The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal — Local services in Stroud

To review all 16 miles of the canal as a whole is a hard task! The scenery, landscape and wildlife vary over a very short distance (For example, the closer to Sharpness you get, the more the River Severn is visible).

I walked sections of the canal to get from "A to B," for years before falling in love with it proper. One day whilst out walking, I happened upon the site of the former Hardwicke Bridge. This ignited my interest in the bridges, and began my walking of the canal from bridge-to-bridge.

From Gloucester Docks, the tow path passes many areas of interest, including but not limited to; Llanthony Secunda Priory, Saul Junction, Slimbridge Wetland Centre, Purton Ships Graveyard and the former site of the Severn Railway Bridge.

[I walked a lot of the sections with my young family, certain sections (i.e. from Sellars Bridge to Parkend Bridge) are not pushchair friendly when it has been raining) and it gets very narrow in other places (Purton Bridges to...

Miles of beautiful (and wide) canal stretching from the heart of the city, running parallel to the River Severn for several miles before joining it at Sharpness docks. The canal offers great, easy walking and cycling, superb coarse and predator fishing with most coarse fish available as well as specimen Zander, Perch and Pike (£4 day tickets available in local tackle shops and on the bank). Lots of wildlife can be spotted or heard, including Kingfishers, Heron, Bittern, Crane and many other wildfowl.... The canal passes Slimbridge Wildfowl trust so presents plenty of Birdspotting opportunities. I've also seen Mink and Otter on the canal. With the City at one end and several pubs, cafés, canal trips and boat hires, along the route there really is a lot...

The trail is scenic and suitable for both hiking and cycling. However, there are some rough patches along the way.

The trail is picturesque and can be enjoyed by both pedestrians and cyclists. It is an extended route, so appropriate footwear or properly inflated tires are recommended. Be aware that the trail does have some uneven and...