THE gateway signs to Devizes, which you undoubtedly passed on your way here today, feature a canal barge at the foot of the Caen Hill flight of locks, one of the longest in Europe.

The canal was built in three stages. The first, in 1723, made the River Kennet navigable westwards from Reading to Newbury. The second, opened in 1727, made the River Avon navigable between Bristol and Bath.

But the 57-mile section between Bath and the River Thames at Newbury was not attempted until late in the 18th century.

By far the biggest challenge was taking the canal 237 feet up into Devizes, which required a total of 29 locks over a distance of two miles.

The canal was fully opened by 1810 but its heyday was short lived. In 1852 the Great Western Railway Company took over its running. Maintenance standards declined and in the 1950s one stretch was closed.

The Kennet and Avon Canal Association, later to become the Kennet and Avon Canal Trust, championed the restoration of the waterway.

Five years later, a partnership involving British Waterways, the trust and the local councils won £25 million of Lottery funding to undertake refurbishment of towpaths, bridges and lock gates.The Queen opened the restored lock flight in 1990.

Now many thousands of people each year enjoy the relaxation of a quiet holiday aboard a narrowboat.