The
Grand Union CanalCanals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
in England is part of the
British canal systemThe canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
. Its main line connects
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. It has arms to places including
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
,
SloughSlough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...
,
AylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
,
WendoverWendover is a market town that sits at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is also a civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district...
and
NorthamptonNorthampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
.
The
Grand Union Canal was also the original name for part of what is now part of the Leicester Line of the modern Grand Union: this latter is now generally referred to as the
Old Grand Union CanalThe Grand Union Canal was a canal in England from Foxton, Leicestershire on the Leicester and Northampton canal to Buckby on the Grand Junction Canal...
in order to avoid ambiguity.
History
With competition from the railways having taken a large share of traffic in the second half of the 19th century, improvements in roads and vehicle technology in the early part of the 20th century meant that the lorry was also becoming a threat to the canals. Tolls had been reduced to compete with the railways, but there was little scope for further reduction. The Regent's Canal and Grand Junction Canal agreed that amalgamation and modernisation were the only way to remain competitive.
The (present) Grand Union Canal came into being on 1 January 1929, extended in 1932. It was formed from the amalgamation of several different canals:
At 286.3 miles (461 km) it is by far the longest canal in the UK.
London area
- Regent's Canal
Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
– original company
- Hertford Union Canal
The Hertford Union Canal or Duckett's Canal is a short stretch of canal in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in east London. It connects the Regent's Canal to the Lee Navigation. It was opened in 1830 but quickly proved to be a commercial failure...
– bought by the Regent's Canal in 1857
Main Line
- Warwick and Napton Canal – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1927
- Warwick and Birmingham Canal – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1927
- Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal
The Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal is a short canal connecting the Digbeth Branch of the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal in the centre of Birmingham to the Warwick and Birmingham Canal. It was authorized in 1840 by Act of Parliament to relieve pressure on this connection to the Grand Junction...
– bought by the Regent's Canal in 1927
- Grand Junction Canal
The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-passing the upper reaches of the River Thames near Oxford...
– bought by the Regent's Canal in 1927
Leicester Line
- Old Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal was a canal in England from Foxton, Leicestershire on the Leicester and Northampton canal to Buckby on the Grand Junction Canal...
– bought by the Grand Junction in 1894
- Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal
The Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal is a canal in England that is now part of the Grand Union Canal.It was authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1793 to connect Leicester to the Nene near Northampton and to join the projected line of the Grand Junction Canal but by 1809 the canal...
– bought by the Grand Junction in 1894
- Leicester Navigation
The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
– bought by the Grand Union in 1932
- Loughborough Navigation
The River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
– bought by the Grand Union in 1932
- Erewash Canal
The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 locks. The first lock at Langley Bridge is actually part of the Cromford Canal.-Origins:...
– bought by the Grand Union in 1932
A 5-mile (8-km) section of the
Oxford CanalThe Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
forms the main line of the Grand Union between Braunston and Napton. Although the Grand Union intended to buy the Oxford Canal and
Coventry CanalThe Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...
, this did not take place.
The section of the main line between Brentford and Braunston (formerly the Grand Junction Canal), was built as a 'wide' or 'broad' canal - that is, its locks were wide enough to accommodate two narrowboats abreast (side by side) or a single wide barge up to 14 feet (4.27 m) in beam.
However, the onward sections from
BraunstonBraunston is a village and civil parish in the county of Northamptonshire, England. It has a population of 1,675 . Braunston is situated just off the A45 main road and lies between the towns of Rugby and Daventry....
to
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
had been built as 'narrow' canals – that is, the locks could accommodate only a single
narrowboatA narrowboat or narrow boat is a boat of a distinctive design, made to fit the narrow canals of Great Britain.In the context of British Inland Waterways, "narrow boat" refers to the original working boats built in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries for carrying goods on the narrow canals...
. An
Act of ParliamentAn Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of 1931 was passed authorising a key part of the modernisation scheme of the Grand Union, supported by Government grants. The narrow locks (and several bridges) between Napton and Camp Hill Top Lock in Birmingham were rebuilt to take widebeam boats or barges up to 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) in beam, or two narrowboats. The canal was dredged and bank improvements carried out: the depth was increased to 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) to allow heavier cargoes, and the minimum width increased to 26 feet (7.92 m) to enable two boats of 12 feet 6 inches to pass. Lock works were completed in 1934 when the
Duke of KentDuke of Kent is a title which has been created various times in the peerages of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, most recently as a royal dukedom for the fourth son of George V.-Pre-history:...
opened the new broad locks at Hatton, and other improvements finished by 1937.
