A published account of a pleasure trip on the Wilts and Berks Canal appeared in The Pall Mall Magazine, Vol 1 May to Oct 1893.

The trip along the 54 miles of the Wilts and Berks canal, from Semington to Abingdon, through 42 locks and took five days.

Quoting directly from the article; “The owner of a house-boat on the Kennet and Avon Canal, who had very kindly offered us the use of his craft on this water, wrote ‘Nothing but a common trade boat will, at present, go up the Wilts and Berks Canal, as the bridges (wooden) are too low, and out of order; unless these were properly kept it would not be worthwhile making a boat to suit them”.

However, this did not deter the intrepid explorers, and their comments on the offending bridges were “ there are a good many swing bridges on the Kennet and Avon and (much more troublesome) lift bridges on the Wilts canal...those on the Kennet and Avon swing open on a pivot, as a rule; those on the Wilts and Berks lift vertically, with balance weights...”