The london loop, grand union canal, denham and harefield. Canals and canalboats fascinate many walkers and this canal, the grand union, is the daddy of them all. The grand union, the longest canal in the uk, links london with birmingham. Being almost entirely towpath it provides much for those interested in canal history. Lined with colourful streetart, running under a variety of bridges and a mixture of old developed warehouses and newbuilds on either side.
The whole walked is delightful easy to walk not to muddy and. Grand union canal berkhamsted tring karens sponsored walks. Boat hire on the grand union canal at weedon northamptonshire. This has 75 x full a4 pages of maps plus 4 cover pages. The properties form part of a larger redevelopment project that includes a sainsburys supermarket, a preschool, 300 parking spaces and 2,000 sq m of officeworkshop space. An illustrated walk along the grand union canal from london to birmingham. Grand union canal walk chiltern hills, uk 10adventures. The simple best recommendation i can give grand union is that we are about to book again. The route is an informal linear park punctuated by the locks that characterise canal technology, carefully restored surviving lockkeepers.
Our next longdistance path to follow is the grand union canal, which stretches from london to birmingham. The grand union canal as it is now called has several arms or branches, these were often built independantly but have been amalgamated over. The grand union canal in england is part of the british canal system. Although it officially starts at brentford, we decided to start with the paddington arm which runs for. The number 1 choice for all users of the inland waterways. The walk is also covered in detail in the grand union canal walk, by anthony burton and neil curtis, isbn 1 85410 244 3, published by aurum press ltd. It descends then climbs again to a new summit in birmingham, 7 miles and 166 locks. A walk along the grand union canal in london canal. The canal museum at stoke bruerne in northamptonshire has numerous insights into the grand unions history as does the london canal museum set in a. Wendover is 5 miles away and has its own arm and starts in wharf road it is about 6 miles long joining the grand union canal near bulbourne. Union canal tunnel park lebanon county historical society. Its main line starts in london and ends in birmingham, stretching for 7 miles 220 km with 166 locks. Grand union canal all cruising map in acrobat pdf format. Collins nicholson waterways guides grand union, oxford.
This is a downloadable grand union canal all cruising map in acrobat pdf format. Nov 06, 2014 the grand union canal at brentford, west london. Return to the car park via the train from berkhamsted after completing the walk. Alamy i got off the underground at paddington and started walking and talking to. A quiet and atmospheric waterway, regents canal passes by parks, a zoo, camden market, victorian warehouses and celebrity hangouts. For london, its the regents canal and the hertford union canal. Come with me on an enjoyable walk along the grand union canal from greenford to little venice approx dist 8.
The grand union canal walk by anthony burton, neil curtis and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. If you are considering walking this route yourself, please see my disclaimer. The hotel began as a boarding house, built by gideon putnam in 1802, but grew into the worlds largest hotel, before it was demolished in 1953 the initial draw to the area were summer vacationers attracted by the mineral spas. Mar 23, 2020 this first national waterways walk was created as part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the creation of the canal companies that later formed the grand union canal. There are now getting on for a dozen different canal and inland waterways walks. Theres the lure of the new canal walks take you into a london you wont have seen before, a london that will surprise. Grand union canal main line london to braunston gu.
Grand union canal in london, courtesy of go jauntly this walk is courtesy of go jauntly, a free communitybased walking app, which invites you into a world of outdoor adventures. Buckinghamshire, hertfordshire, gtr london, northamptonshire, warwickshire, w midlands. Denham is a lovely village to dawdle through in anyones book. The canal was built at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, providing a more direct route between the 2 cities. It wasnt immediately clear which way direction to follow and the symbols are quite faint. The tunnel and canal are located within the confines of union canal tunnel park, an open recreational area located at 25th and union canal drive, lebanon, pennsylvania. Everything slows right down on a canal walk, slows down to the speed of the canal age. The properties form part of a larger redevelopment project that includes a sainsburys supermarket, a preschool, 300 parking. Take the train to tring station or park in the station car park using postcode hp23 5qr. The grand union canal walk in the chiltern hills is a great familyfriendly walk north of london, uk.
On the canal near kingswood you will find the the navigation inn which has a lovely canalside beer garden to relax in. Alamy i got off the underground at paddington and started walking and talking to the people on the boats along the way literally. The union canal once linked the commercial centers of harrisburg and reading and, by extension, the port of philadelphia. May 24, 20 the grand union canal walk day 1 of 9 london to birmingham 147 miles cancer research uk. Below is a map of the route im taking on my grand quest to walk from london to birmingham following the route of the grand union canal. We joined up with the grand union canal towpath to start our walk in earnest.
Petes walks grand union canal circular walk page 1 of 2. The grand union canal holiday cruising guide and map. This first national waterways walk was created as part of the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the creation of the canal companies that later formed the grand union canal. 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. It is our longest canal, the trunk route of the system, and helps thousands of people to live healthier, happier lives. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. It has arms to places including leicester, slough, aylesbury, wendover and northampton 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.
Although the somewhat circuitous route to birmingham via the river thames and the oxford canal came first, it was the grand junction canal which really provided the transport infrastructure to bring goods from the industrial conurbations of the north and midlands to the capital. Jan 05, 20 our next longdistance path to follow is the grand union canal, which stretches from london to birmingham. The grand union canal links london to birmingham, passing through rolling countryside, industrial towns and peaceful villages. It has arms to places including leicester, slough, aylesbury, wendover and northampton. The same map is also available as a downloadable grand union canal all cruising map in memorymap qct format. The word union offers a clue to the heritage of this canal.