However, these improvements to depth and width were never carried out between Braunston and London. Camp Hill Locks in Birmingham were not widened, as it would have been very expensive and of little point, since they lead only to further flights of locks not in the ownership of the Grand Union. A new basin and warehouse were constructed at Tyseley, above Camp Hill, to deal with this. Although the Grand Union company had a number of broad boats built to take advantage of the improvements, they never really caught on and the canal continued to be operated largely by pairs of narrow boats, whose journeys were facilitated by the newly widened locks in which they could breast up.
The three sections between Norton junction and the
River TrentThe River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
(collectively known as the 'Leicester line') are mixed in size. From Norton to Foxton, the route is a narrow canal. From below Foxton to Leicester it is a wide canal. From
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
to the Trent, the route is effectively the River Soar and the locks and bridges are wide. Another Act of 1931 authorised the widening of the locks at
WatfordWatford Locks is a group of seven locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, in Northamptonshire, England, famous for the Watford Gap service area....
and
FoxtonFoxton Locks are ten canal locks consisting of two "staircases" each of five locks, located on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about 5 km west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough and are named after the nearby village of Foxton....
, but with Government grants for this section not forthcoming, the work was not carried out.
The Grand Union Canal was nationalised in 1948, control transferring to the
British Transport CommissionThe British Transport Commission was created by Clement Attlee's post-war Labour government as a part of its nationalisation programme, to oversee railways, canals and road freight transport in Great Britain...
, and in 1962 to the British Waterways Board, later
British WaterwaysBritish Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
. Commercial traffic continued to decline, effectively ceasing in the 1970s, though lime juice was carried from Brentford to Boxmoor until 1981, and aggregates on the River Soar until 1996. However, leisure traffic took over, and the canal is now as busy as it ever was, with leisure boating complemented by fishing, towpath walking and
gongoozlingA gongoozler is a person who enjoys watching activity on the canals in the United Kingdom. The term is also often used in a more general way to describe those who have an interest in canals and the canal life, but do not actively participate.-Etymology:...
. More recently freight traffic has returned with the carriage of aggregates from Denham to West Drayton in barges and narrow boats, and the opening of a new wharf for re-cyclables and aggregates at
Old Oak CommonOld Oak Common is an area of London between Harlesden and Acton known for its railway depots, particularly Old Oak Common TMD. Further south lies an open area, Wormwood Scrubs Park, and Wormwood Scrubs prison...
.
Route
One end of the Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal - Main Line) is at
BrentfordBrentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
on the
River ThamesThe River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
in west
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where the canal follows the engineered course of the
River BrentThe Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 17.9 miles long, running north-east to south-west, and it joins the Thames on the Tideway at Brentford, Hounslow.- Hydronymy and etymology :...
. The double Thames Lock at Brentford acts as the demarcation point between the Thames, administered by the
Port of London AuthorityThe Port of London lies along the banks of the River Thames from London, England to the North Sea. Once the largest port in the world, it is currently the United Kingdom's second largest port, after Grimsby & Immingham...
, and the River Brent/Grand Union Canal, administered by
British WaterwaysBritish Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...
. The locks on the canal are numbered south from Braunston, and Thames Lock is lock number 101.
From the Thames Lock, the canal and the
River BrentThe Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 17.9 miles long, running north-east to south-west, and it joins the Thames on the Tideway at Brentford, Hounslow.- Hydronymy and etymology :...
are one and the same, and the waterway is semi-tidal until the double Gauging Lock (lock 100) at Brentford is reached. Just upstream of the Gauging Lock was a large
canal basinA canal basin is an expanse of waterway alongside or at the end of a canal, and wider than the canal, constructed to allow boats to moor or unload cargo without impeding the progress of other traffic, and to allow room for turning, thus serving as a winding hole...
, now known as Brentford Lock, from which the canal continues to follow the course of the
River BrentThe Brent is a river within Greater London which is a tributary of the River Thames. It is 17.9 miles long, running north-east to south-west, and it joins the Thames on the Tideway at Brentford, Hounslow.- Hydronymy and etymology :...
through two more locks. The river and canal part company at the base of the
HanwellHanwell is a town situated in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, between Ealing and Southall. The motto of Hanwell Urban District Council was Nec Aspera Terrent...
flight of locks (92-97), before two more locks take the canal to
Norwood GreenNorwood Green is a place in the London Borough of Ealing in London, England. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross and northeast of Heathrow Airport...
