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Grand Union Canal Walk

Grand Union CanalLondon to Birmingham
234km/145 miles EASY
Signed

A lengthy towpath walk connecting the two city centres, via Tring, Braunston, Warwick and much peaceful countryside which can also provide the basis for various short walks.

The canal began as the Grand Junction Canal, opened in 1805 to link the river Thames with the Oxford Canal at Braunston. This was later connected with another canal from Birmingham towards Warwick. The whole system, including various 'arms' or branches, was renamed the Grand Union in 1929, and the towpath was signed as a walking route in the early 1990s.

The signed Grand Union Canal Walk starts at Little Venice near Paddington. There is an alternative start at Brentford on the river Thames, actually the original route of the Grand Junction Canal, and the two join at Bull's Bridge near Hayes (8km/5 miles). From Paddington eastwards the canal continues as the Regent's Canal to Limehouse Basin (13km/8 miles), and this route also provides a towpath walk; although not signed as the Grand Union Canal, with a street-based link avoiding the Islington tunnel indicated by pavement plaques.

Other arms of the canal are:

  • Slough Arm Cowley to Slough 6.5km/4 miles
  • Wendover Arm Bulbourne to Wendover 10km/6 miles
  • Aylesbury Arm Marsworth to Aylesbury 10km/6 miles
  • Northampton Arm Gayton to Northampton 8km/5 miles

Additonally, the Grand Union Canal Leicester Line (sometimes called the Old Grand Union Canal) connects Watford Gap with Langley Mill, Heanor (126.5km/79 miles), with a branch from Foxton to Market Harborough (8km/5 miles).

In the north, the canal itself ends at Salford (Spaghetti) Junction, but the signed walk turns off to Gas Street Basin in central Birmingham where it connects with the dense canal network of the west Midlands.

The following shorter walks connect with the canal, using sections of it and providing alternative routes:

Hillingdon Trail

Cranford to Harefield 32km/20 miles. An alternative route in the west of London, using parks, woodlands, nature reserves and riverside walks along the Yeading Brook to connect the London LOOP, the Paddington Arm of the canal near Southall, and Springwell Lock in the far northeast corner of London.

Colne Valley Trail/Colne Valley Way

Staines, Colnbrook or Langley to Rickmansworth 32km/20 miles, with branching Ramble and Ride routes to Slough and Chorleywood, and between Colnbrook and Staines via Wraysbury. The Trail is a multi-user route from Colnbrook or Langley via Uxbridge to Rickmansworth, forming a local network with the Grand Union Canal Walk through the Colne Valley Regional Park. The Way is a countryside walk through the southern part of the Park, connecting the Thames at Staines with the Grand Union Canal at Cowley Lock through moors, wetlands and nature reserves. There is an ongoing plan to merge the Way and the Colne Valley Ramble and Ride walks into the Trail, which will become the principal promoted route network in Colne Valley Park.

disability logoMuch of the Walk is on flat, surfaced towpaths and many sections are accessible with ramps and gates suitable for wheelchairs: for details contact British Waterways. All but a short section of the Colne Valley Trail is wheelchair-accessible: contact the Regional Park. Accessible sections of the Hillingdon Trail are shown in its routecard pack.

Public Transport

  • The southern end of the path is extremely well-served by London's dense public transport network, with National Rail suburban trains, Underground, Docklands Light Rail or buses always close at hand. South and east of Rickmansworth the path is entirely within the London zonal fares area with Travelcards and other multi-modal tickets available. For more on transport in London, click here.
  • Limehouse has DLR services to Bank, Tower Gateway, Stratford, Beckton and Greenwich, and c2c trains to Fenchurch Street, Upminster and Southend. Paddington is a principal main line rail terminal with Great Western services to Bristol and the west of England, Thames Trains services to west London and along the Thames Valley to Reading and Oxford, Heathrow Express to Heathrow Airport, and London Underground Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines. Brentford has trains to Hounslow, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo, and numerous buses.
  • Between Hanwell and Slough the route roughly parallels the railway line between Paddington and Reading, with stations on or near the line at Hanwell, Southall, Hayes & Harlington, West Drayton, Iver, Langley and Slough, where there are also services to Windsor & Eton Central.
  • Uxbridge has Metropolitan and Piccadilly Line Underground services to central London. Denham, just off the route, has Chiltern Line services to Aylesbury, Banbury and London Marylebone. Rickmansworth, Wendover and Aylesbury are all connected by another branch of the Chiltern Line to London Marylebone.
  • Between Kings Langley and Northampton the route roughly parallels the railway line between London Euston and Birmingham, with stations served by Silverlink trains at Kings Langley, Apsley, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted, Tring, Cheddington, Leighton Buzzard, Fenny Stratford (on the local line between Bletchley, for London services, and Bedford) and Northampton.
  • Between Milton Keynes and Leamington Spa the route is more rural, with no stations, though there are connections with local buses at various points.
  • Between Leamington Spa and Birmingham the route roughly parallels the railway line between Banbury and Snow Hill, with stations served by Centro and some Chiltern Line trains at Leamington Spa (also trains to Coventry), Warwick (trains to Stratford-upon-Avon, buses to Coventry and other destinations), Warwick Parkway, Hatton, Lapworth, Solihull (a little way off-route, with bus connections), Olton, Acocks Green, Tylesley, Small Heath, Bordesley and Snow Hill (metro to Wolverhampton).
  • Birmingham has frequent rail, bus and metro services to all parts of the west Midlands. New Street station offers numerous fast rail services to London and Virgin services to other major destinations across the country. Birmingham local services are coordinated by Centro and covered by the Centrocard scheme. See West Midlands regional page.

