Old Moaner Travel
I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list
Grand Union Canal: Leamington Spa to Buckby
Once outside Leamington Spa this is the most isolated section of the canal, passing through open countryside, with few towns or villages along the way.
​
The scenery is beautiful and there are many locks along the way and a handful of pubs to break the journey.
Section Length: 21.16 miles (34.05 km)
Time Taken: 8 hrs 32 mins
Date Walked: 20th April 2017
​
Weather conditions: Showers early on, becoming overcast with some sunny spells late on, temperature between 9°c and 12°c
​
Logistics: Due to this being a long isolated stretch of canal with very limited public transport links along the way, this was walked in one go.
​
If you’re the sort of person who enjoys socialising and meeting new people then this stretch of the canal is not for you.
​
If, like me, you are happy with your own company and you don’t mind going for hours without seeing another person then this isolated, remote stretch of the canal will be ideal for you.
Indeed, due to the remoteness and lack of any regular public transport this stretch is a 21 mile walk linking the town of Leamington Spa and Buckby Wharf, from where it is just over a one mile walk to Long Buckby Station.
​
This can also be quite a difficult walk as the conditions of the towpath are very variable, from wide flat and comfortable to very narrow, wet and uneven as well as everything in between.
This section of the walk begins opposite Leamington Spa Station and this first part is surprisingly semi-rural.
It’s not long before the first canal side pub is reached, although don’t get excited as The Fusilier looks like your typical 1960’s brick built pub with as much atmosphere as a wet Wednesday, not helped by it being adjacent to one of those awful 1960’s shopping precincts.
After following a busy road the canal soon becomes truly rural. After about 2¾ miles you will reach Fosse Locks, a series of three locks which sees the canal rise some 21 feet.
​
Continuing in open countryside you will pass several locks before reaching Long Itchington, which isn’t a medical condition but a delightful stretch of canal.
Imbibers are spoiled for choice here as there are three pubs within half a mile, all three look good but the Blue Lias looks absolutely stunning, situated at the bottom of Stockton Locks, a flight of eight locks where the canal climbs some 54 feet.
​
It’s back to desolation soon before the canal reaches Napton Junction, where the Oxford Canal heads off towards – yes you guessed it – Oxford.
This is roughly the halfway point along this stretch of the walk and it was disappointing to discover there are very few facilities for the walker here, I’m sure a café would do a roaring trade, instead there is an informal canal shop which has tea, coffee, hot chocolate, ice cream and little else – I cannot help but think they are missing a trick here.
​
At Napton Junction we swing left to follow the Grand Union Canal and we now really go through the most desolate part of the walk. Basically the canal passes through farmland with little to see but fields in all directions. No villages, no shops, no pubs.
Indeed it’s a very long 4 mile walk to the next “civilization” at Braunston.
Braunston is a major canal town and it’s here the northern arm of the Oxford Canal heads off towards Rugby and Coventry.
​
However, once again, the walker isn’t well catered for. There are a couple of tea shops in the village but they are the wrong side of the towpath and crossing points are few and far between.
There is a floating café, The Gongoozler’s Rest, I would like to tell you what it’s like but cannot.
Despite my canal guidebook stating it is open until 18:00 (16:00 winter), it actually shut at 14:00, which is a ridiculous time for a café to close and even though I arrived at 14:10 the owner adamantly refused to serve me, even though I had been walking for almost six hours without a stop.
There is a Canal Shop next to Braunston Bottom Lock, outside of which is a sign extolling people to “please use your canal shops, there are not many of us left.” When I went in to buy an ice cream I quickly understood why there are so few left and this one does not deserve to be one of them. The “welcome” from the woman serving was as welcoming as a blast of Arctic Air, if I wasn’t so desperate to get something to eat I would have walked out. She managed to take curtness to a new level …. If anyone was in the wrong job it was her.
​
The six Braunston Locks climb 35½ feet before we come to the point where walkers depart the canal as we reach the 2,048 yard (1,873 m) Braunston Tunnel. To be honest the walk over the top of the tunnel is boring and seems to go on forever and is not what you want to encounter having already walked 18 miles.
Once back on the canal there is a two mile walk, mainly through a tree lines cutting, to Buckby, a very pretty junction, which sees the beginning of the Leicester Arm of the Grand Union Canal, we turn right and head on the main arm and the beginning of the Buckby Lock Flight, seven locks with a 63 foot drop, although this section of the walk ends after the second lock.
Previous: Knowle - Leamington Spa
​
Next: Buckby - Blisworth
Return to Grand Union Canal home
​