. It then heads westward over level ground through
SouthallSouthall is a large suburban district of west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt...
,
HayesHayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added in order to house factory workers...
and
West DraytonWest Drayton is a suburban area in the London Borough of Hillingdon in the far west of London, England. Formerly part of the Yiewsley and West Drayton Urban District of Middlesex, the district became part of Greater London in 1965....
until it reaches the valley of the
River ColneThe Colne is a river in England which is a tributary of the River Thames. It flows mainly through Hertfordshire and forms the boundary between the South Bucks district of Buckinghamshire and the London Borough of Hillingdon...
where it swings northward to
CowleyCowley is a place in the London Borough of Hillingdon. It is a suburban development situated 15.4 miles west of Charing Cross. Cowley is home to , which was mentioned in the 1086 Domesday Book....
through
UxbridgeUxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
.
Three miles (5 km) from Norwood on this long level is Bulls Bridge Junction, once the site of the
Grand Union Canal Carrying CompanyThe Grand Union Canal Carrying Company was a freight carrying transport service in England from 1934 to 1948.-Background:For more detail on this section see the History of the Grand Union Canal....
's main dockyard. At Bulls Bridge, the Paddington Arm branches off to the north and runs 12 miles (19 km) to join the Regents Canal at Little Venice (see below). Just before Uxbridge is Cowley Peachey junction, where the
Slough ArmThe Slough Arm is a short canal branch from the Grand Union Main Line to Slough in Berkshire , England. It was originally opened to serve the brick-making industry...
branches off westward.
At Cowley, the canal begins to climb the valley of the River Colne following a north-westerly course. After
UxbridgeUxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
, there are many disused gravel workings in the valley so the canal is surrounded by lakes as it passes Denham and
HarefieldHarefield is a village in the London Borough of Hillingdon in northwest London, England. It is situated on top of a hill, northwest of Charing Cross, near the Greater London boundary with Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the north...
before veering north-east to
RickmansworthRickmansworth is a town in the Three Rivers district of Hertfordshire, England, 4¼ miles west of Watford.The town has a population of around 15,000 people and lies on the Grand Union Canal and the River Colne, at the northern end of the Colne Valley regional park.Rickmansworth is a small town in...
.
From Rickmansworth, the canal follows the valley of the
River GadeThe River Gade is a river running almost entirely though Hertfordshire. It rises from a spring in the chalk of the Chiltern Hills at Dagnall, Buckinghamshire and flows through Hemel Hempstead, Kings Langley and Croxley Green to Rickmansworth where it joins the The River Colne...
, a tributary of the Colne. After passing the site of
CroxleyCroxley may refer to :* Croxley Green, Hertfordshire, UK**Croxley tube station, a station on the London Underground in Croxley Green**Croxley Rail Link, a proposed rail re-rout of the London Underground at Croxley Green...
paper mill, the canal skirts
WatfordWatford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
through
Cassiobury ParkCassiobury Park is the principal public open space in Watford, Hertfordshire, in England. It comprises over and extends from the A412 Rickmansworth Road in the east to the Grand Union Canal in the west....
, passes under the
M25 motorwayThe M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...
and approaches
Kings LangleyKings Langley is a historic English village and civil parish northwest of central London on the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills and now part of the London commuter belt. The major western portion lies in the borough of Dacorum and the east is in the Three Rivers district, both in the county of...
. The canal here passes the site of the former
OvaltineOvaltine is a brand of milk flavoring product made with malt extract , sugar , cocoa, and whey...
factory, which was once supplied with raw materials by canal.
By now the locks are becoming more frequent as the climb into the
Chiltern HillsThe Chiltern Hills form a chalk escarpment in South East England. They are known locally as "the Chilterns". A large portion of the hills was designated officially as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in 1965.-Location:...
steepens. The original four locks here were replaced in 1819 by five shallower ones to alleviate problems with water supply to the nearby paper mills. This realigned the canal to the south of its former course; the locks here are still referred to - without irony - as "The New 'Uns" by traditional boaters, and the term has been passed on to a new generation of canal users.
After
Kings LangleyKings Langley is a historic English village and civil parish northwest of central London on the southern edge of the Chiltern Hills and now part of the London commuter belt. The major western portion lies in the borough of Dacorum and the east is in the Three Rivers district, both in the county of...
and
ApsleyApsley is a 19th century mill town in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is a historic industrial site situated in a valley of the Chiltern Hills. It is positioned below the confluence of two permanent rivers, the Gade and Bulbourne. In an area of little surface water this was an obvious site...
