The Canal Boat Club

 

 

Banbury & Return from Springwood Haven

Other routes

Duration: 7 Nights
TOTAL LOCKS: 50
CRUISING TIME PER DAY: 8.5 HOURS (54 TOTAL)

After a sporty encounter, this is a journey of trade and heritage, accompanied by the rhythms of poetry, music and nursery rhymes. Meandering along one of engineer James Brindley’s renowned contour-hugging canals, the peaceful countryside calls out with symbolic windmills, quirky huts and buildings which hold wartime memories.

Turn southwards out of Springwood Haven Marina to cruise along the Coventry Canal. The canal flows through open countryside, passing a series of nature reserves and landscape formed from the spoil heaps of former quarries, the most dramatic of which is known as Mount Judd. Nuneaton’s main claim to fame is as birthplace of the writer George Eliot, and the canal winds past pretty gardens round the edge of the town. Marston Junction is where the Ashby Canal heads off to the east, then the canal carries you past the suburbs of Bedworth, before arriving at Hawkesbury Junction, a busy place filled with boats and a photogenic former engine house.

The Oxford Canal heads southeast through the lock, from Hawkesbury Junction to Brinklow, a short walk south of Stretton Stop with a 13th-century church and the remains of a medieval castle built to defend the Fosse Way which crosses the canal here. The short Newbold Tunnel (250yds/229m long) leads into Rugby, world famous for its connection with a certain sport and the Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum tells the story of how one schoolboy changed the course of sporting history. A ‘Pathway of Fame’ around the town celebrates famous rugby players and you can even visit the very ground within Rugby School where the game was born.

Once you have finished exploring, head south along the main Oxford Canal as it skirts round the town before reaching the hubbub around Hillmorton Locks. The distinctive locks are in pairs, originally doubled up to allow more traffic through this busy stretch  of canal, and the gates of locks 4 and 5 have special canal poetry carved into them as part of the celebrations when British Waterways became the Canal & River Trust in 2012.

A few miles south of Hillmorton, the canal reaches Braunston Turn, the sleepy junction between the Oxford and Grand Union Canals, once one of the busiest commercial trading points linking with London. Canal engineer James Brindley built the Oxford Canal in his typical winding fashion, flowing around contours rather than bulldozing a straight course. When the much straighter Grand Union Canal was built, it stole much of the Oxford Canal’s commercial traffic - but the Oxford Canal fought back by charging extortionate tolls to use its water in the London to Birmingham link between Napton and Braunston. Today its importance has not diminished as it has become a much-loved hotspot for canal leisure seekers and the marina hosts the annual Braunston Historic Boat Rally. There is much to explore in this idyllic canal village, a settlement steeped in history dating back to the Doomsday Book, with Horseley iron bridges and historic canalside workshops.

Once you have finished exploring, turn right under the junction’s double-arched  Horseley bridge and follow the now Grand Union Canal as it meanders westwards through quiet open country towards Napton Junction. The Grand Union Canal heads north from Napton Junction towards Birmingham while you continue southwards along the Oxford Canal.

The appropriately named Napton on the Hill is well-known for its windmill, which dominates the landscape and would have been a useful landmark for traditional boatmen in the commercial carrying days of the canal. The pretty village has had a windmill since 1543, although the current Grade II-listed windmill dates from the 18th century. Many villagers were employed in the local brick and tile works, and the symbol of a windmill was stamped into the bricks and tiles before being transported away on canal boats. Napton’s 13th-century church, adjacent on the hill, is also worth a visit.

The nine locks of the Napton Flight carry the canal up to the summit level in glorious surroundings. Look out for the traditional lock hovel where canal workmen used to keep tools and shelter from inclement weather. The hovel by lock 10 is no bigger than a garden shed, yet even has a chimney for the workman’s fire! There are several pillboxes here too, as this stretch of canal was an important part of the Oxford and Grand Union Canals Stop Line designed to defend the industrial Midlands in the event of an invasion by German troops during World War II.

The canal swirls through open countryside for almost ten miles before the five Claydon Locks drop the canal towards Cropredy Lock and the quintessentially English village of Cropredy. Usually a peaceful oasis, the village bursts at the seams in August when hoards turn up for the annual music festival which began as a reunion event after Fairport Convention held their ‘farewell’ concert here in 1979.

South of Cropredy, the railway and M40 noisily encroach on the canal as it makes its way into Banbury. Near Banbury's famous cross is a large bronze statue, unveiled by Princess Anne in 2005, which depicts the ‘Fyne Lady’ upon a ‘White Horse’ of the nursery rhyme. Sung by countless generations of children, the cross of that well-known nursery rhyme was destroyed in the 1600s as Banbury was said to be ‘too far gone in Puritanism’. The cross which now lies at the junction of four major roads was built in 1859 to celebrate the marriage of Queen Victoria’s eldest daughter.

Tooley’s Boatyard in Banbury is the oldest dry dock in Britain. A Scheduled Ancient Monument, it has been in continuous use since 1790 regardless of changes to its surroundings. The boatyard once built and repaired wooden horse-drawn narrowboats and, having served the canals continuously for over 200 years, has become a visitor attraction within Banbury’s shopping development. Here two worlds exist in one place, and Tooley’s Boatyard, together with its museum and heritage centre is accessible to visitors from the shopping centre by an entrance akin to a Potteresque leap at Platform 9¾. The boatyard is also renowned for its connection with Tom Rolt who founded the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) during the 1940s ‘war’ to help keep canals open. Rolt’s narrowboat ‘Cressy’ was docked here before it set off on its legendary voyage around the canal networks. Rolt’s book ‘Narrow Boat’ recorded Cressy’s journey and the publication had an impact that passionately and powerfully helped give a voice to the canals in an era of decline.

