Keynsham put-in

Paddling downstream from the put-in reaches Hanham Lock and its weir after about half a kilometre. The weir carries the main flow of the river, and boats and unpowered craft use the adjacent lock, which is numbered 1 and is officially the first lock on the Kennet and Avon Canal; it opened in 1727. A colliery wharf once stood just west of the lock until the mines closed in the 19th century, and the canal superintendent's house beside it, now Grade II listed and known as Picnic House, still stands. Permanent and visitor moorings, and two pubs, stand just above the lock.

This reach is normally free of tidal influence, but the Bristol Avon's tide is strong enough that the very highest spring tides pass over Hanham weir and can push tidal water as far as Keynsham Lock, roughly 1.3 kilometres upstream of the put-in. Below Hanham Lock the river turns permanently tidal, and downstream navigation passes from Canal and River Trust jurisdiction to Bristol City Council's harbour byelaws instead.