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.


Thursday, 26 July 2018

Stone to Great Haywood. 1

We were away from our B&B at 9:30am and at the canal within ten minutes. Luckily Shiel prevented a disaster, she saw a frog on the steps from the lock down to the canal where it would most likely be stepped on. After a bit of faffing about I moved it to what I hoped was a safer location. I haven't seen a frog in years!


It was a lovely rural walk today. It was also very warm and sunny again, all day.The Trent and Mersey Canal was much wider than other canals we've walked beside, until it came to the locks.



The canal was pretty busy and we realised why when we passed the entrance to the Aston Marina after walking about 40 minutes beside the canal. In places the edge of the towpath was overgrown but there were some great rural views. The air was cleaner than in Stoke, but at time the noise from the A51 which ran close by was intrusive.





The railway ran to the east of the canal, today it was very close but sadly no train went past so you could see how close. The river Trent itself was at times visible from the towpath to the west of the canal.




There were quite a few permanent moorings, or at least we thought they were, at the far side of the canal. People have gardens, ornaments and even sheds beside the canal. Just before we stopped for lunch we passed this narrowboat, which today at least had an appropriate name (Upon Reflection).


After 3.5 hours we were able to have a refreshment break. We stopped at the Saracen'sHead, Weston, for a shandy.



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