- the site of more former paper mills - the canal passes
Hemel HempsteadHemel Hempstead is a town in Hertfordshire in the East of England, to the north west of London and part of the Greater London Urban Area. The population at the 2001 Census was 81,143 ....
and Boxmoor Common. From here the canal follows the course of the
River BulbourneThe River Bulbourne is a river in Hertfordshire, England. It runs from Dudswell in Northchurch, through Berkhamsted , Bourne End and Boxmoor to where it joins the River Gade at Two Waters in Apsley near Hemel Hempstead. The total length of the river is 11 Km....
through
Bourne EndBourne End is a village in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated on the A41 between Berkhamsted and Hemel Hempstead. There was a rail disaster on the West Coast Main Line at Bourne End on September 30, 1945 when an express train was derailed with many fatalities.Its name comes from the Bourne...
with the well-known swingbridge at Winkwell, and the "Port of
Berkhamsted-Climate:Berkhamsted experiences an oceanic climate similar to almost all of the United Kingdom.-Castle:...
". At Cow Roast Lock the canal reaches the 3-mile (5-km) long summit level at Tring in the Chiltern hills, having risen through 54 locks since Brentford.
At the north-west end of the summit level is Bulbourne Works, where lock gates were manufactured until 2003 for the southern canal network. Half a mile (800 m) further on, the canal reaches the top of the Marsworth flight of seven locks, which begin the descent to the Vale of Aylesbury. The
Wendover ArmThe Wendover Arm Canal is part of the Grand Union Canal in England, and forms part of the British canal system. It originally linked the Grand Union Canal at Bulbourne near Star Top End in Hertfordshire to the town of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. The canal is miles long, but has been un-navigable...
branches off westwards from the summit level under a bridge adjacent to Marsworth Top Lock and is currently navigable for just over a mile to moorings and a
winding holeA winding hole is a widened area of a canal , used for turning a canal boat such as a narrowboat. "Winding" is pronounced as in a flow of air, not as in to rotate.-Etymology:...
. There is a restoration project to extend it back to Wendover. This part of the canal in parlance used by natives and canal staff was "the withered arm" and in fact was only really "opened" to allow the pumping station there to pump water into the summit. A few hundred yards (metres) beyond the bottom lock of the flight, the
AylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
Arm branches off to the south west.
The Grand Union crosses the wide valley gradually, descending by interspersed locks past the villages of
CheddingtonCheddington is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire. The parish has an area of . The village is about 5 miles north-east of Aylesbury and three miles north of Tring in Hertfordshire...
, Horton and Slapton until it reaches
Leighton Buzzard-Lower schools:*Beaudesert Lower School - Apennine Way*Clipstone Brook Lower School - Brooklands Drive*Greenleas Lower School - Derwent Road*Dovery Down Lower School - Heath Road*Heathwood Lower School - Heath Road*Leedon Lower School - Highfield Road...
. Traditionally this section of the canal is called "Slapton Fields" or just "The Fields" by boaters.
A few miles further on it enters
Milton KeynesMilton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
at the outskirts of Bletchley at
Fenny StratfordFenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England and in the Civil Parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Originally an independent town, it was included in the Milton Keynes "designated area" area in 1967...
Lock, which is unusual in lowering the level by only 12 inches (30 cm). The next stretch of 11 miles (18 km) on the level takes the canal through the new city, where there is a
marinaA marina is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo from freighters....
. (There is a plan
(see below) to dig a new arm from here to the Great Ouse at
BedfordBedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
). North of the centre, it traverses the modern
New BradwellNew Bradwell is a Victorian era new village, modern district and civil parish that is now part of Milton Keynes , on its northern edge...
Aqueduct, the first on the Grand Union in over 100 years. Leaving Milton Keynes at
WolvertonWolverton is part of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.Wolverton may also refer to:Places in England:*Wolverton, Dorset*Wolverton, Kent*Wolverton, Hampshire*Wolverton, Shropshire*Wolverton, WarwickshirePlaces in the United States:...
, the canal runs on a high embankment before passing over the Great Ouse at
CosgroveCosgrove is a village in Northamptonshire, England about north of Stony Stratford, north of central Milton Keynes and south of Northampton along the A508 road and south-east of Towcester along the A5 road...
"Iron Trunk"
aqueductAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
.
