Photos

This was taken during a walk along the tow path on Wey Navigation. The navigation has many such views and point of interest along its course including many locks which make navigation possible and was once a very important means of transportation.

The Wey Navigation opened in 1653 and was one of the first British rivers to be made navigable. In 1764 the Godalming Navigation opened, creating a 20-mile waterway running from the Thames at Weybridge to Godalming - now the southern-most part of the inland waterway network.

Originally the Wey Navigations were used for transporting barge loads of heavy goods via the Thames to London. Timber, coal, corn, flour, wood and even gunpowder were regularly moved up and down the waterway.

Later in 1796 the Basingstoke Canal was dug and connected to the Wey and in 1816 the Wey and Arun Junction Canal was opened, connecting with the Wey at Stonebridge.

The Wey, unlike many other less efficient waterways, survived the railway era and under private ownership continued to trade until well after the Second World War. The last owners, Stevens & Sons, donated the Wey to the National Trust in 1964 and today it is one of the few financially self-supporting waterways, having no call on the Trust's general finances or on public funds.

It is now managed and protected for its long-term preservation as a recreational asset and a living piece of industrial archaeology.