Our Route


In July/August 2018 we walked from Liversedge in Yorkshire to Oxford, where possible, on canal towpaths.

The walk started on greenways in the Spen Valley until Ravensthorpe where we joined our first canal, the Calder and Hebble Navigation to Mirfield. In Mirfield we took a greenway to pick up the Huddersfield Broad Canal, after first getting slightly lost in the Colne Valley. We followed the Huddersfield Broad Canal into Huddersfield.

The next day we joined the Huddersfield Narrow Canal to the Standedge tunnel. As there is no footpath in the tunnel we walked over the Pennines, via the Wessenden Valley, to Diggle and the southern end of the tunnel. We followed the Huddersfield Narrow Canal to Ashton where we joined the Peak Forest Canal.

We followed the Peak Forest Canal to Marple where we turned off onto the Macclesfield Canal. We followed the Macclesfield Canal to Kidsgrove where we joined the Trent and Mersey Canal. Almost immediately we had to leave the Canal, as it entered the Harecastle Tunnel, and follow a modified version of the route taken by draught horses in the early days. We rejoined the towpath at the southern end of the tunnel.

We followed the Trent and Mersey Canal to Fradley where we joined the Coventry Canal which we followed to Fazeley Junction, where we joined the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal.

We should have left the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal where it passes under the M6 and joined the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal, as we were going through Warwick. However we missed the junction. Even so I thought we could go into central Birmingham and then head East towards Solihull and our accommodation.

We could have corrected our first mistake at Aston Top Lock and turned East on the Digbeth Branch Canal but missed our turn and headed into Birmingham. We almost reached the centre before we realized this second mistake. However from a canal and engineering aspect, the walk into central Birmingham was really interesting. It was a rewarding, if somewhat tiring mistake.

We walked back to the Aston Top Lock and followed the Digbeth branch for a short way to the Grand Union Canal, which was soon joined by the Birmingham and Warwick Canal, which we should have taken in the first place.

We followed the Grand Union Canal all the way to Napton Junction. At Napton Junction we turned south on our final canal, the Oxford Canal, which we followed to its end in Oxford.

We started on Monday, July 16 and finished on Monday, August 13. We walked 248 miles. We travelled for 29 days, with 5 rest days, thus averaging about 10 miles per day on our walking days.


Tuesday, 31 July 2018

Aston Junction to Solihull.

The first photograph below is a view north to the bridge at Aston Junction that we should not have crossed. We came south from behind the bridge and should have turned to our left into the Digbeth branch canal, i.e. turned down the channel to the right in the photograph.
The path initially rural led through a smart, new office area

but within five minutes we were underground, in a quite long tunnel. At least it was illuminated.
We came out on the campus of Aston University with its beautiful location beside the locks before within a further few miutes descending into a tunnel again.


Shortly after emerging from the tunnel we had views towards central Birmingham and the 'Bull Ring' from Digbeth Junction where we branched left onto the Grand Union Canal.
Ten minutes along the Grand Union Canal and we were joined, from the north by the Canal we failed to find the start of this morning under the M6. The location seemed to be particularly popular with graffitti 'artists.'
As we left the city behind the canal was more and more tree lined but the atmosphere was spoilt by an enormous amount of litter along the banks of the river and floating in it, especially before bridge 67.

Approaching our turn off for the day, at Solihull, the surroundings and the canal condition started to improve somewhat. Surprisingly the B&B owners have a narrow boat on the canal and we should pass it as we head towards Hatton Station tomorrow.



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