After a long period of unsettled wet weather, we met at Chippenham railway station on a cold but bright morning, with a number of the group arriving by train.

We left Chippenham following the River  Avon through Monkton Park.   The river was flowing fast, but the remaining overspill to the banks was minimal.  We arrived at a footbridge over the river, which replaced a demolished railway bridge and from there followed the line of the disused Chippenham to Calne railway, which opened in 1863 and closed in 1965.  The line's principal function was to transport live pigs into Calne for processing into bacon and pork products, which were then transported back to Chippenham and the markets beyond.

After a few miles, we crossed the line of the Wilts and Berks canal,  which was open between 1810 and 1914 and then, to our left, had a view of the remains of Stanley Abbey, a Cistercian  foundation, established in 1151 and dissolved in 1536 on the order of Henry VIII.  As we went eastwards towards Calne we had some good views over to the surrounding hills and the River Marden valley.  We then went through a wooded area, which  is usually closed on Thursdays for shooting, until we reached an arched footbridge over the A4 before reaching Black Dog Halt for our lunch break.

Black Dog Halt was built as a private station for the Bowood Estate in 1892 but in 1952 was opened to all passengers for the period prior to closure in 1965.

After lunch we set off for the short distance to Calne, viewing the basin of the branch of the canal  which ends there. We then made our way to the bus stop for the frequent bus service which took us quickly along the A4 back to Chippenham where we repaired to the Bridge House pub for a welcome warm up, some food and a few drinks before going home.

We would like to thank everyone who came on the walk and also to Bill F  for the pictures.

Martin and John