It’s now time to retrace your route back to the marina from a different perspective.

Birmingham & Return from Springwood Haven

Other routes

Duration: 7 Nights
TOTAL LOCKS: 102
CRUISING TIME PER DAY: 6 HOURS PER DAY (39 TOTAL)

A journey from the peace and quiet of rural Warwickshire past Tamworth Castle and down into the hustle and bustle of the City of Birmingham with its multitude of themed attractions, theatres, restaurants and shopping opportunities

Collect your boat from Springwood Haven Marina, a welcoming marina nestled in a scenic valley of green fields and farmland.

Leaving the marina, you’ll turn left and proceed along a lovely peaceful lock-free stretch of canal, soon passing some interesting old Canal & River Trust buildings on the left.

After about an hour and a half you reach the town of Atherstone, an 18th century market town with a Visitor Centre covering the history of hat-making in the area and a 1940’s themed café. There are plenty of eateries here if you want to moor up for your first night afloat.

A series of 10 locks takes you down the hill from Atherstone and onwards to the village of Polesworth. There is an impressive Abbey, founded in the 9th century by St. Modwena and King Egbert. William Shakespeare went to school there!

Approaching Tamworth, look out for the ruins of Alvecote Priory, a 12th century Benedictine Priory, of which not much now remains, sadly. Continuing into Tamworth, you might want to visit Tamworth Castle, a family-friendly place packed with history but with a crazy golf course and an outdoor play park suitable for children up to 14.

It's time to leave the Coventry Canal and turn left onto the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, where Drayton Manor Theme Park is close to the canal just after the Coleshill Road Bridge. Drayton Manor is full of fun rides, a 15-acre zoo and Thomas the Tank Engine Land!  On the other side of the canal you’ll soon pass the Middleton Lakes Nature Reserve where you can get a fix of nature before heading for the city.

The canal now leads you close to the M42 motorway for a short while before turning away through the 57-yard Curdworth Tunnel and into the urban housing estates of Minworth. Keep going and you are at the aptly nicknamed ‘Spaghetti Junction’ where a maze of roads overhead is held up by 600 huge concrete pillars. Not exactly a thing of beauty in some people’s eyes, but a classic example of 1970s road building.

There are now just 2 flights of locks to navigate before you arrive in the city centre. First up are the 8 Aston Locks, soon followed by the 10 Farmers Bridge locks. Having reached the summit, turn left and you’ll find yourself at Gas Street Basin in the heart of Birmingham.

There are activities and attractions galore in Birmingham. Close to the canal are Sea Life, Legoland and Symphony Hall, and a short walk along the towpath brings you to the Mailbox, a luxury shopping complex housing Harvey Nichols, a boutique cinema and numerous canalside restaurants and bars.

After enjoying your stay in Birmingham, it’s time to retrace your steps back to the countryside and return your boat to Springwood Haven.

Market Harborough & Return from Springwood Haven

Other routes

Duration: 7 Nights
TOTAL LOCKS: 54
CRUISING TIME PER DAY: 9 HOURS (59 TOTAL)

A relaxing cruise, as the canal winds through uncluttered countryside. This route offers the rare chance to revel in remote landscapes with the drama of an idyllic lock flight and the heritage of two of Britain's canals’ most loved marinas.

Head south from Springwood Haven Marina along the Coventry Canal, past a series of nature reserves and landscape formed from the spoil heaps of former quarries, the most dramatic of which is known as Mount Judd. The canal winds past pretty gardens round the edge of Nuneaton, birthplace of the writer George Eliot.

You pass Marston Junction where, if time allows, the Ashby Canal heads off to the east. And just beyond Bedworth, at Hawkesbury Junction, a busy place filled with boats and a photogenic former engine house, another detour into Coventry may tempt too. The ruins of the original cathedral are a stark voice on the skyline of Coventry's own 'ground zero' left from the horror of World War II. In the 1960s a light of hope was built in the new cathedral. A bond between these two buildings that lean side by side is a powerful and emotional paradox.

The Oxford Canal heads southeast from Hawkesbury Junction to Brinklow, a short walk south of Stretton Stop with a 13th-century church and the remains of a medieval castle built to defend the Fosse Way which crosses the canal here. The short Newbold Tunnel (250yds/229m long) leads into Rugby, a place with a museum for a particular sport, then the distinctive paired Hillmorton Locks remind your crew they have a job to do.

Following the Grand Union Canal and its locks through Braunston, you’ve arrived at a much-loved hub for canal leisure seekers that was once one of Britain's busiest commercial trading points linking with London. Today the marina hosts the famous Braunston Historic Boat Rally one weekend every year. But at any time of year there’s plenty to explore here with its Horseley iron bridges, historic workshops, and a settlement steeped in history dating back to the Doomsday Book. After navigating Braunston Tunnel (2,042yds/1,867m long), your route turns north onto the Grand Union Canal - Leicester Section at Norton Junction.

The M1, the railway and the old Roman road (now the A5) hurl past the canal in their rabid hurry to reach the city. Watford Gap service station is their only respite from their race. A brief encounter with the noise of the M1 is ironically thrilling from the peaceful canal, a reminder of the part canals played in the evolution of Britain's transport system, and the quest to constantly redefine speed. The canal scrambles through Watford Locks, four of which form a staircase, before drifting away again into tranquil rolling fields and onwards into the echoing silence of Crick Tunnel (1,528yds/1,397m long).