After rising through Cosgrove Lock, (and passing the start of the abandoned
Buckingham ArmThe Buckingham Arm is a canal that once ran from Cosgrove, Northamptonshire to Buckingham . It was built as an arm of the Grand Junction Canal, in two separate phases, opening in 1800 and 1801. It was disused from 1932, but was not finally abandoned until 1964...
) another long level section brings the canal to the bottom of the
Stoke BruerneStoke Bruerne is a small village and civil parish in South Northamptonshire, England about north of Milton Keynes and south of Northampton.-History:...
flight of seven locks. At the top of this flight is the
Stoke Bruerne Canal MuseumStoke Bruerne Canal Museum, part of England's National Waterways Museum, is a canal museum located next to the Grand Union Canal just south of the Blisworth Tunnel, near the village of Stoke Bruerne in Northamptonshire...
followed shortly by
Blisworth TunnelBlisworth Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire, England between the villages of Stoke Bruerne at the southern end and Blisworth at the northern end.-Measurements:...
, at 3056 yards (2794 m) one of the longest on the canal network.
Once clear of the tunnel, the canal passes
BlisworthBlisworth is a village and civil parish in the South Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. The West Coast Main Line, from London Euston to Manchester and Scotland, runs alongside the village partly hidden and partly on an embankment...
village and reaches Gayton Junction where the
NorthamptonNorthampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
Arm branches off to the east. This arm has seventeen narrow locks as it descends to join the navigable
River NeneThe River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...
(see below). The long level stretch continues past several villages including
Nether HeyfordNether Heyford is an English village west of Northampton off the A45 road, in the shire county of Northamptonshire, known as "Northants". It is by road to the M1 London to Yorkshire motorway junction 16, north of London and southeast of Birmingham...
and
Weedon BecWeedon Bec , usually just called "Weedon", is a large village and parish in the district of Daventry, Northamptonshire, England. It lies close to the source of the River Nene.-Geography:...
and is very rural in character.
At
WhiltonWhilton is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. The village is in the Daventry district.Whilton is north west of London, 9.7 miles west of Northampton and 15.6miles south-east of Rugby...
, the canal reaches the bottom of the Buckby flight of seven locks which raise it to Braunston summit although the village of that name is still 5 miles (8 km) distant. Beyond the top lock is Norton Junction where the Leicester line (not strictly a branch) heads off north. A few miles further on the canal passes through the 2040-yard (1865-m)
Braunston TunnelBraunston Tunnel is situated on the Grand Union Canal just past Braunston, Northamptonshire, England.Braunston Tunnel is 2042 yards in length...
, which pierces a low range of hills that are part of the
NorthamptonshireNorthamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...
uplands.
The canal then drops down the Braunston flight of six locks until it reaches Braunston Junction, just over 93 miles (150 km) from Brentford.
The Birmingham "main line"
At Braunston Junction, the
Oxford CanalThe Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
diverges north and south. The north section leads to
RugbyRugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
and
CoventryCoventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...
; the southward fork carries both the
Oxford CanalThe Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
and the Grand Union for 5 miles (8 km) to Napton Junction. Here, the Grand Union heads north towards
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, while the Oxford Canal veers south towards
BanburyBanbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
and
OxfordThe city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
Shortly after Napton Junction, the Grand Union reaches three locks at Calcutt, which begin the descent to the
WarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
River AvonThe River Avon or Avon is a river in or adjoining the counties of Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire in the Midlands of England...
. After a 3-mile (5-km) level, the canal descends into the valley of the
River LeamThe River Leam is a river which flows through eastern and southern Warwickshire. It is a small river about 25–30 miles long. The town of Leamington Spa lies on, and is named after, the River Leam....
by the
StocktonStockton is a village and civil parish, in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1,391. The village is located just to the east of the A426 road two miles north-east of Southam, and eight miles south-west of Rugby.Stockton's name was...
flight of ten locks (often known as 'the Itchington Ten'). Above the eighth lock down the flight, a short arm (now used as pleasure craft moorings) used to serve
SouthamSoutham is a small market town in the Stratford-on-Avon district of Warwickshire, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 6,509 in the town.The nearest sizeable town to Southam is Leamington Spa, located roughly 7 miles to the west...
cement works.
