Grand Union Canal

Quick Facts

• Length: approximately 137 miles (main line, London to Birmingham)
• Locks: approximately 166 on the main line
• Connects: River Thames at Brentford → Birmingham (Salford Junction) via Watford, Tring, Leighton Buzzard, Milton Keynes, Northampton (branch), Braunston, Warwick and Knowle
• Build period & engineer: amalgamated 1929 from the Grand Junction (1805, William Jessop) and successor canals; lock widening and modernisation continued into the 1930s
• Boat dimensions: broad canal — locks built to take 14 ft beam, 72 ft length on most of the main line; some sections (notably north of Camp Hill in Birmingham) are narrow
• Typical cruise time: 10–12 days one-way London to Birmingham; 3 weeks return at a relaxed pace

What's it like to cruise?

The longest single canal route in Britain, and the workhorse of the southern network. The southern end (Brentford to Tring) is the busiest and most urban, with the Hanwell flight, Bulls Bridge and the long climb out of London. The middle (Tring to Braunston) is long pounds, big skies and easy cruising through the Chilterns and Northamptonshire. The northern end (Braunston to Birmingham) climbs over the Hatton 21 and the Knowle 5, then drops down into the city. Despite being a "broad" canal, most pleasure boats are narrowboats, so most boaters single-lock through the wide chambers.

Highlights along the route

• Hatton Flight — 21 broad locks rising 146 ft up to Warwick, the "stairway to heaven".
• Braunston — the spiritual home of the canal world and a major junction with the Oxford Canal.
• Tring Summit and the long pound — open countryside through the Chilterns.
• Foxton Locks (on the Leicester Arm) — two staircases of five and remains of an inclined plane.
• Stoke Bruerne — pretty village with the Canal Museum and Blisworth Tunnel just to the north.
• Blisworth Tunnel — 3,076 yards, the third longest navigable tunnel in Britain.
• Camden, Little Venice and the Regent's Canal arm into central London.

Connections & cruising rings

The Grand Union is the spine of southern boating and connects almost everything: the Thames, the Oxford Canal at Braunston, the Coventry/Trent & Mersey via Napton, the Stratford Canal at Kingswood, the BCN at Salford Junction, and the Leicester Line via Norton Junction to the River Soar/Trent. Forms part of the Warwickshire Ring, the Leicester Ring and the Thames Ring.

Suitable for

A good first long-distance canal — locks are mostly straightforward, the network is well-served with marinas, and the route has plenty of options to shorten or extend. Hatton, Stockton and Knowle are the lock-heavy days. The southern urban section is perfectly fine but feels a long way from rural cruising until you get past Berkhamsted.

Practicalities

• Stoppages: the southern Hatton/Knowle/Cape locks are aging and occasionally see emergency closures; check CRT.
• Water and elsan: generously provided along the entire main line.
• Mobile signal: good throughout — this is a populated corridor.
• Pump-out: every marina, and most service points.
• Tidal Thames at Brentford requires Port of London Authority awareness if you go onto the river.

Best time to cruise

April to October. Hatton and the Stoke Bruerne pound are at their best in late spring and early autumn. London end is busy year-round; the rural middle section is quietest in May and September.