Introduction
My parents and I went for a walk along the Basingstoke Canal in the Easter holiday.
We started from Brookwood station, famous(ish) for its cemetery, which was once the terminus of the ‘Necropolis Railway’ - providing funerals by train from London Waterloo.
Basingstoke Canal, heading west
However, we skipped the cemetery and instead joined the Basingstoke Canal towpath.
Like other canals in the area, there are some defensive pillboxes left over from World War 2.
We passed the remains of a bridge over the canal (it used to carry a branch line into the military base), as the canal ran alongside the current railway line.
This area is home to a collection of Army bases including the infamous Deepcut Barracks. From down in the canal (which is indeed a deep cut), hardly any of this is visible, although we did see somebody wearing camouflage. But we heard a brass band playing, repeatedly, a small section of a piece of music. The sound drifted faintly from somewhere indeterminate; it was a slightly spooky feeling.
The canal ran west in a roughly straight line for some distance, with many locks.
Basingstoke Canal, heading south
Eventually the canal turned a sharp corner to the left beside Wharfenden Lake. It then crossed over the main railway line and continued south.
The canal ran past some sports fields and a smaller adjoining lake before reaching the Basingstoke Canal Authority, which has a small museum.
Later we passed Mytchett Lake before leaving the canal by Ash Vale railway station, to head home.
Bonus pics (Staines)
Here are a few pics from a short walk around Staines and Ashford, passing scenic highlights like HMP Bronzefield, on the previous day.