From the bottom of the locks, a 3-mile (5-km) level leads to the four Bascote locks. The top two form a 'riser' or staircase. Six more interspersed locks lead to Radford, after which a 5-mile (8-km) level takes the canal through
Leamington SpaRoyal Leamington Spa, commonly known as Leamington Spa or Leamington or Leam to locals, is a spa town in central Warwickshire, England. Formerly known as Leamington Priors, its expansion began following the popularisation of the medicinal qualities of its water by Dr Kerr in 1784, and by Dr Lambe...
to
WarwickWarwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England. The town lies upon the River Avon, south of Coventry and just west of Leamington Spa and Whitnash with which it is conjoined. As of the 2001 United Kingdom census, it had a population of 23,350...
. Between these two towns, the canal crosses the River Avon and the former
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
on
aqueductAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
s.
At Warwick, the canal rises by two locks to
BudbrookeBudbrooke is a small village and civil parish in the Warwick district of Warwickshire, England, about 2½ miles west of Warwick town centre. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 2,319...
Junction (formerly the junction with the then-independent Warwick and Birmingham Canal). To the left is the restored
Saltisford Canal ArmThe Saltisford Canal Arm is a short stretch of canal located in the town of Warwick, Warwickshire, England. Opened in the 1790s . Originally it wasn't an arm at all, but the start of the Warwick / Birmingham Canal. It took on the appearance of an branch when the Warwick / Napton canal was...
, a short stretch that used to run under the railway to the original canal basin complex and terminus of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal - the basin was filled-in in the 1970s. The Canal used to serve the oldest gas works in the world and several unusual hexagonal buildings remain opposite Sainsburys.
Saltisford Canal Trust
After half a mile the mainline reaches the bottom of the
HattonHatton is a village and civil parish about north of Warwick, in the Warwick District of Warwickshire in England. It has a population of 1,078...
flight of 21 locks that lift the canal up out of the Avon Valley. The first ten locks are spaced out but from the middle lock the flight is tightly spaced.
Three miles (5 km) from Hatton Top Lock the canal passes through
Shrewley TunnelShrewley Tunnel is a canal tunnel near Shrewley, Warwickshire, England.It lies on the Grand Union Canal about two miles north of Hatton Locks. It is 433 yards/396 metres long, built of brick and although wide enough for two boats to pass has no towpath inside...
, with its separate horse tunnel, and then passes Rowington village to Kingswood Junction where a short spur connects with the
Stratford-upon-Avon CanalThe Stratford-upon-Avon Canal is a canal in the south Midlands of England.The canal, which was built between 1793 and 1816, runs for in total, and consists of two sections. The dividing line is at Kingswood Junction, which gives access to the Grand Union Canal...
. Another 3 miles (5 km) lead to the
KnowleKnowle is a large village a few miles southeast of the town of Solihull, UK. Knowle lies within the historic county boundaries of Warwickshire, and since 1974 it has been part of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands...
flight of five locks. Finally, an 11-mile (18-km) level takes the canal through Elmdon Heath, Solihull, Acocks Green, and Tyseley to the heart of Birmingham.
The main line may be considered to terminate at
Bordesley JunctionBordesley Junction is a canal junction where the Grand Union Canal splits near to Bordesley, Birmingham, England.The southern arm is the main line of the Grand Union to London. The north-east arm was originally the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leading to Salford Junction and on to the...
. From here, there are two routes, both part of the Grand Union Canal. The original line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal leads to the
Digbeth Branch CanalThe Digbeth Branch Canal in Birmingham, England is a short canal which links the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal at Aston Junction and the Grand Union Canal at Digbeth Junction in Digbeth....
of the
Birmingham Canal NavigationsBirmingham Canal Navigations is a network of navigable canals connecting Birmingham, Wolverhampton, and the eastern part of the Black Country...
at the
Warwick BarThe Warwick Bar conservation area is a conservation area in Birmingham, England which was home to many canalside factories during the Industrial Revolution of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries....
, while the later line of the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leads to the
Birmingham and Fazeley CanalThe Birmingham and Fazeley Canal is a canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations in the West Midlands of England. Its purpose was to provide a link between the Coventry Canal and Birmingham and thereby connect Birmingham to London via the Oxford Canal....
(and
Tame Valley CanalThe Tame Valley Canal is a relatively late canal in the West Midlands of England. It forms part of the Birmingham Canal Navigations. It takes its name from the roughly-parallel River Tame.-Geography:...
) at
Salford JunctionSalford Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Grand Union Canal and Tame Valley Canal meet the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal north of Birmingham, England....
, which in turn has connections to the
Coventry CanalThe Coventry Canal is a navigable narrow canal in the Midlands of England.It starts in Coventry and ends 38 miles north at Fradley Junction, just north of Lichfield, where it joins the Trent and Mersey Canal...
and the
Trent and Mersey CanalThe Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
.