Just beyond the tunnel, Crick Wharf offers an opportunity to walk into the village of Crick which is oozing with deep history. The Doomsday Book records the numbers of households as, “17 villagers. 6 smallholders. 4 slaves. 4 freemen. 1 priest”. Crick redefines this remote canal route as Crick Marina hosts one of the busiest gatherings of people anywhere on Britain's canals, the annual Crick Boat Show every May. If you collide with that weekend you can look forward to festival fun and traffic jams of bunting and gleaming boats butting side by side, making overnight mooring a more communal affair than normal. If you prefer quieter times and boating solitude, it’s prudent to travel with the boat show date in mind.

The canal meanders through bridges and round curious hills, and seems to deliberately miss the region's villages. Carrying on towards Foxton, the isolation increases with no locks for around 20 miles, and only trees to occasionally break the silence of the landscape. At Welford Junction, there’s the option to detour for 1½ miles along the Welford Arm to explore Welford and the reservoirs which supply the canal with water.

Just beyond North Kilworth Wharf, the open views are temporarily blackened by Husbands Bosworth Tunnel (1,166yds/1,066m long) then a couple of miles further on you arrive at the highlight of your journey. Foxton Locks is a staircase flight of 10 locks scrambling 75ft downhill. The passage of boats through these locks is the quiet drama that remains unchanged since the flight first opened in 1812. In their heyday, Foxton Locks served horse-pulled haulage boats laden with cargoes of sugar, tea, soap, tinned food, chemicals and paper. Look out for the old stables opposite the top lock, and allow time to visit the museum and explore the remains of Foxton Inclined Plane. The plane once lifted boats from the canal at the canal at the bottom of the hill, hauling them over dry land to the higher levels. This method of lifting boats up and down the hill took a fraction of the time of travelling through the locks, but after only 10 years in service the plane was deemed too expensive to maintain and was abandoned in 1911.

Below the locks, a right turn leads along the short Market Harborough Arm through an unspoilt landscape with only the A6 briefly interrupting the silence where it crosses the canal. Market Harborough is a historic market town that has attracted shoppers since the early 1200s. The tradition still thrives today, and there’s also a museum and plenty of pubs and cafés. Once you’ve finished exploring this elegant town, turn and enjoy this journey again back to the marina.

Shardlow & Return from Springwood Haven

Other routes

Duration: 7 Nights
TOTAL LOCKS: 58
CRUISING TIME PER DAY: 7.5 HOURS (49 TOTAL)

A route with tales of medieval times and reeds, special water used by monks to change a town’s fortunes and a vital inland port with links to pottery, the Industrial Revolution and ‘canal mania’. This journey is rural and even remote at times, yet trips in and out of bustling hubs that tell stories of canal-life to the passing traveller.

Please Note: If you'd like to moor at Coventry Basin you will need to pre-book. 

Turn northwards from the marina along the Coventry Canal. Atherstone was once a thriving centre for hat making and the attractive 11 Atherstone Locks (the majority of the locks on the entire Coventry Canal) take the canal down to open farmland. The railway and the River Anker shadow the canal and, passing the remnants of an unusual iron swing bridge, the canal ambles through Polesworth and past Pooley Country Park before ducking under the noisy M42.

A nature reserve has been created from the pools left by the mining industry at Alvecote. The canal passes the outskirts of Tamworth and descends another two locks at Glascote. The canal crosses the River Tame on the beautiful Grade II-listed Tame Aqueduct, before reaching Fazeley Junction, where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal heads off south towards Birmingham. Children aboard may want a quick visit to Drayton Manor Theme Park, just south of the junction.

The Coventry Canal Company ran out of money at Fazeley so the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal carries on for a couple of miles to the northwest of Fazeley Junction – though the Company later managed to buy the section from Whittington through to Fradley Junction, now a stranded portion of the Coventry Canal! (A stone by bridge 78 at Whittington marks where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal changes back to the Coventry Canal).

No mooring is allowed by the wooded hillside at Hopwas as this is the Whittington Firing Ranges (look out for the danger flags!) At Huddlesford Junction, the remains of what is now called the Lichfield Canal are used for moorings. If you have time, the city of Lichfield, two miles along the A38, has much to explore. Lichfield Cathedral is world famous and is the only three-spired medieval Cathedral in the UK. One of its highlights is an 8th-century carved panel of the Archangel Gabriel which was discovered in 2003. The close around the Cathedral dates back to medieval times, and the city is also renowned for its Georgian architecture. Samuel Johnson was born here in 1709, his birthplace now a museum. The writer, often referred to as Dr Johnson, published his ‘A Dictionary of the English Language’ in 1755, and according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is one of England’s most quoted people.

The Coventry Canal ends at Fradley Junction where it meets the Trent & Mersey Canal. Steer carefully as this junction is very popular with gongoozlers who will watch as you negotiate the sharp right bend from the Coventry Canal straight into Junction Lock. This is a busy hotspot with an award-winning nature reserve, and a pub and teashops to tempt you too.

Continue east through the locks along the Trent & Mersey Canal towards Alrewas. This pretty village sits close to the River Trent and was once famous for basket weaving from the trees which grew in the river’s floodplain. It is now known as the location of the National Memorial Arboretum, just under two miles from the canal. Below Alrewas Lock, the canal actually joins the river for a short way, so keep well away from the signposted weir.

