Key Facts. At this point I had walked a further 17.5 miles along the Canal. The walking is easy with no significant climbs and a generally good towpath underfoot, which makes it an ideal training walk for long-distance walkers. On the canal near Kingswood you will find the the Navigation Inn which has a lovely canalside beer garden to relax in. covering a minimum 2 miles (3.2 km); the 2008-estimated cost was £30 million. Pack : Today I carried full Pennine Way kit. For either option I recommend Birmingham to Braunston (approx 50 miles) as the target for Day 1. The double Thames Lock at Brentford separates the Tideway administered by the Port of London Authority from the River Brent/Grand Union Canal, administered by the Canal & River Trust. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. Other snaps from Green Park show huge patches of algae forming on the lake in front of Buckingham Palace Canal Details. Above the eighth lock down the flight, a short arm (now used as pleasure craft moorings) used to serve Southam cement works. Canal trails All throughout the urban sprawl of Greater Phoenix, Valley residents can access a network of canal trails that pave the way for fun and recreation. The route through Bordesley was part of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, which intersected the Digbeth Branch of the Birmingham Canal Navigations a short distance to the north-west of the junction. Apply Now; Renew Your Cover I walked the Grand Union Canal in sections between 1999 and 2001, extending it slightly by adding the Regents Canal from Mile End in East London to the southern end. The original Grand Junction Canal ran from Birmingham to London, is 137 miles long and has 166 locks. 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 uppermost level. Contact us to join 01785 785 680 or email enquiries@rivercanalrescue.co.uk. The flight was seen as a considerable engineering feat in raising or lowering vessels 75 feet (23 metres). It has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton. 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. It is now the subject of a restoration project. [10] The project is supported by British Waterways (and its successor, the Canal & River Trust), the Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust, other waterways campaign groups, and also local councils. From Norton to Foxton, the route is a narrow canal. Olton to Birmingham (National Indoor Arena) Distance -Approximately 7 miles from Olton Station to N.I.A. From the bottom of the locks, a 3-mile (5-km) level leads to the four Bascote locks. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. As it links the two biggest cities in Britain it was a major transport link before the coming of the railways, although nowadays it is almost exclusively used by pleasure craft. The 137-mile Grand Union Canal stretches from Birmingham to London and has 158 locks. Between these two towns, the canal crosses the River Avon and the former Great Western Railway on aqueducts. A brief history of the Leicester Section of the Grand Union Canal. 122 Reviews #1 of 3 things to do in Linslade. 158. The canal was originally called the Grand Junction Canal and cut 60 miles off the previous route which was via the Oxford Canal and the River Thames. Grand Union Canal. Named after the Prince Regent the 8.5 mile long Regents Canal was planned by Thomas Homer to provide a commercial link between the Grand Union Canal via the Paddington Arm and London's docks beside the River Thames in London's East End. 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 gongoozling. Here it merges with the Rivers Chess, Colne and Gade. There is a modern proposal to dig a new arm from here to the Great Ouse at Bedford. 137 miles from the Thames to Birmingham. It descends then climbs again to a new summit in Birmingham, 137 miles and 166 locks. From below Foxton to Leicester it is a wide canal. From here the canal follows the course of the River Bulbourne through Bourne End with the well-known swingbridge at Winkwell, and the "Port of Berkhamsted, a small compact town". It is our longest canal, the ‘trunk route’ of the system, and helps thousands of people to live healthier, happier lives. When the Warwick and Napton Canal opened, this bypassed channel remained as the town's wharf. Shortly after Napton Junction, the Grand Union reaches three locks at Calcutt, which begin the descent to the Warwickshire River Avon. The original line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal leads to the Digbeth Branch Canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations at the Warwick Bar, while the later line of the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leads to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (and Tame Valley Canal) at Salford Junction, which in turn has connections to the Coventry Canal and the Trent and Mersey Canal. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. As you may well guess, the Oxford Canal Company was more than just a little upset. Locks : 227. This arm has 17 narrow locks as it descends to join the navigable River Nene (see below). Olton to Birmingham (National Indoor Arena) Distance -Approximately 7 miles from Olton Station to N.I.A. Terrain: Flat with a gentle climb and some stairs. The Grand Union Canal runs for 147 miles from Paddington right into the heart of Birmingham. You can calculate cruising routes and times using CanalPlan AC or Clegg’s Canal Time Map. View this route on OS maps . 