Dundas Aqueduct
Planning your visit
Address: Brassknocker Basin, Monkton Combe, BA2 7JD View on Google map
Opening Times: All day, everyday
Price: Once you're parked up, it won't cost you a thing
Toilets: For customers of the local pub/café
Completed in 1810 by John Rennie, the spectacular Dundas Aqueduct carries the Kennet & Avon Canal over the River Avon and is a Scheduled Ancient Monument. That means it's as important as Stonehenge! In fact, it was the first canal structure to be designated as a Scheduled Ancient Monument in 1951.
And now it's won a prestigious Red Wheel plaque from the Transport Trust.
Named after Charles Dundas, the first chairman of the Kennet and Avon Canal Company, the aqueduct forms the junction between the Kennet and Avon Canal and the largely derelict Somerset Coal Canal. The short stretch of the Somerset Coal Canal still in water forms Brassknocker Basin, used for boat moorings, cycle hire and a cafe. A short walk further there is the Dundas Wharf where the small tollhouse, warehouse and crane still stand.
Things to see and do
- Cycling - hire a bike and visit Avoncliff Aqueduct also built by John Rennie and opened in 1801
- Walking
- Canoeing
Places to eat:
Boat trips:
Picnic spot:
You'll find benches dotted along the canal
Wildlife spotting:
A super stretch of idyllic canal where you'll see plenty of ducks, kingfishers and even bats!
Getting here
By car - there's a car park at the Brassknocker Basin
By bus - From Bath, bus route 265 runs past the aqueduct and Brassknocker Basin
By boat - download our free map showing visitor moorings and other boating facilities along the Kennet & Avon Canal