From Wychnor Lock, the canal runs straight and parallel to the A38, formerly the old Roman road of Ryknield Street. At Barton-under-Needwood, the large marina makes an interesting stop-off as it is a mini shopping village with plenty of places to eat – there’s even an estate agency based on a boat! After descending Barton Turn Lock, the A38 parts company with the canal near bridge 36, so peace resumes. Branston Water Park, a Local Nature Reserve in a former gravel pit, offers walk trails and a café. It has one of the largest reed beds in Staffordshire so is home to varied species of plants and animals. Just beyond the park, the village of Branston is home of the famous pickle, first created here by Crosse & Blackwell in 1922.

The canal now reaches Burton-on-Trent where a visit to a pub is mandatory to soak up the town's famous brewing heritage. And if you have time, visit the National Brewery Centre. Brewing in Burton dates back to the Middle Ages when monks used to brew beer for their own consumption as well as for visitors. The town’s water created excellent beer, and the advent of the Trent & Mersey Canal enabled hops and barley to be easily transported in, and Burton’s beer to be transported out to much of the country. At its height, Burton had over 30 breweries producing hundreds of thousands of barrels of ale each year.

Meandering onward with bridges and aqueducts to keep you entertained, the canal passes the village of Willington where the railway shadows the canal, before reaching Stenson Lock, the first of a series of wide locks down to the canal’s start. In Shardlow, former warehouses stand with pride along the water's edge, reflecting the importance this historic inland port once held. Cargoes of the Industrial Revolution used to arrive on wide boats from the river and were unloaded into warehouses here before being reloaded onto narrowboats to be transported along the canal. There are over 50 listed buildings, and the Salt Warehouse, the oldest canal warehouse in the village, fittingly houses Shardlow Heritage Centre. The 18th-century Trent Mill, with its boat entrance below, is now a pub.

Derwent Mouth Lock, just to the east of the village, marks the start (or end!) of a 93-mile canal that once carried the fortunes of Josiah Wedgwood and his pots, and made James Brindley the most applauded canal engineer in the era of ‘canal mania’. The area known as the Potteries was one of the main reasons the Trent & Mersey Canal was built. Josiah Wedgwood (the world-renowned pottery manufacturer) was in the business of producing delicate products and, in his era of the 1700s, bumpy packhorse transportation was slow and precarious over existing rugged tracks. Wedgwood needed a better way to transport his finished products to buyers and also a more commercially efficient mode of getting the raw materials of coal, china clay and flint he needed for his factories. With Wedgwood as one of the main benefactors, the great engineer James Brindley was employed and, after an 11-year build, the Trent & Mersey Canal was opened in 1777. The Potteries then exploded into mass production and exported to the world, starting their journey by canal boat.

Once you’ve finished exploring Shardlow and its canal heritage, it’s time to retrace your journey back to Springwood Haven Marina.

Stoke Bruerne & Return from Springwood Haven

Other routes

Duration: 7 Nights
TOTAL LOCKS: 34
CRUISING TIME PER DAY: 7.5 HOURS (49 TOTAL)

Your rural cruise leads from iron bridges to idyllic thatched cottages, from sport to shoes. On a journey which tells of world-renowned engineering and mathematics, you will discover more of the heritage of the canals and ironically of our modern world.

Your journey takes you south from Springwood Haven Marina along the Coventry Canal, passing a series of nature reserves and landscape formed from the spoil heaps of former quarries, the most dramatic of which is known as Mount Judd. Skirting pretty well-kept gardens round the edge of Nuneaton, birthplace of the writer George Eliot, Marston Junction is where the Ashby Canal heads off eastwards.

And just beyond Bedworth, Hawkesbury Junction is a busy place filled with boats and a photogenic former engine house. A short detour along the last five or so miles of the Coventry Canal into Coventry may tempt you here. The ruins of the original cathedral are a stark voice on the skyline of Coventry's own 'ground zero' left from the horror of World War II. In the 1960s a light of hope was built in the new cathedral. A bond between these two buildings that lean side by side is a powerful and emotional paradox.

Through a lock at the junction, the Oxford Canal heads southeast to Brinklow, a short walk south of Stretton Stop with a 13th-century church and the remains of a medieval castle built to defend the Fosse Way which crosses the canal here. The short Newbold Tunnel (250yds/229m long) leads into Rugby, a place infamous for a particular sport. The Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum tells the story of how one schoolboy changed the course of sporting history. Just south of Rugby, Hillmorton Locks remind your crew they have a job to do. These distinctive locks are in pairs, originally doubled up to allow more traffic through this busy stretch  of canal, and the gates of locks 4 and 5 had special canal poetry carved into them as part of the celebrations when British Waterways became the Canal & River Trust in 2012.

At Braunston Turn, you now follow the Grand Union Canal and its locks through Braunston, a much-loved hub for canal leisure seekers that was once one of Britain's busiest commercial trading points linking with London. Canal engineer James Brindley built the Oxford Canal in his typical winding fashion, flowing around contours rather than bulldozing a straight course. When the much straighter Grand Union Canal was built, it stole much of the Oxford Canal’s commercial traffic - but the Oxford Canal fought back by charging extortionate tolls to use its water in the London to Birmingham link between Napton and Braunston. Today the marina hosts the famous Braunston Historic Boat Rally one weekend every year. But at any time of year there’s plenty to explore here with its Horseley iron bridges, historic workshops, and a settlement steeped in history dating back to the Doomsday Book.