The Leicester Line
Formed by amalgamations of once-independent canals, the 'Leicester Line' of the Grand Union Canal runs north from Norton Junction for about 35 miles (56 km) until it reaches
LeicesterLeicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
, where it joins the
River SoarThe River Soar is a tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands.-Description:It rises near Hinckley in Leicestershire and is joined by the River Sence near Enderby before flowing through Leicester , Barrow-on-Soar, beside Loughborough and Kegworth, before joining the Trent near...
to provide a link to the
River TrentThe River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
and to the
Trent and Mersey CanalThe Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....
. It includes notable tunnels south of
CrickCrick is a village in the Daventry district of the county of Northamptonshire in England. It is close to the border with Warwickshire, west of Rugby and north-west of Northampton. The villages of Crick and West Haddon were by-passed by the A428 main road from Rugby to Northampton when the...
1528 yd (1397 m) and north of
Husbands BosworthHusbands Bosworth is a large crossroads village in South Leicestershire on the A5199 road from Leicester city to Northampton and the A4304 road from Junction 20 of the M1 motorway to Market Harborough....
1166 yd (1066 m) The village of Crick is home to a popular annual
boat showThe Crick Boat Show and waterways festival is organised by British Waterways.The show takes place every year on the Grand Union Canal at Crick Marina on the last bank holiday weekend in May....
.
The stretch of the canal which passes through the centre of Leicester known as the 'Mile Straight' is home to
Leicester Rowing ClubLeicester Rowing Club is a rowing and sculling club in Leicester, UK formed in 1882 which represents the City of Leicester in Regatta and Head Races around Great Britain and Worldwide...
a
rowingRowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
and
scullingSculling generally refers to a method of using oars to propel watercraft in which the oar or oars touch the water on both the port and starboard sides of the craft, or over the stern...
club formed in 1882. The club hosts their annual regattas on the River Soar typically held in mid-April which sees competitors from all over the UK race over a 700 metre course. The club insignia is based on the mythical
WyvernA wyvern or wivern is a legendary winged reptilian creature with a dragon's head, two legs , and a barbed tail. The wyvern is found in heraldry. There exists a purely sea-dwelling variant, termed the Sea-Wyvern which has a fish tail in place of a barbed dragon's tail...
and rowers compete in the club's colours of black and white.
Also on this section are the well-known features of
Foxton LocksFoxton Locks are ten canal locks consisting of two "staircases" each of five locks, located on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about 5 km west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough and are named after the nearby village of Foxton....
and
Watford LocksWatford Locks is a group of seven locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, in Northamptonshire, England, famous for the Watford Gap service area....
, both of which feature staircase locks. Beside Foxton locks is the site of a long-abandoned
inclined planeAn inclined plane is a system used on some canals for raising boats between different water levels. Boats may be conveyed afloat, in caissons, or may be carried in cradles or slings. It can be considered as a specialised type of cable railway....
boat liftA boat lift, ship lift, or lift lock is a machine for transporting boats between water at two different elevations, and is an alternative to the canal lock and the canal inclined plane....
. This was constructed as part of a project to create a wide-beam canal route to connect the northern and southern parts of the canal system, something which does not exist to this day. Funding to deal with the narrow locks at Watford was not forthcoming and the scheme was aborted. From Foxton Junction, at the bottom of the locks, the canal is wide-beam to Leicester and onwards, as it was originally intended to link the Soar at Leicester with the
River NeneThe River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...
at Northampton. However, the canal never went further than the basin at
Market HarboroughMarket Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
.
the river soar is a river navigation which was owned by the grand junction canal company you can see this by looking at the paddles which are only like this on a grand junction canal
Branches
The Grand Union Canal has several branches, usually termed 'arms'. Five miles (8 km) from
BrentfordBrentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
, the Paddington Arm leads to
Paddington BasinPaddington Basin is an area of Paddington, London named after the nearby canal basin.The junction of the Regent's Canal and the Grand Junction Canal is close to this point but the basin itself is the terminus of the Paddington Arm of the Grand Junction Canal. It was opened in 1801...
and, just north-west of the Basin at 'Little Venice', it connects to the
Regent's CanalRegent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington arm of the Grand Union Canal, just north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in east London....
