Hungerford Canal
Hambleden Weir
Besides these mail-coach routes there were several roads in the county which came under the head of “turnpike roads.” The term turnpike road means a road having toll-gates or bars on it. The toll-gates were first constructed about the middle of the eighteenth century, and were called turns, and the turnpike road was one upon which those who refused to pay toll could be turned back. Turnpike roads are now practically extinct and a new species of highway called main roads has taken their place. The cost of repair is borne partly by the county and partly by the Local Highway Authority.
Disused Canal between Abingdon and Wantage
Canals and Rivers. Canals have to a large extent been superseded by railways in these days. It is, however, possible that the advent of cheap motor traction may cause them to revive. The Kennet and Avon Canal runs from Newbury, and entering Wiltshire near Hungerford furnishes a waterway from the Thames to the Severn. The navigation of the river Thames is improved by a number of weirs and locks, most of which have been re-made in recent times, and if more useful they are much less picturesque than in former days. The level of the river at Hambleden weir is just about 100 feet above the sea. The river Kennet is also provided with a series of weirs and locks. A canal which ran from Wantage to Abingdon is now disused.
Boulter’s Lock