable since a spring tide overtopped its gates in 2002/3, letting saline water into the docks and canal.

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Limited exit

Bridgwater Docks, the canal's downstream terminus, has no navigable connection to the tidal River Parrett.

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Boat traffic

Moored boats occupy this reach after being relocated from Bridgwater Docks when the Trust's dock lease there ended.

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Overhead cable

The waterway's maximum headroom is 2.1 metres.

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