After navigating Braunston Tunnel (2,042yds/1,867m long), your route turns southwards on the Grand Union Canal from Norton Junction. First the old Roman road of Watling Street (now the A5), then the railway and the M1 hurl past the canal in their rabid hurry to reach the city, a reminder of the part canals played in the evolution of Britain's transport system, and the quest to constantly redefine speed. The seven Buckby Locks take the canal down towards Weedon and its two aqueducts.

The canal now meanders through open farmland, mainly skirting round the villages which dot the landscape. Activity is centred on the boatyards and pubs which create occasional diversions from the calm until Gayton Junction where, if time allows, you could boat through the 17-lock flight taking the Northampton Arm of the Grand Union Canal down into the heart of Northampton. Renowned for its shoe making, dating back to medieval times, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery has the largest collection of historical footwear in the world, with over 12,000 pairs. After the successful fulfilment of a shoe and boot order for the army in the 1600s, the town received frequent bulk orders for army boots from the English Civil War onwards. Demand became so strong that by 1841, there were reputedly over 1,800 shoe makers working in the town, mostly from home workshops. Industrialisation later cemented this reputation and the amount of shoe factories increased. Today over 25 shoe manufacturers create crafted shoes here with customers including HRH Queen Elizabeth II. Even the town’s football team is called ‘The Cobblers’.

Continuing south, the canal skirts the village of Blisworth before disappearing into Blisworth Tunnel (3,076yds/2,813m long), the third longest navigable canal tunnel in Britain. The tunnel’s portal is Grade II-listed, and the tunnel has also been awarded a Transport Trust Red Wheel plaque. Work on the tunnel started in 1793 but the first attempt ended in disaster just 3 years later claiming 14 lives. It was rebuilt and opened in 1805. By the southern entrance is a huge concrete ring similar to those used to strengthen the tunnel in the 1980s. During the rebuilding, the tunnel was used to test materials later used on the mighty Channel Tunnel.

You emerge from the tunnel into the thatched village of Stoke Bruerne which spreads over both sides of the canal. To avoid descending Stoke Bruerne’s flight of seven locks, turn in the winding hole just beyond the tunnel to moor up and explore on foot. This bustling village dates back over 1,000 years and the canal arrived in its midst during the 1790s, giving much to explore including the Canal Museum housed in a former corn mill. Every September, the Village at War festival fills the canalside with 1940s music, fly-bys and World War II uniforms. Once you’ve had your fill of this much-loved canal hub, your journey back to the marina begins.

The East Midlands / Leicester Ring from Springwood Haven

Other routes

Duration: 10 - 14 Days
TOTAL LOCKS: 100
CRUISING TIME PER DAY: 6 - 8.5 HOURS (78 TOTAL)

This is a varied route which takes in the Coventry Canal, parts of the Oxford Canal, Grand Union Canal Leicester Line, the River Soar, a short section of the River Trent and part of the Trent & Mersey Canal.

With peaceful disregard for boundaries, this East Midlands route meanders through four counties, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. The Ring is an idyllic rollercoaster sweeping through wide open views and some of the best-loved highlights of England's canals. Rural and even remote at times, it flings in and out of colourful hubs that tell gripping stories of canal-life. And with rivers, aqueducts, lock staircases and 5 tunnels to navigate, it is a challenge for the helmsman's skills.
It is advisable to head south from the marina along the Coventry Canal to travel the ring anti-clockwise in order to follow the current of the River Soar later in your journey. The canal passes through a series of nature reserves and landscape formed from the spoil heaps of former quarries, the most dramatic of which is known as Mount Judd.

A Light of Hope in Coventry

Winding through the suburbs of Nuneaton, the canal soon reaches Marston Junction where, if time allows, the Ashby Canal heads off to the east. But just beyond Bedworth, at Hawkesbury Junction, a busy place filled with boats and a photogenic former engine house, another detour into Coventry may vie for your time too. The ruins of the original cathedral are a stark voice on the skyline of Coventry's own 'ground zero' left from the horror of World War II. In the 1960s a light of hope was built in the new cathedral. A bond between these two buildings that lean side by side is a powerful and emotional paradox.

Churches and Castles along Oxford Canal

The Oxford Canal heads southeast from Hawkesbury Junction to Brinklow, a short walk south of Stretton Stop with a 13th-century church and the remains of a medieval castle built to defend the Fosse Way which crosses the canal here. The short Newbold Tunnel (250yds/229m long) leads into Rugby, a place world-famous for a particular sport, then the distinctive paired Hillmorton Locks present the crew with their first challenge.

Boating in Braunston

Now follow the Grand Union Canal and its six locks through Braunston, a much-loved hotspot for canal leisure seekers that was once one of Britain's busiest commercial trading points linking with London. Today the marina hosts the famous Braunston Historic Boat Rally one weekend every year. But at any time of year there’s plenty to explore here with its Horseley iron bridges, historic workshops, and a settlement steeped in history dating back to the Doomsday Book. After navigating Braunston Tunnel (2,042yds/1,867m long), the route turns northwards onto the Grand Union Canal - Leicester Section at Norton Junction.

Railways to Rolling Fields

A brief encounter with the noise of the railway and the M1 is ironically thrilling from the peaceful canal. After scrambling through Watford Locks, four of which form a staircase, the canal drifts away again into tranquil rolling fields and onwards into the echoing silence of Crick Tunnel (1,528yds/1,397m long). The marina at Crick holds the annual Crick Boat Show every May, so if you collide with that weekend you can look forward to festival fun and traffic jams of bunting and gleaming boats.

