The route of the abandoned Wilts & Berks Canal passes through the northwest of Drayton parish, about northwest of the village. Building had begun in 1796 at Semington Junction in Wiltshire and reached West Challow in 1807. The final section, from West Challow through Drayton to Abingdon, was completed in 1810. The canal made a long descent from its summit pound near Swindon to the River Thames at Abingdon. Drayton Lock, in the parish west of the village, was the final lock in the descent, bringing the canal down to the River Ock floodplain. Traffic on the canal had virtually ceased by 1901 and the route was formally abandoned in 1914. The Wilts & Berks Canal Trust is currently restoring the canal.