Menu
Featured / Running

Running the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal

The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, originally known as the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal, is a broad canal connecting Sharpness in the south and Gloucester in the north. The canal follows the course of the River Severn for much of the route but cuts out some dangerous bends including a treacherous stretch around Arlingham.

Construction on the canal was started in 1794 but due to financial difficulties wasn’t fully opened until 1827. At the time it was the broadest and deepest canal in the world.

I chose to start the route in Sharpness but this meant catching a train between Newport and Filton Abbey Wood and then catching a slow bus to Sharpness and then walking to Sharpness Old Docks. The journey took over two hours but took much more scenic route than if I had driven there.

I’m not sure exactly where the canal starts but the lock between the River Severn and Sharpness Old Docks was probably a good place to start. Part of the Old Docks is used by boats but a large section is calm open water. Adjacent to the water is the 180-year old grade II listed lifeboat station used by SARA (Severn Area Rescue Association).

Usually when running in a new area I’m frequently stopping to photograph something or discover something new and I barely got started before I had to stop and what looked like the remains of a bridge. It turns out that there used to be a railway bridge that spanned the River Severn (I never knew this) and carried trains across the river for 80 years until two boats carrying petrol and black oil crashed into a number of bridge piers causing the collapse of a section of bridge. All that remains on the eastern side is a section of the approach and a central support for the swing bridge to allow ships to pass on the canal.

Just a little further on is the Purton Ships Graveyard which features the remains of 81 different boats which were intentionally beached at the end of their lives in order to prevent erosion of the riverbank. It’s recognised as the largest ship graveyard in mainland Britain and many of the remnants of the boats have detailed signs outlining stats about the boat such as tonnage, where and when it was built and when it was added to the graveyard.

The entire canal is navigable both by boats and by foot or bike and features a variety of terrain from narrow tracks through grass to gravel tracks to wide tarmac. Along the way you encounter a number of bridges (18 I think) with a number of them being of the swing variety and with the canal in frequent use there’s a good chance that you’ll see one of them being opened by the Canal and River Trust.

Next to these swing bridges are Bridgeman’s Houses dating from the 1840s with their interesting Doric arches. These housed canal workers whose responsibility was to open his bridge for any passing vessel.

The route is approximately 16 miles and all along the route there are cast iron marker posts which look old but may not be. Depending on your direction they either count down to Gloucester or to Sharpness and is a useful way of working out how long is left rather then looking at your watch.

Along the length the canal you can spot a variety of birds (Slimbridge is a couple of miles from Sharpness), boats pooling along, riverfront houses and fishermen evenly spaced along the canal bank.

If you’re going to be using public transport to run the route you’re probably better off making your way to Sharpness and heading to Gloucester as you’re going to have more options. There’s a single bus that runs between Dursley and Bristol and passes through Sharpness but unless you know how long it’s going to take to run the canal, you may end up with a long wait at the end. Gloucester has more options plus there are the cafes, restaurants and pubs in the docks which are useful for refuelling at the end.

About Author

I once didn't run, then I started to run and got addicted. Then Crohn's Disease put a stop to my running adventures. Now I'm back with a new bum (colostomy) and starting to embark on new running adventures.

No Comments

    Leave a Reply