The walk along the paddington arm of the grand union canal was the first ever walk i wrote about on this website which i did back on a very hot summers day in june 2005. Grand union canal part 1 the paddington arm i did this walk on sunday 30th january 2011. Over time this became a luxury hotel that catered to the wealthy elite. Walking and cycling on the grand union canal in the wolverton and fenny stratford area getting to various starts. The grand junction was the londons principal link with the rest of the uks canal system. River brent londons lost rivers book and walking tours. The grand canal way follows pleasant grassy towpaths, gravel and sometimes tarmac canalside roads from lucan bridge near adamstown in county dublin 124km to shannon harbour on irelands longest river. The paddington canal arm, england grand union canal. Nov 11, 2001 the walk is also covered in detail in the grand union canal walk, by anthony burton and neil curtis, isbn 1 85410 244 3, published by aurum press ltd.
We walked the 9 mile stretch of canal towpath between wolverton and fenny stratford by initially parking at bletchley at the time it was free parking on sundays and getting the train up to wolverton. I must declare my hand as not being entirely impartial as i grew up a stones throw from the grand union canal at hanwell and used to walk to brentford docks. Click on the image to the right to go the amazon page for this book. It was originally built to link the huge grand junction canals paddington branch with the river thames, but now is mainly a place of.
Follow the towpath of britains longest canal from london to birmingham on this fabulous waterside walk. Walking the grand union canal from london to birmingham book. For more details on the grand union canal see jim sheads canal pages. Ldwa long distance paths grand union canal walk buckinghamshire, hertfordshire, gtr london, northamptonshire, warwickshire.
The grand union canal as it is now called has several arms or branches, these were often built independantly but have been amalgamated over the years to form the current canal. 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 canal is joined by the gu leicester section at norton junction. Three miles 5 km from norwood on this long level is bulls bridge junction, once the site of the grand union canal carrying company s main dockyard. The grand union canal continues from braunston to birmingham.
A towpath guide towpath guides by nick corble isbn. In this commission for sainsburys grimshaw negotiated that residences should take the form of individual houses rather than a block of flats and the project includes 10 threebedroom houses, a one. This walk follows the grand union from brentford in. Considering it is all within the m25, it is a surprisingly quiet and mostly rural walk. I was looking for a map to walk the grand union canal from london to birmingham. Walking the grand union canal from london to birmingham. The grand canal way, an official walking trail following the old towpath, hugs the edge of the canal for its entire distance. Grand union walk comprises ten threebedroom houses, a onebedroom maisonette and a bedsit, built in 1988 to a design by grimshaw architects.
The grand union hotel was located on broadway in saratoga springs, new york. It was at braunston that the grand unions precursor, the grand junction, met with the not fit for purpose oxford canal two hundred years ago, reducing the distance between the capital and the workshop of the world by 60 miles and, because it was a wide canal, doubling the capacity. Grand union canal walk housing projects grimshaw architects. Greenford to little venice walking along the grand union canal. This long circular walk around milton keynes takes visits caldecotte lake, the river ouzel, the grand union canal, and willen lake. Buy the grand union canal walk a cicerone guide 01 by c.
Grand union hotel saratoga springs, new york wikipedia. The grand union canal was never constructed as an entity, but is the result of amalgamations between 1894 and 1929 of several independent waterways the oldest being the navigations around the river soar in leicestershire, the longest the grand junction canal from braunston to the. Buy walking the grand union canal from london to birmingham. The path was to take us across an old cast iron bridge, which had. Buy the grand union canal walk first edition by burton, anthony, curtis, neil isbn. The way is well maintained, with walking surfaces ranging from grassy surfaces typically a few meters wide to paved surfaces. Grand union canal walk housing london, uk grand union walk in camden is an ingenious response to the need for housing on a tight, mixeduse site. We had left this part of the towpath quite some time ago, so it was nice to pick up where we had left off. On the canal near kingswood you will find the the navigation inn which has a. You will need acrobat reader or equivalent software loaded on your computer, or the acrobat reader. Its a great way of exploring the town on foot and visiting some of the most picturesque places. This book is good but i found the maps hard to read and a bit confusing. Home walks diary chiltern walks photos links longdistance paths hda. It was at braunston that the grand union s precursor, the grand junction, met with the not fit for purpose oxford canal two hundred years ago, reducing the distance between the capital and the workshop of the world by 60 miles and, because it was a wide canal, doubling the capacity.
This is a photographic journal of a walk along the towpath. The main line of the canal from brentford to braunston is 98. Our experience of the canal so far had been starting off as urban, continuing through some smelly industrial areas, and then continuing through the outskirts of town, not quite urban but not quite countryside the sort of places that. There were 2 trains an hour at time of writing and also for cyclists the train.
A map of the grand union canal displaying locks, winding holes and various services available along the length of the waterway. Buy the grand union canal walk a cicerone guide 01 by holmes, c. Grand union canal, walk and canal features wolverton to. The grand union canal walk day 1 of 9 london to birmingham 147 miles cancer research uk. The grand union canal runs from paddington, london to birmingham. A walk along the canal is always pleasant theres something about walking along a canal, looking at the gates and seeing the canal boats, theyre always interesting. Grand union canal linslade 2020 all you need to know.
Theres lots of great canalside pubs to relax in on your walk. The grand union canal runs from the tidal river thames at brentford to join the oxford canal at braunston. Buy the grand union canal walk first edition by anthony burton, neil curtis isbn. The path was to take us across an old cast iron bridge, which had been standing here since the canal was originally put in place.
An hours stroll along the grand union canal, the perfect way to destress after a day in the office. Grand union narrowboats provide boats for holidays ranging from 26 berths for either weekly boat hire or short break hire. The website for canal and waterway books, maps and dvds. Petes walks grand union canal circular walk page 1. The grand union canal runs for 147 miles from paddington right into the heart of birmingham. Jun 24, 2014 we joined up with the grand union canal towpath to start our walk in earnest.
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