England's Earliest Canal
The River Wey Navigation predates the canal mania of the 18th century by a full hundred years. Sir Richard Weston, a Surrey landowner and agricultural pioneer, promoted the scheme in the 1630s to give Guildford merchants a highway to London via the Thames. Work began in 1651 and the navigation opened in 1653, making the Wey one of the first rivers in England to be made navigable by artificial cuts and pound locks.
The original section runs 15 miles from Guildford to the Thames at Weybridge, with 12 locks managing the fall. In 1764, the Godalming Navigation extended the route by a further 4 miles south, adding four locks. Together the two waterways create a 20-mile corridor through the Surrey countryside, connecting Godalming, Guildford, and the Thames.
The Towpath
The towpath is the main attraction today. It runs the full length of the navigation, offering a flat, traffic-free route through water meadows, past lock-keeper's cottages, under historic bridges, and alongside mills that once depended on the waterway for trade. The path is suitable for walking and cycling, and much of it is accessible year-round.
From Guildford, the towpath heads north through Stoke Lock and Send, past the ruins of Newark Priory, before joining the Thames at Weybridge. Heading south from Dapdune Wharf, the route passes through St Catherine's Lock and Unstead Bridge towards Godalming. Each section has its own character, but the common thread is water, willows, and quiet.
Commercial traffic ceased in 1983, and the National Trust – which took ownership of the Wey Navigation in 1964 and the Godalming section in 1968 – now maintains the waterway for leisure craft, walkers, and wildlife. Kingfishers, herons, and water voles are regular sightings along the route.