For more on finding out about services and fares, click here.

Publications

There is currently no single publication covering the whole route which is aimed primarily at walkers, though the walk is shown on OS maps and is easy to find on the ground, and the following publications cover parts of the route:

  • The Grand Union Canal (South) by Nick Corble, ISBN 0 7524 3539 6.
    Covers the canal from Milton Keynes to Brentford (not including the Paddington Arm), giving background and historical information and listing facilities, services, transport options. Intended for boaters and other towpath users as well as walkers, who would be advised to use current OS maps in addition to the basic maps included. [10/05]
  • London's Canals, free leaflet from British Waterways London Office.
    Useful multi-purpose guide to the London section of the Grand Union and the Regents Canal.
  • Walking the East End's canals. Leaflet describing a loop from Limehouse Basin using Limehouse Cut, Lee Navigation, Hertford Union and Regent's Canal. Free from Tower Hamlets council or British Waterways London office.
  • A variety of free leaflets covering different sections of the canal is available from British Waterways local offices (see below)
  • Stepney on the Waterfront. Free leaflet from Lea Rivers Trust (see Lee Valley Park page), on walking the Regent's Canal towpath between Limehouse Basin and Mile End Road.
  • Hillingdon Trail, pack of route cards, £2 + 50p p&p from Hillingdon Central Library.
  • Colne Valley Way, free leaflet from Colne Valley Park. Please send SAE.
  • Colne Valley Trail, free leaflet from Colne Valley Park. Please send SAE.
  • Colne Valley Circular Walks, various. Free or 25p each. Contact Colne Valley Park for details.
  • Water from Wendover: the story of the Wendover Arm Canal by Shelley Savage. £4.95 + 55p p&p from Wendover Arm Trust (see below).
    Colourful booklet on the history of the branch to Wendover, including three short and easy suggested walks.
  • Note: The Aurum Press recreational route guide is now out of print with no plans to reprint, thought the route is well-signed and very easy to find on the map.

Contacts

  • British Waterways
    The following local offices are responsible for individual sections of the Canal:
    London - Uxbridge: Southall
    Uxbridge - Weedon: Marsworth
    Weedon - Warwick: Oxford Canal office
    Warwick - Napton Junction: Warwick
    Napton Junction - Birmingham: Birmingham
  • Colne Valley Park
  • Old Union Canals Society 5 Bollington Road, Oadby, Leicester LE2 4ND
  • Wendover Arm Trust 69 Wenwell Close, Aston Clinton, Aylesbury HP22 5LG, tel 01442 827702
    www.wendoverarmtrust.co.uk

Regions

Local authorities

Grand Union:

Leicester Line:

Connecting routes

Parks and countryside

Maps

Route is shown on maps.

  • Waterway maps 1 Birmingham to Fenny Stratford, ISBN 0 86351 141 4
    2 Braunston to Kings Langley, ISBN 0 86351 142 2
    3 Fenny Stratford to the Thames, ISBN 0 86351 143 0
    4 Leicester Line, Soar & Erewash Canal, ISBN 0 86351 144 9
    GEOprojects £4.75 each.
    1:60 000 scale, also showing towpath, with larger scale insets of urban sections, background information but no public transport details. Map 2 duplicates parts of Maps 1 and 3 to show the most popular central section on one sheet.

Local street atlases may be more useful in built-up areas. See Walking in West Midlands: Maps
More about maps

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