Kitty BCS Members Trip-K15N4

Kitty BCS Members Trip-K15N4

When

15/06/2022    
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Bookings

Bookings closed

Where

Kitty
The Town Wharf, Brewery Road, Woking, Surrey, GU21 4LJ

Event Type

Map Unavailable

Cruise in the peaceful surroundings of the Basingstoke Canal at Woking

This trip starts and finishes at the Bridge Barn Beefeater Restaurant

Booking closes at 11pm the day previous to travel.

This evening trip is for members and guests of the Basingstoke Canal Society

Public Trips also available at 11am, 1pm, 2.45pm

Enjoy the exceptional local flora and fauna while taking a trip through Woking’s history. The usual trip for Kitty is east from the Town Wharf. Immediately on the right is the award-winning Lightbox Art Gallery and Museum, then we pass under the new pedestrian/cycle turnover bridge. As we head out of town Horsell Common (itself partly an SSSI) is to our left. On the right we pass the site of the old Spantons Timber Wharf, then past the old gas works winding hole on the left; the Woking gas works were on the right. At Monument Bridge we can see the base of an old crane, before heading past Britannia Wharf on the left.

Shortly after passing under Monument Bridge is the start of the Woodham Hall Estate dating from the 1930s, with a WWII V1 flying bomb crater next to the canal. On the right the mid-1940’s Sheerwater Estate comes into view, built on the site of Surrey’s largest freshwater lake – now drained. We then turn around and retrace our journey, along this quasi-urban stretch of the canal.

The canal is an SSSI, and not only serves as a local recreational amenity but is also a notable wildlife habitat. The alkaline water from the chalk springs at the western end of the canal mix with the acidic water as the canal passes through the Surrey heathlands, giving rise to one of the largest varieties of aquatic plants and invertebrates in the United Kingdom. As many as 25 of Britain’s 39 species of dragonflies and damselflies inhabit the canal.

You may be fortunate to see a kingfisher that is considered to be a lucky bird. You can also see herons swans, ducks, geese, moorhens (often with young) and various local floras.

Cruise times may be extended in low water conditions.

Click here to view our Boat Trip FAQs.

Bookings

Bookings are closed for this event.

Location:

Kitty

Kitty

The Town Wharf, Brewery Road
Woking
Surrey
GU21 4LJ

Click here to view boat location on Google maps