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 Canal to avoid ambiguity. The River Nene joins the Northampton Arm in Northampton. Warwick's narrowboat moorings are on the Arm by a public park partly in view of the Castle. North of the centre, it traverses the modern New Bradwell Aqueduct, the first on the Grand Union in over 100 years. Traditionally this section of the canal is called "Slapton Fields" or just "The Fields" by boaters. The Grand Union Canal leaves the River Thames at Brentford and climbs over fifty locks up into the Chiltern hills. After Denham and Harefield villages, it passes to the south of Rickmansworth. Join Now Renew Now Log in. These long distance routes are all exceptional and interlink with the John Muir Way. Along the route, you’ll pass interesting sights on the canal … Choose your favorite grand union canal designs and purchase them as wall art, home decor, phone cases, tote bags, and more! At Cow Roast Lock the canal reaches the 3-mile (5-km) summit at Tring in the Chiltern hills, having risen through 54 locks since Brentford. It was originally the main line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, 1799, leading to the terminus and a basin with wharfs for timber. [9] The new waterway would create a new cruising ring connecting through from the Grand Union to the waterways of East Anglia which are beneficial to leisure cruising as boat hirers are able to take circular routes. Shop for grand union canal art from the world's greatest living artists. The canal north of Foxton Junction is wide-beam to Leicester and onwards. The Grand Union Canal north of Olton. Five miles (eight km) from Brentford, the Paddington Arm runs circuitously on the flat to a junction with the Regent's Canal, the latter running north and east of Central London. Pack : Today I carried full Pennine Way kit. Wikipedia has a page about Grand Union Canal. The Bedford and Milton Keynes Partnership (B&MK) plans to build a 16-mile (26 km) canal connecting the Grand Union at Milton Keynes to the River Great Ouse at Bedford at an estimated cost of £170 million. It was built as an arm of the Grand Junction Canal, in two separate phases, opening in 1800 and 1801. At the north-west end of the summit level is Bulbourne Works, where lock gates were manufactured until 2003 for the southern canal network. To the left is the restored Saltisford Canal Arm, 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. River Canal Rescue. It was disused from 1932, but was not finally abandoned until 1964. The Grand Union Canal, Regents Canal, River Lee & River Stort The Grand Union Canal leaves the River Thames at Brentford and climbs over fifty locks up into the Chiltern hills. Find paddling routes, launches, and licence info on the canal here. Wendover (under restoration, partly navigable) – 6.5 miles (10.5 km) long – 1 stop lock – joins at Bulbourne Junction. The Grand Union Canal runs from Birmingham to London. The original four locks here were replaced in 1819 by five shallower ones to alleviate problems with water supply to the nearby paper mills. It runs for 13 miles and 4 furlongs from Bull's Bridge Junction (where it joins the Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal - Main Line - Gayton to Brentford)) to Paddington Basin and Wharves (which is … Condition : I am in reasonable condition after this walk, although it is hard to make any judgements after such a short and easy walk. Grand Union Canal in London, courtesy of Go Jauntly This walk is courtesy of Go Jauntly , a free community-based walking app, which invites you into a world of outdoor adventures. [1] It has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton. Grand Union Canal Walk 145 miles (234 km) Follow the towpath of Britain's longest canal from London to Birmingham on this fabulous waterside walk. The Grand Union Canal was nationalised in 1948, control transferring to the British Transport Commission, and in 1962 to the British Waterways Board, later British Waterways. It has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton. It has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton. Also on this section are the Foxton Locks and Watford Locks, both staircase locks. After a 3-mile (5-km) level, the canal descends into the valley of the River Leam by the Stockton flight of 10 locks (often known as 'the Itchington Ten'). It was formed from the amalgamation of several different canals, and at 286.3 miles (460.8 km) (281.3 miles (452.7 km) when excluding the shared line with the Oxford Canal), is by far the longest merged canal in the UK. The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Selected features. For more details on the Grand Union Canal see Jim Shead's canal pages. You can find at postcode B94 6NA. It was built between 1806 and 1814 as part of the Grand Union Canal link across the Northamptonshire uplands to the Grand Junction Canal at Long Buckby. 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 (4.3 m) in beam. At the top of this flight is the Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum followed shortly by Blisworth Tunnel, at 3,056 yards (2,794 m) one of the longest of UK canals. At Warwick, the canal rises by two locks to Budbrooke Junction (formerly the junction with the then-independent Warwick and Birmingham Canal). A new basin and warehouse were constructed at Tyseley, above Camp Hill, to deal with this. The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system.Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. Lock works were completed in 1934 when the Duke of Kent opened the new broad locks at Hatton, and other improvements finished by 1937. Distance : 6.4 miles ; Description : This was a nice walk, following the firm canal towpath of the Paddington Branch of the Grand Union Canal into central London. Try them out to discover yet more of Scotland's hidden countryside and its wildlife, and if long distance walking is your bag, explore some of Scotland's Great Trails (SGTs) too!. The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Over 800 visiting narrowboats cruise to Warwick each year and moor on the arm.[8]. 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 Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. From Gayton Junction, about 60 miles (97 km) from Brentford, the Northampton Arm links with the River Nene. The Leicester Line continues along the River Soar Navigation, and reaches the River Trent at Soar Mouth, north of Ratcliffe-on-Soar. Thames Lock is lock number 101. The Grand Union Canal has six main branches, usually termed 'arms'. However, that canal never went further than the basin at Market Harborough. The boat dragged me forward and I sustained an injury as a result. Bulky shining sculpture or landmark, Liquidity erected 2002 at the apex Ferry Wharf, Brentford, marking a then-dry entrance to the Grand Union Canal from the River Thames's Tideway as at low tide. 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