In a 2-part series of the canals and rivers of Bath, this month we paddle along the Somersetshire Coal and the Kennet and Avon canals, and find out how they contributed to the building of Bath.

We meet a woman who runs pottery workshops from her boat and a man who illuminates the life of a 'continuous cruiser'.

Finally I hitch a ride on the back of Dan's bike to the Claverton Pumping Station where we explore the early industrial revolution and meet the machine which has pumped water up to the Kennet and Avon canal for two centuries. It dates back to the year Pride and Prejudice was published - 1813!

Bathscape Manager Dan Merrett and his daughter do the paddling while I drop a hydrophone into the water and listen to the birds! This is the life!

Music: Audionautix

Produced by Pommy Harmar

Links

Somersetshire Coal Canal Society - www.coalcanal.com

Jessica Styles - Insta and Facebook - @towpathpottery

Claverton Pumping Station - www.claverton.org

www.canalrivertrust.org.uk

www.naturalbristol.wordpress.com