Welford by Water

Carrying on towards Foxton the sense of isolation increases, and only trees occasionally break the silence of the landscape. At Welford Junction, there’s the option to detour for 1½ miles along the Welford Arm to explore Welford and the reservoirs which supply the canal with water. There are no locks for around 20 miles, and open views are only temporarily blackened by Husbands Bosworth Tunnel (1,166yds/1,066m long).

The 10 Locks of Foxton

Foxton is one of the highlights of your journey with a staircase flight of 10 locks scrambling 75ft downhill. In its heyday Foxton Locks served horse-pulled haulage boats laden with cargoes of sugar, tea, soap, tinned food, chemicals and paper. Look out for the old stables opposite the top lock, and allow time to visit the museum and explore the remains of Foxton Inclined Plane. The plane once lifted boats from the canal at the canal at the bottom of the hill, hauling them over dry land to the higher levels. This method of lifting boats up and down the hill took a fraction of the time of travelling through the locks, but after only 10 years in service the plane was deemed too expensive to maintain and was abandoned in 1911. Below the locks a short arm leads to Market Harborough, a historic market town that has attracted shoppers since the early 1200s.

From Headless Ghosts to Leicester’s Lively City

Continuing north the canal wiggles across fields and through Saddington Tunnel (880 yds/805m long). Wildlife enthusiasts should look out for bats in the tunnel, and it is said there's also the chance of spotting Anna, the headless ghost! Just beyond Fleckney, the canal descends with the first of Kibworth Locks and views that soar across Wistow Park. The canalscape becomes more urban and there are more locks to negotiate as you approach the city. Leicester is one of England's oldest cities, once a settlement of Celts, and in AD50 it was a Roman city with the Fosse Way Roman Road helping launch the city's tradition as a trading centre. There are remains of the baths at the Jewry Wall and artefacts kept in the nearby museum. Leicester is also home to the National Space Centre, and has lots of shops, places to eat, sports and leisure facilities too.

Steam Trains to Sawley

The charismatic River Soar leads you away from Leicester in style, passing Loughborough where you may want to stop and admire the steam trains of the Great Central Railway. Trent Lock sits at the crossroads where the history of three rivers and four canals collide with pride. Wild flora, water birds and narrowboats pirouette into an idyllic landscape under the shockingly beautiful gaze of Ratcliffe Power Station. Cruise briefly west on the River Trent and through Sawley Cut, calm home of the large Sawley Marina and its boats, until you reach the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Reminiscing the Industrial Revolution

Derwent Mouth Lock ingeniously tames the river into a canal. This unassuming spot marks the start of a 93-mile canal that once carried the fortunes of Mr Wedgwood and his pots, and made Mr Brindley the most applauded canal engineer in the era of ‘canal mania’. Travelling through Shardlow, history abounds as old warehouses stand with pride along the water's edge, reflecting the importance this historic inland port once held. Cargoes of the Industrial Revolution used to arrive on wide boats from the river and were unloaded into warehouses here before being reloaded onto narrowboats to be transported along the canal. There is a heritage centre and over 50 listed buildings in Shardlow.

Burton-on-Trent: The National Brewery Centre

The canal wanders onward with bridges, locks and aqueducts to keep you entertained until you reach Burton-on-Trent where a visit to a pub is mandatory to soak up the town's famous brewing heritage. And if you have time, visit the National Brewery Centre. At its height, Burton had over 30 breweries producing hundreds of thousands of barrels of ale each year. Your journey along the Trent & Mersey Canal carries on until Fradley Junction where it meets the Coventry Canal. This is a hotspot for wildlife spotting with an award-winning nature reserve, and there’s a pub and teashop to tempt you to stay a while too.

Coventry Canal

When you can drag yourself away, turn back onto the Coventry Canal through the swing bridge. A stone by bridge 78 at Whittington marks where the Coventry Canal changes to the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal - the result of a peculiar situation. The Coventry Canal Company ran out of money at Fazeley so the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal carries on for a couple of miles to the northwest of Fazeley Junction while the Coventry Canal heads northeast beyond the junction – though the Company later managed to buy the section from Whittington through to Fradley Junction, now a stranded portion of the Coventry Canal! No mooring is allowed by the wooded hillside at Hopwas and look out for danger flags as this is the Whittington Firing Ranges. Carry on through open landscapes to Fazeley Junction, where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal heads off south towards Birmingham. You may want to moor up for any children aboard who may like a quick detour Drayton Manor Family Theme Park which lies just south of the junction.

Coming Full Circle

Crossing over the beautiful Grade II-listed Tame Aqueduct, your route winds past Tamworth then Polesworth before a final burst of energy is needed for the 11 Atherstone Locks before you arrive back at Springwood Haven marina, having completed the full Ring.

The Warwickshire Ring from Springwood Haven

Other routes

Duration: 10 - 14 Nights
TOTAL LOCKS: 120
CRUISING TIME PER DAY: 4.5 - 6.5 HOURS (60 TOTAL)

This route takes in parts of the Oxford Canal, the Coventry Canal, the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal, Stratford Canal, Worcester & Birmingham Canal and the Grand Union Main Line. A great mix of rural and urban cruising.

With aqueducts, lock flights and tunnels to navigate, the Warwickshire Ring is a great challenge to test a helmsman's skills. This energetic route meanders through secret countryside, industrial heritage and into the canal capital of Birmingham. The Ring is a journey of junctions - the chameleon that ambles through the heart of the canals.

Setting off from Springwood Haven Marina, cruise southwards along the Coventry Canal. The canal is set in an open landscape, and passes a series of nature reserves and landscape formed from the spoil heaps of former quarries, the most dramatic of which is known as Mount Judd. Winding through the suburbs of Nuneaton, the canal soon reaches Marston Junction, where the Ashby Canal heads off to the east, well worth a detour if you have time in your itinerary.