. At Cowley Peachey, the
Slough ArmThe Slough Arm is a short canal branch from the Grand Union Main Line to Slough in Berkshire , England. It was originally opened to serve the brick-making industry...
runs 5 miles (8 km) to the west. At Marsworth, about 35 miles (56 km) from
BrentfordBrentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
, two arms leave the main line, one to
WendoverThe Wendover Arm Canal is part of the Grand Union Canal in England, and forms part of the British canal system. It originally linked the Grand Union Canal at Bulbourne near Star Top End in Hertfordshire to the town of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. The canal is miles long, but has been un-navigable...
(not currently navigable for its full length but being restored by the Wendover Arm Trust) and the other descends through sixteen narrow locks for 4 miles (6 km) to
AylesburyAylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
. From Gayton Junction, about 60 miles (97 km) from Brentford, the
NorthamptonNorthampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
Arm links with the
River NeneThe River Nene is a river in the east of England that rises from three sources in the county of Northamptonshire. The tidal river forms the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk for about . It is the tenth longest river in the United Kingdom, and is navigable for from Northampton to The...
.
At Warwick the last remaining branch of the GU, the Saltisford Canal Arm is encountered. The restored arm is close to the centre of Warwick, and is now a short branch of the Grand Union Canal, but was originally the mainline line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, 1799, leading to the terminus and a basin complex built to originally handle timber. When the Warwick and Napton Canal opened, this section was bypassed but served as the town's wharf area. The Saltisford Canal Trust have restored most of the surviving canal over the last 25 years, including major piling works and restoration of a warehouse in 2007. The last 150 metres were lost in the 1970s and are now built on except for a bridge now isolated in a car park. The restored section is now the mooring for narrowboats and a waterside park open to the public. Over 800 visiting narrowboats come by water to Warwick each year and moor on the arm.
On the
Leicester Line there are two arms. One is a mile (1.6 km) long and leads to the village of
WelfordWelford is a village and civil parish in England. It is located on the River Avon border between the counties of Northamptonshire and Leicestershire. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 1,016 people....
. The other leaves the main canal at the bottom of
Foxton LocksFoxton Locks are ten canal locks consisting of two "staircases" each of five locks, located on the Leicester line of the Grand Union Canal about 5 km west of the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough and are named after the nearby village of Foxton....
and runs 5 miles (8 km) to
Market HarboroughMarket Harborough is a market town within the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England.It has a population of 20,785 and is the administrative headquarters of Harborough District Council. It sits on the Northamptonshire-Leicestershire border...
.
Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway
The Bedford and Milton Keynes Partnership (B&MK) plans to build a 26 km (16.2 mi) canal connecting the Grand Union at
Milton KeynesMilton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...
to the
River Great OuseThe Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
at Bedford at an estimated cost of £170m. The project is supported by British Waterways, the
Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway TrustBedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust is a waterways organisation formed in 1995 to promote a new canal route, the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway.It is a registered charity in Britain, and in 2008 had a gross income of £201,287....
, other waterways campaign groups, and also local councils. The first element of the canal was completed in 2009 and efforts are continuing to obtain funding to complete the scheme. The new waterway would create a new cruising ring connecting through from the Grand Union to the waterways of
East AngliaEast Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
which are beneficial to leisure cruising as boat hirers are able to take circular routes. The project was first discussed in 1810 when its promoters included Samuel Whitbread.
See also
- Canals of the United Kingdom
The canals of the United Kingdom are a major part of the network of inland waterways in the United Kingdom. They have a colourful history, from use for irrigation and transport, through becoming the focus of the Industrial Revolution, to today's role for recreational boating...
- List of canals of the United Kingdom
- Grand Union Canal 145 mile Race
The Grand Union Canal Race is an ultramarathon run from the centre of Birmingham to the centre of London along the Grand Union Canal. Competitors are required to complete the distance within a time limit of 45 hours. Resting for more than 40 minutes at a time is not permitted...
- Wendover Arm Canal
The Wendover Arm Canal is part of the Grand Union Canal in England, and forms part of the British canal system. It originally linked the Grand Union Canal at Bulbourne near Star Top End in Hertfordshire to the town of Wendover in Buckinghamshire. The canal is miles long, but has been un-navigable...
- Waterscape
Waterscape was set up in the summer of 2003 and is British Waterways leisure website, supported by the Environment Agency and the Broads Authority as an official information and leisure resource for inland waterways within the UK....
- Moore v British Waterways Board [2010] http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2010/42.html EWCA Civ 42], mooring canal boats at Brentford
External links
New waterway external links