From Bull´s Bridge Junction to The Islington Tunnel

Thirteen miles on the Paddington Branch of the Grand Union Canal took me from Bull´s Bridge Junction to little Venice. Here I turned into the Regent´s Canal branch of the Grand Union Canal where I went 3 miles to the Islington Tunnel.
Sorry, here comes even more boats :)

From Watford to Bull´s Bridge Junction

Back from Germany I felt for doing a missing part of the Grand Union Canal.
Weeks ago I had been taking the train from London to Watford in order to cycle in direction north.  This time I wanted to cycle the Grand Union down to London.
Tuesday was warm and dry so here we go.
Be prepared for loads of boats and colourful close ups the next 15 miles :)

From Barrow upon Soar to Ratcliffe on Soar

I got my tent packed under dry conditions, but it started to rain heavy as I went away from Barrow upon Soar.
As the canal merges into the River Soar, the towpath disappeared. I had to push over meadows with cows, and the gates were too small for my bicycle. Roundabout every 500 meters I had to get the luggage off and lift all my parcels over the fences. In the afternoon I had had enough, and took the train to Hucknall in order to stay with a friend of mine for some days.

Leicester

After Foxton I went to Leicester from where I took the train to Barrow upon Soar where I wanted to rest for a day.

Foxton Lock Flight

I managed to reach Foxton at lunchtime. Unfortunately the camp site I had found on my map didn't exist anymore, so I did some shopping and some washing in the disabled toilet on a car park before I visited the locks and the museum.
Foxton has 10 locks, but the most interesting was the boat lift which was in use between 1900 and 1911.

From Watford to Husbands Bosworth

In the next morning the police officers Charlotte and Less came up to me. They told me about a theft been reported by some of the boatmen, and I was told to dial 999 if I need help and tell the number of the bridge I were close by. They told me to take care on my journey, and wished me a pleasant travel before they left.
This day turned out to be the most exhausting day until now. The towpath sometimes was in a bad condition. It was a bumpy and I had to push a lot and to carry my bike over gates - and I nearly fell into the canal twice :)

Daventry

I had been told that the Leicester Branch of The Grand Union would be without any possibilities for shopping until Foxton so I decided to visit the town Daventry in order to get food and enough water for two days. In Daventry a lot of the old houses were built with a special kind of yellow sandstone which only could be found in this area.

From Blisworth to Norton Junction

The next part of my journey took me from Blisworth up to Norton Junction where I had to take the Leicester Branch of The Grand Union Canal up to its end in Eastwood.
I was happy to meet K and his dog, and I had the opportunity to go with boat for a part of the canal, I was even allowed to steer the boat for a while :) And I was offered to take a shower and to wash my clothes - so a lot of thanks for that!

People On Boats

In former times the boatman and his family was living on board. All of them in the small stern cabin of the boat.

Roses & Castles

Roses & Castles is the name for the traditional way of decorating the narrow boats. Read about it here.

Narrow Boats

 Many different boats are found on British canals and river navigations, narrow boats, barges, lighters, short boats, flats, tom puddings, keels, throws, tugs, dredgers, and more.

Stoke Bruerne and The Blisworth Tunnel

Romans arrived and called Towcester Lactodorum, Saxons´s built their "stoc" or village here and when the Normans compiled their Domesday Book, they recorded Swain Briwere as the lord of the manor. The biggest change however was the arrival of the canal which cut the village in two.
Stoke Bruerne lock flight is made of 7 locks and has a rise of 17 meter.
The village has a museum which is inside the former corn mill. The mill was built in the 1840´s and worked until 1913.

The Blisworth Tunnel is Britain´s second-largest usable canal tunnel. It runs for one and three quarter miles from Stoke Bruerne to Blisworth and was built after the canal opened because the first attempt to dig a tunnel was abandoned.

From Milton Keynes to Stoke Bruerne

I went by the locks of Fenny Stratford, the Iron Trunk Aqueduct, and Soloman´s Ornamental Bridge before i put up my tent on the towpath nearby Stoke Bruerne.

From Cowroast to Milton Keynes

I went by Bulbourne, the locks of Marsworth, and the Tring Reservoirs. The Tring Reservoirs are made up of four reservoirs built between 1800 and 1838 to supply water to the Grand Union Canal. These side ponds were built beside the Marsworth locks to save water. When the lock was emptied, half of the water was channelled into the side ponds to be used again next time the lock was filled. The water stores are no longer used, but are important for wildlife in the region.
My further way took me nearby the location where the Great Train Robbery took place. I went through Leighton Buzzard to a camp site near Milton Keynes.

Birds

The lark was singing from the sky and I was able to watch a lot of birds breeding or with their chicks :)

From Watford (London) to Cowroast Lock

I took the train from London Euston Station to Watford. Here I went through Cassiobury Park down to The Grand Union Canal. It was a bright and sunny day and the first windings of the canal with it´s locks and bridges fascinated me. I reached the Cowroast Lock in the evening, went under another bridge and behind a hedge I found a place to pitch up my tent for the night.

History of the Canals

New Adventures

Those of you who are watching closely could have seen that it has been 10 days between my posts from the 2nd of June and the 12th. In these 10 days I have been cycling along the towpath of the Grand Union Canal, from London, Watford, up to the end of the Leicester part of the Canal.
I am resting in Barrow Upon Soar before going further tomorrow.  Wait and see, pics from this adventure are coming up soon :)