The canal skirts the edge of Bedworth before Hawkesbury Junction, where another detour into Coventry may vie for your time too. The ruins of the original cathedral are a stark voice on the skyline of Coventry's own 'ground zero' left from the horror of World War II. In the 1960s a light of hope was built in the new cathedral. The bond between these two buildings that lean side by side is a powerful and emotional paradox.

Hawkesbury Junction is a busy place filled with boats, a pub and a photogenic former engine house. Once through the lock here, you are on the Oxford Canal and it’s now a gentle (if intruded upon for a while by the M69 and M6 motorways) lock-free journey as the canal skirts round most villages. Brinklow is a short walk south of Stretton Stop and has the remains of a medieval castle built to defend the Fosse Way which crosses the canal here, then the short Newbold Tunnel (250yds/229m long) marks the canal’s entrance into Rugby, which fans of a particular sport will be compelled to explore. The town is world famous for its connection with rugby and the Webb Ellis Rugby Football Museum tells the story of how one schoolboy changed the course of sporting history.

The distinctive Hillmorton Locks are in pairs, originally doubled up to allow more traffic through this busy stretch of canal, and the gates of locks 4 and 5 had special canal poetry carved into them as part of the celebrations when British Waterways became the Canal & River Trust in 2012.  It’s then an easy few miles south to the idyllic canal village of Braunston, at the junction between the Oxford and Grand Union Canals, once one of the busiest commercial trading points linking with London. Canal engineer James Brindley built the Oxford Canal in his typical winding fashion, flowing around contours rather than bulldozing a straight course. When the much straighter Grand Union Canal was built, it stole much of the Oxford Canal’s commercial traffic - but the Oxford Canal fought back by charging extortionate tolls to use its water in the London to Birmingham link between Braunston and Napton. Today its importance has not diminished as it has become a much-loved hotspot for canal leisure seekers and the marina hosts the annual Braunston Historic Boat Rally. There is much to explore in this settlement which dates back to the Doomsday Book, including the marina with its Horseley iron bridges and historic canalside workshops. All Saints’ Church is known as the ‘Cathedral of the canals’, having overseen the christenings, marriages and burials of generations of boaters.

The canal meanders westwards through quiet open country towards Napton Junction where the Grand Union Canal now heads north towards Birmingham. The appropriately named pretty village of Napton on the Hill is well-known for its windmill, which dominates the landscape and would have been a useful landmark for traditional boatmen in the commercial carrying days of the canal. Your crew’s work now begins in earnest as the three Calcutt Locks are quickly followed by 10 Stockton Locks and the staircase locks at Bascote as the canal descends into the Avon Valley. The canal skirts Leamington Spa, an elegant town with broad streets of Regency houses, where the Royal Pump Rooms offer the opportunity for a refined afternoon tea after a shopping spree. Almost immediately, Warwick calls for exploration to the south of the canal - its most famous attraction being of course Warwick Castle, dramatically overlooking the River Avon. 

Just outside Warwick, the rather daunting 21 Hatton Locks have the nickname 'Stairway to Heaven', but there’s a welcome teashop and pub at the top! And a breather for a couple of miles as the canal cuts through Shrewley Tunnel (433yds/322m long) before reaching Kingswood Junction. It is possible to continue north along the Grand Union skirting Birmingham, but your route takes the short link across to the Stratford Canal to climb the remainder of the Lapworth Flight and through Brandwood Tunnel (352yds/396m long).

At King’s Norton Junction, you head north on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal past the excitement of Cadbury World at Bournville and onward through the short Edgbaston Tunnel (105yds/96m long), to Birmingham city centre. The bronze bull of the Bullring, the markets, Antony Gormley's sculpture, designer shopping, multi-cultural panache and a spectacular controversial library - that's Birmingham. Yet first impressions don't give away the city's biggest secret. It is at the heart of Britain's canal network and spaghettis more miles of water than Venice (over 100 navigable miles of it!).The historic waterside hub is alive with bars and restaurants. Symphony Hall, ICC, Barclaycard Arena and Brindleyplace spoil visitors with choice and beg you to stay as long as you can. Birmingham’s famous markets are only a short walk from the canal, and there are also art galleries, museums, theatres and dizzy opportunities for shopping too.

Leaving the city via a quick succession of locks, the 13 Farmer’s Bridge Locks are quickly followed by the 11 Aston Locks, taking you to Salford (or Spaghetti) Junction and a right turn past the city’s trailing outskirts. Back in the countryside and through the diminutive Curdworth Tunnel (57yds/52m long), the 11 Curdworth Locks take the canal down to Fazeley Junction near which any children aboard may want a quick detour to Drayton Manor theme park.

Turning eastward and crossing over the beautiful Grade II-listed Tame Aqueduct, you are back on the Coventry Canal, a rather less energetic affair as it winds past Tamworth and into open countryside. Passing under the M42 just outside the small town of Polesworth, another burst of energy is needed for the attractive 11 Atherstone Locks before you arrive back at the marina, having completed the full circle.

Tixall Wide & Return from Springwood Haven

Other routes

Duration: 7 Nights
TOTAL LOCKS: 36
CRUISING TIME PER DAY: 5 HOURS (37 TOTAL)

This is a journey which takes you through landscapes of outstanding beauty. With stories of canal companies, pottery makers, and aristocrats who shaped their surroundings for their pleasure, you’ll meet wildlife and learn about language and perhaps new tiller skills!

