Marston Doles - Napton Locks - Lower and Upper Shuckburgh - Napton on
the Hill - Marston Doles Circular Walk.
This 23km circular walk was really enjoyable - the as always beautiful Oxford
Canal offers lots of locks and bridges to look at as it wanders about through
the English countryside for the first half of the walk and then there is a nice bit of
hill climbing to get up to Upper Shuckburgh and then Napton on the Hill before a
descent back to Marston Doles.
There is a little bit of car parking available at
Marston Doles - we are unaware of any public transport which can get you there though.
Whilst working out how to walk this stretch of the Oxford Canal
we considered a taxi from Braunston to Marston Doles in order to just walk the towpath one way
and we were quoted UKstg25.
The maps used for these walks were the O.S. Explorer 206 221 and 222.
Simply head north on the canal towpath soon passing Napton Locks - the
towpath was in reasonable condition and the countryside is beautiful. You get
nice views of Napton on the Hill as the
towpath winds below it - eventually the
Grand Union joins the Oxford Canal at Napton Junction. From the junction the
towpath we found to be in a very poor state - heavily overgrown and various bits
had collapsed. Eventually the church at Lower Shuckburgh comes into view across
fields on the right - shortly after this you reach Bridge 104 - leave the canal
here. Cross the bridge and walk up to Lower Shuckburgh and it's pretty church
which makes an ideal place for a lunch break - unusually there is no seating at
the church but you can use the wide steps by the front door.
From the church cross the main road and take the footpath opposite - the path
heads up and across a field towards a farm but continues past it on the right.
After crossing a small muddy stream continue heading upwards to reach a fire
beacon. Continue on up to reach a cross path - divert left because hidden up in
the trees is a really pretty church - Upper Shuckburgh. From the church walk
back on the path to reach a wood edge - now continue up hill to reach beacon
hill and a trig point. Continue to the wood edge and then turn right - this path
undulates across two fields to reach a small road. Go left and then immediately
right on another path again crossing fields to another road. Turn right and then
shortly left on another road - look out for a path on the right a little way
down the road - this path goes to the left of a sports area and then climbs up
eventually on a small road to reach a t-junction. Turn right and then left on a
small road which heads steeply up to Napton's Church. There are really great
views from up here and also there are lots of seats around the churchyard for a
short rest and break.
A path leaves the churchyard from the front of the church - follow this steeply
down into the village - crossing one road and arriving at a more major road.
Turn right and follow the road passing Holroyd Farm and Chapel Green -
then a road junction by Lower Farm take a footpath on the right which crosses
fields - follow this eventually passing what little remains of the old feeder
arm and buildings - the feeder arm is full of rushes and undergrowth and the Old Engine House
has seeminly been used as a cow-shed - it's just a bit of brickwork and lots of rusty old
corrugated iron sheets. We had diverted particularly to see this old building and to be honest
it was not worth the effot. From here continue along in the original direction across the fields to arrive back
at Marston Doles.
Lower Shuckburgh to Braunston
- a sort of circular.
Park at Lower Shuckburgh by Bridge 104 - simply cross the bridge and go onto
the towpath heading east - yet again the towpath soon deteriorates into a
bramble and nettle mess with also parts where it has collapsed into the canal.
Nevertheless the canal is really nice to walk along with loads of wildlife and
flora and countryside to enjoy as well as various canal and old railway bridges
to enjoy. In particular just after Bridge 101 Nethercote Bridge there are the
remains of where a railway bridge once crossed the canal - if you walk to the
left down off the towpath you can see another bridge which is still in good
condition - well worth the diversion.
Only the last part into Braunston where
you walk along the (once) aqueduct does the towpath become in good condition for
walking and cycling. At Braunston Turn the Oxford Canal continues to the left
but we actually went right going along the Grand Union Canal into Braunston.
If you want to look around the town come off at Bridge 91 - otherwise continue
along the towpath as far as the entrance to Braunston Tunnel passing several
locks in the process. To continue the walk return to Bridge 91 - take the marked
footpath to cross an open area where there were two medieval villages to reach
Wolfhamcote Church. From the church continue passing a farm on the right and
continue straight ahead to eventually cross an old railway line and then reach
the Oxford Canal at Bridge 98. From here simply wander your way back to Lower
Shuckburgh.
Braunston to Rugby - there and taxi back.
This stretch was done by parking near the church at Braunston and then
walking the canal up to Rugby at Bridge 59 - we wanted to walk in this direction
particularly because the fairly low sun was behind us - walking any distance
with the sun in your face is not too nice after a while because of the glare.
There is an hourly bus service running from Braunston to Rugby and back and we expected we might use this bus out of Rugby to get back. However we took ages to do the walk as we kept diverting to look at old railway bridges and so on so it was quite late when we eventually got to Rugby - we just missed the bus so got a taxi back instead - cost was 15 UKstg. The towpath is quite rough and somewhat collapsed in places though there were signs that is was being cleared of bramble and nettle - once you get nearer to Rugby it is in good condition.
Rugby to Brinklow - there and back.
To do this part we parked by the Oxford Canal at Grimes Bridge (on the outskirts of Brinklow)
where there is a limited amount of free parking available - if we had walked it
from Rugby we would have had an expensive car parking bill for a start.
Therefore this time we actually walked the canal in reverse i.e. Brinklow to
Rugby's Bridge 59 and back - a total of 16 miles. The towpath is in really good
condition most of the way with just short parts having some overgrown sections
and these were not anything like as bad as for instance around Braunston.
There
is lot's to see along the canal - including several old iron canal bridges which
have been restored - these leading into various arms. The railway line
accompanies the canal for quite a while and the bridges are really nice to look
at - also several dis-used railway lines once crossed the canal and several of
the bridges or their remains can be seen.
You have to go through Newbold Tunnel with it's spooky lights and then when you
reach the aqueduct at Bridge 54 you can walk down the bank and go under the
bridge and admire the brickwork etc. - you cannot do this at Bridge 55 very
easily as there is no path and the embankment is very steep.
Brinklow to Hawkesbury Junction via Ansty - there and back.
The complete lack of public transport around here meant that we again
had to walk the Oxford Canal there and back - no buses or trains and potential
taxi costs meant that was no option either.
Nevertheless the walk was really
enjoyable with lots to look at - especially the bits where the old railway lines
and also where the original Oxford Canal criss crossed the canal.
The towpath on this part of the Oxford Canal is
quite poor in places with the path being virtually non-existent in short bits
where it has collapsed into the canal. One stretch between Bridges 13 and 11 are apparently earmarked for
repair from September 2007 to November 2007 but although the stretch in question
is not too good there are far worse bits that in our view should have been sorted
out first. Also there were quite a lot of nettles and long bramble strands on
the "towpath" - quite a hazard if you were cycling and got a big whippy thorny
bramble in your face. It really is interesting how British Waterways frequently
publicise the use of their canals for not just boating but for cyclists and
walkers - perhaps they should first get on their feet and walk or cycle some of
it first.
We decided to walk the Oxford Canal from Grimes Bridge - this is only a little way out of
Brinklow - there is a small parking area just by the bridge.
The railway accompanies the Oxford Canal for a while before disappearing off as the
canal does one of it's regular bending sequences near Ansty.
Of particular note just after Bridge 24 you see the large arched bridge of the
still used railway line - on the left of the towpath you can see the brickwork
from a bridge - walk down the bank and there is canal bridge 20 - really
interesting.
Hawkesbury Junction has the last or first lock on the Oxford Canal and where it
meets the Coventry Canal - this is
also known as Sutton StopLock. There are a couple of bench seats in the area as well
as several public houses as well as an old restored engine house.
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