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.


Monday, 30 July 2018

Fazeley Junction to Erdington. 2

We passed about a dozen locks today but I've just shown a couple of them below. They all lifted the canal higher as we approached Bimingham


Remarkably the canal allows a nice green entry into Bimingham, a major city, but certain things were apparent today. road noise was intrusive. First it was from the M42 and later the M6. It is really quite unpleasant when you are not used to it. Britain appears to be overpopulated with both people and cars. I put the photo of the bridge in below to remind me of the problem.

We came across another long tunnel today, The Curdworth Tunnel, but at only 52 metres long neither Sheil nor I experienced 'the walking uphill effect.'



The wind was very calm today and we got some very clear reflections in the canal. Sadly I only noticed them when looking at the photographs.

After nearly 4 hours we reached 'The Boat Inn' and we were hoping to get soup. Sadly the sign is misleading. They do not serve meals Mondays and Tuesdays!!!!!!

As we progressed into the city housing increased but it was not unpleasant at first but as we came nearer and nearer to our turnoff in the city gaffitti and litter increased.



The last photograph is the penultmate bridge to our turn off in Erdington. Our Hotel was about 3/4 mile uphill from the canal. It was a pleasant but noisy day and not too long at 19.8km and 10 minutes short of six hours.




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