Cotswolds & Hereford Canals

Not much of these canals remain. The Hereford & Gloucester was mostly turned into the bed of the Ledbury & Gloucester Railway in 1881 and is only traceable by LIDAR. The Stroudwater (western) section of the Thames & Severn (now officially the Stroudwater, Thames & Severn canal) is navigable but that’s about it. The junction between the North Wilts and Wilts & Berks is in Swindon under roads and the Somerset Coal Canal is long gone.

Notwithstanding, restoration groups are valiantly carrying on.

Canals covered

  • Thames & Severn Canal

  • North Wilts Canal

  • Wilts & Berks Canal

  • Hereford & Gloucester Canal

  • Somerset Coal Canal

Want to download the map to help you explore?

Here are two Google Maps that you can download for your personal use. (You will need to zoom in a lot to see the detail).

The map titled RSL shows canal as single lines, that titled RPL shows them as polygons that can be clicked to show more detail. Clicking the square brackets at the top right corner of the map will open it in your ‘Google My Maps’. See the ‘Explanatory Notes’ page for more detail.