Burbage Wharf follows at the tail end of Savernake after the Bruce Railway Tunnel which is located at the summit of the canal and relies upon the Pumping Station at Cofton to make this possible combined with the Locks that raise the level of water from Wilton Water onwards.
Burbage wharf was built in the 19th century to handle trade from Marlborough, it originally handled timber, stone, coal and agricultural products. There is a fine example of a ‘skew bridge’ Burbage Bridge it crosses the canal ata an angle rather than at 90 degrees. Originally it was planned that Burbage would be a connection between rail and canal systems but the rail branch lines to Marlborough inevitably led to the emergence of the faster rail system as the winner. Bruces Tunnel was built and named at the insistence of the Earl of Ailesbury.Thomas Bruce, when a deep cut would have sufficed at lower cost.
After arriving at Burbage after Crofoton Locks proceed west past Ram Alley and onwards via the Wootton Top Lock (54) and Brimslade Lock (53.)
