Heroes & Villains of the Basingstoke Canal 

The Basingstoke Canal runs between the River Wey Navigation at Byfleet and Basingstoke. Nowadays it is only open for navigation as far as the entrance to Greywell Tunnel. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the Basingstoke Canal is its continued existence. There must have been at least a dozen times in its history when it could well have been abandoned. The fact that this didn't happen seems to be down to a relatively small number of people who popped up at critical moments. Some acted for perfectly respectable motives but others used it as a basis for money-making scams and several ended up in prison. Nevertheless, without the actions of both heroes and villains, the Basingstoke would not exist today.