The Wendover Canal Arm in The Chilterns - England.

Towpath, locks and bridges plus photos and information about the really beautiful Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal in England.

The Wendover Arm of the Grand Union Canal runs from the small Buckinghamshire town of Wendover to Bulbourne Junction and was originally designed as a feeder arm to provide scarce water for the main line canal system which was around 400 feet above the Thames at this point. Commenced in 1793 the plans were soon altered as it was realised that the feeder arm could be made to be navigable at little extra cost. However not long after completion it then became apparent that the Wendover Arm was leaking water and despite several fixes over the years the water loss soon became greater than the amount it was actually providing to the Grand Union and so the Wendover Arm was eventually sealed off at the stop lock at Little Tring. Instead the water being provided by the various springs around Wendover was culverted and the canal arm remains dry between Little Tring Farm and a little before Drayton Beauchamp Bridge.
Therefore only a short part of the Wendover Arm is navigable for narrowboats - namely from Bulbourne Junction Bridge to several 100 yards past Little Tring Bridge no.3 where there is a good sized turning point. Incidentally there is a nice looking old mill next to Gamnel Bridge - excellent brickwork and the mill is still in full commercial use.

From Drayton Beauchamp Bridge on into Wendover the Arm is quite shallow, heavily silted and full of undergrowth with gorgeous trees bordering it's sides for much of the way however it is still wet and therefore a haven for wildlife. The towpath is in excellent condition for walkers and for cycling and there are a considerable amount of paths linking onto the towpath which makes for some really good circular hiking trips.

Little Grebe

Moorhen

Wendover Arm in Summertime

Towpath on the Wendover Arm

winter on the Wendover Arm

Narrow channel on the Wendover Arm

late Autumn on the Wendover Arm

heavy foliage on the Wendover Canal Arm

The Wendover Arm

lots of wildlife live on the Wendover Arm

Reservoirs and the leaky Wendover Canal Arm. Between 1806 and 1817 Marsworth, Tringford and Startop reservoirs were added to help provide a water supply for the main line and the water was pumped through via the Tringford Pumping Station which is still there - it's located close to Little Tring Bridge (see below photo). There are two other reservoirs helping to provide much needed water to the Grand Union which were added onto the supply system a few years later. These reservoirs are Startop's End and the 70 acre Weston Turville Reservoir - the latter has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
Also a little way below is a picture of Drayton Beauchamp Church - this beautiful church can just be seen from the towpath of the Wendover Arm - but only in the winter before the heavy foliage blanks the view out.

Bulbourne Drydock

Bulbourne Junction Bridge

Start of the Wendover Arm

Canal Sluice

Gamnel Bridge

Wendover Arm - Gamnel Bridge

Mill Buildings on the Wendover Canal

Tringford Pumping Station

Stop Lock remains

all that remains of the Stop Lock

Little Tring Bridge no.3

Restoring the Wendover Arm

Canal Restoration on the Wendover Arm

Pat Saunders footbridge no.4

Remains of a
pump station

Chiltern footbridge 4a

Drayton Beauchamp Bridge 5

Drayton Beauchamp Church

One end of the old canal route

Saxon Way Bridge

Saxon Way Bridge

Old Canal Arm route

Buckland Wharf footbridge

footbridge at Buckland Wharf

A41 culvert.

Wellonhead Bridge

Wendover Arm - Wellonhead Bridge

The Narrows

Harelane Bridge

Wendover Arm
Harelane Bridge

The Wendover Arm has received only one short diversion which occurred when the canal was diverted a short distance to allow the new road (A41) to cross the canal using Saxon Way Bridge. Just above a photo shows The Narrows - these concrete wharfs are just below the water line now - they go for some distance and probably allowed 3 to 4 narrowboats to be unloaded. The entire Wendover Arm is full of wildlife however as you pass by the reed beds and particularly from Harelane Bridge and getting nearer to Wendover itself there are quite a number of ducks, coots, moorhen and swans living on and around The Arm - much of this wildlife and in particular the ducks do expect to be given food and might well blockade the towpath until their "bread toll" is payed.

Rothschilds Bridge

Bright blue Rothschilds Bridge

Halton Bridge

Perch Bridge

Perch Bridge and Pipebridge

Footbridge

Wendover Arm footbridge

Wendover Basin.

End of the Wendover Arm

Heron Stream

There is a nice example of a canal pipe bridge by Perch Bridge (see above) - these pipe bridges have much more thought and design in them than the crappy concrete - no thought on design just pour the concrete everywhere - mess that are often built today and sometimes sadly cross our lovely canals.
The Wendover Arm perhaps unsurprisingly ends up in Wendover itself - where Heron Stream feeds into it.

Our topics which are particularly related to the Wendover Arm are:
The Grand Union Canal at Bulbourne Junction
The nearbye Aylesbury Arm which leaves from Marsworth Junction
Various walks in the English countryside which can be enjoyed around the area

We have picked out a few Books about England - Churches, Canals and Rivers as well as walks in England and English Nature. The Nicholsons Waterways Guides are a "must take" for anyone going on a Canal Barge or Narrowboat holiday (as well as anyone visiting the canals) as they are packed with really useful information. (The relevant Nicholson Guide covering The Wendover Arm is BOOK 1). If the development and history of our Canals is of particular interest consider the Anatomy of Canals series - really good reading!.