COLUMN: THERE is far more to the river Avon than the picturesque images of Pulteney Weir. Avon is a Celtic word simply meaning river. The catchment area of the Avon is 857 square miles and the median river flow in Bath is 240 million gallons a day.

The distance of the river from its source at Grickstone Springs, in the Cotswolds, to its mouth is 88 miles. The spring waters at the source percolate through strata of chalk and limestone and so they are alkaline and rich in basic mineral elements vital for the growth of river plants and wildlife.

Rain falls on the Cotswold Hills some 550ft above mean sea level from where it gathers into the tributaries of the Avon and makes its way back down to sea level via the Severn estuary.

The character of the river depends on the surrounding geology; the river basin is rimmed by low hills carboniferous limestone of the Mendips, Jurassic limestone of the Cotswolds, chalk of the Marlborough Downs and scarp of Salisbury.

Heavy rainfall leads to rapid run-off and swollen waters have cut deep channels in the soft rock through geological time. Soil erosion turns the river a chocolatey brown colour, reducing the penetration of the light and hampering photosynthesis for algae and weeds.

The river Avon has incised its route through the softest of rock and left a challenge for humankind to master.

The river could not be navigated for much of its length until in 1810 the Kennet and Avon Canal opened, enabling barges to travel to the Thames at Newbury and connecting the two great ports of Bristol and London.

The 57-mile canal was an engineering feat, a flight of six locks lifting the Kennet and Avon Canal 60ft up the Avon valley within the first mile of its length, through Widcombe and Bathwick, including Deep Lock England's deepest canal lock with a water rise of 19ft.

The Dundas aqueduct carries the Kennet and Avon Canal across the Avon near the A36, close to Limpley Stoke. It is a dramatic bridge built in Georgian style in 1804 of Bath stone quarried in the adjoining Conkwell wood.

The Avon is a vibrant river snaking through the heart of our city, teeming with wildlife such as ducks, kingfishers and dragonflies.

The canal towpath provides a treasure trove of history with its iron bridges and lock keepers' cottages.

Bath's waterways are good places to explore this summer.