Turn north from the marina along the Coventry Canal. A burst of energy is needed when you reach Atherstone, once a thriving centre for hat making, for the attractive 11 Atherstone Locks, the majority of the locks on the entire Coventry Canal. The locks take the canal down to open farmland. The railway and the River Anker shadow the canal and, passing the remnants of an unusual iron swing bridge, the canal ambles through Polesworth and past Pooley Country Park before ducking under the noisy M42.

A nature reserve has been created at Alvecote, from the pools left by the mining industry. The canal passes through the outskirts of Tamworth and descends another two locks at Glascote. The beautiful Grade II-listed Tame Aqueduct carries the canal across the River Tame before you reach Fazeley Junction, where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal heads off south towards Birmingham. Just south of the junction, Drayton Manor Theme Park may tempt any children aboard to ask for a quick detour.

The Coventry Canal Company ran out of money at Fazeley so the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal carries on for a couple of miles to the northwest of Fazeley Junction – though the Company later managed to buy the section from Whittington through to Fradley Junction, now a stranded portion of the Coventry Canal! (A stone by bridge 78 at Whittington marks where the Birmingham & Fazeley Canal changes back to the Coventry Canal).

There is no mooring allowed by the wooded hillside at Hopwas as this is the Whittington Firing Ranges (look out for the danger flags!) At Huddlesford Junction, the remains of what is now called the Lichfield Canal are now used for moorings. If you have time in your itinerary, the city of Lichfield, two miles along the A38, has much to explore. Lichfield Cathedral is world famous and is the only three-spired medieval Cathedral in the UK. One of its highlights is an 8th-century carved panel of the Archangel Gabriel which was discovered in 2003. The close around the Cathedral dates back to medieval times, and the city is also renowned for its Georgian architecture. Samuel Johnson was born here in 1709, his birthplace now a museum. The writer, often referred to as Dr Johnson, published his ‘A Dictionary of the English Language’ in 1755, and according to the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations is one of England’s most quoted people.

The Coventry Canal ends at Fradley Junction where it meets the Trent & Mersey Canal. The junction is a bustling hotspot with an award-winning nature reserve, a pub and teashops to tempt you to stop. It is also a popular spot for ‘gongoozlers’ (people who watch boating activity) so make sure your tiller skills are up to scratch as you turn sharply to head west along the Trent & Mersey Canal as it climbs through woodland.

Beyond Wood End Lock, almost nine lock-free miles wind the canal slowly through delicious English countryside. Lady Godiva, of Coventry fame, is said to have lived in King’s Bromley, a short walk north of bridge 54, and a cross in the churchyard is known as Godiva’s Cross.

The River Trent comes close to the canal as it passes through Handsacre and Armitage (best known for Armitage Shanks bathrooms). Josiah Spode, of the pottery family made famous by Josiah Spode the Elder, used to be organist at the local church and in 1861 bought an organ that was originally built in 1790 for Lichfield Cathedral. Josiah also gifted the church a stained glass window in 1868 in memory of his wife. Just outside Armitage, watch out for oncoming boats as the canal narrows where there was once a tunnel. The Hawkesyard Estate also has a connection to the Spode family who lived here in the 1800s when the Hall was known as Spode House.

Passing the outskirts of Rugeley, the chimneys of its power station clearly visible, an aqueduct carries the canal over the River Trent and the river stays close for the next few miles. The huge expanse of Cannock Chase can be seen to the south. This Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) covers 26 square miles and was once a Norman hunting ground. A herd of fallow deer are descended from generations of deer who grazed here.

There’s a popular mooring spot just below Haywood Lock to explore one of the highlights of your cruise. Shugborough Hall, dating back to 1693 and now a National Trust property, peeps over the canal as you approach the lock and calls you to visit. The estate was once the ancestral home of the Earls of Lichfield, of which the 5th, Patrick Lichfield the photographer, was perhaps the most well-known. Legend has it that the ladies of Shugborough Hall in the 18th century didn’t relish the uncouth idea of riding their own horses across Essex Bridge, a narrow packhorse bridge over the River Trent. So a new wider bridge was built to carry them in carriages, in all their finery, over the river to church in the village – only yards away!

The Trent & Mersey Canal carries on northwards at Great Haywood Junction, while you take a sharp turn under the bridge to join the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal. It’s rumoured that the junction’s beautiful cobbled bridge is the most photographed on the entire canal network.

Most modern people would see this stretch of canal as gloriously scenic, but in the 18th century one powerful local man wouldn't have agreed. Clifford Thomas occupied the once nearby Tixall Hall, and when canal builders first arrived to bring one of the ugly water-motorways of the era, he was unimpressed. To disguise the sweaty haulage route, he insisted they widen the water where it could be seen from his home. So after passing through a short tree-lined stretch, don't be surprised when the canal bursts open into the full drama of the lake-like widening, Tixall Wide.

Although it seems odd to us today that our idyllic narrow canals were once perceived as ugly, the disguise at Tixall Wide is still a treat. The meadow alongside the water is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and home to a variety of nesting birds, including heron, swans or even the blue flash of a kingfisher. Great Haywood is a popular daytime spot for geese, so there’s a chance to witness the hullabaloo of mass landing or take off and an arrow-shaped flight of geese flapping and honking in the sky. If you catch the air display here around dawn and dusk, you’ll understand how goose bumps got their name. Linger here as long as time allows and don't miss out on Great Haywood’s Canalside Farm, Shop & Café or a visit to the pub before you turn and set off on your return journey to Springwood Haven Marina.