The Grand Union Canal between Wolverton and Horton Lock no.21. outside of Slapton.

Grand Union Canal Locks, Bridges and other features including pump houses which can be found along England's Grand Union Canal as it travels from Wolverton via Soulbury Locks to Horton.

The Grand Union Canal towpath is in excellent condition on the whole of this stretch and both walking and cycling are easy with no hazards of brambles, potholes or bank collapse as found around Braunston. Wolverton is located at the top of Milton Keynes and has been pretty well absorbed by this concrete and brick sprawl but apart from a few really ugly concrete road bridges and occasional road noise the proximity of Milton Keynes does not generally affect the canal.

In fact as the canal wanders around the top and right hand side of this city it is enclosed by lots of gorgeous trees and parkland and is an excellent walking area to pick if you are on holiday or visiting the area. As the canal heads south it passes Fenny Stratford (now absorbed by Bletchley (which is itself being absorbed by Milton Keynes)) - then on by Water Eaton - just after Bridge 99 you suddenly leave the City and find yourself wandering through lovely countryside - even better.
There are a few locks along here as the canal heads into Leighton Buzzard - including the pretty little set of locks at Soulbury (Three Locks). Once again the fact that the canal is passing through a large town (Leighton Buzzard) does not spoil the walking enjoyment as the surrounds are really pleasant. From here the Grand Union Canal continues it's southwards path through really open countryside - as shown by our photos on this page with the canal just past Slapton Locks at Horton.

** Please note any prices i.e. trains - car parking - train times etc. reflect what we found when we walked the canal and things might have since changed so should be checked.

Grand Union Canal Bridge 71

railway bridge - Grand Union near Wolverton

Grafton Street Aqueduct and sluicece

Footbridge Grafton

Bridge 72

Bridge 74

Grand Union Canal bridge 75

Bridge 76

Bridge 76a

Bridge 77 with its footbridge alongside

Bridge 77

Bridge 78

Bridge 78b

Bridge 79

re--furbished brick kilns

** Walking and Cycling on The Grand Union Canal - getting to various starts. We walked the 9 mile stretch between Wolverton and Fenny Stratford by initially parking at Bletchley (at the time it was free parking on Sundays) and getting the train up to Wolverton (£3.10 single fare) - there were 2 trains an hour at time of writing and also for cyclists the train company allows bikes on board free of charge. Note that you leave the canal at the end of the walk at Fenny Stratford Bridge 96 and have to walk around a mile or so back up to the railway station at Bletchley - this made our walk a total of around 19kms though we did make several short detours to look at "things we spotted".
Fenny Stratford to Horton Lock 31. We did this trip on a Saturday - there are trains once an hour from Cheddington Station (free parking Saturdays/Sundays) to Bletchley (£4.90 single fare) and again cycles can be carried out of peak times (hardly any trains on Sundays though). This time of course you have to then walk down to Fenny Stratford before commencing the 12 mile walk along the Grand Union Canal back to Slapton - then it's about a mile back to to Cheddington railway station. We measured the whole walk at 23 kms though we did do a couple of minor detours.

Road Bridge 79a

Grand Union Canal Bridge 79b

Bridge 79c

Dansteed Way bridge 79d

Canal Bridge 80a

Grand Union Canal
bridge 81

ugly concrete canalbridge 81a spoiling the Canal

Bridge 81b

Grand Union Canal
bridge 82

gruesome concrete
New Bridge 82a

New Bridge 82a - the other half of this ugly mess

Bridge 83 enhances
the Grand Union Canal

Bridge 94

Grand Union Canal Bridges - this is no. 85

Chaffron Way Bridge - no85a

Bridge 86

Bridge 87

Pear Tree Bridge 88 Grand Union Canal

Grand Union Canal Bridge no.89

Canal Bridge 90

Bridge 90a

Tinkers Bridge 90b

more concrete - Groveway bridge 90c

Bowlers Bridge 91

Pipe Bridge and Bridge 91 - Grand Union Canal

Bridge no92

Pipe Bridge next to Bridge 92 - Grand Union Canal

Bridge 92a

Bridge 93 -
Grand Union Canal

lack of design - Bridge 93a Grand Union Canal

Grand Union Canal Pipe Bridge next to Bridge 94

Bridge 94

Fenny Stratford Lock
22 Grand Union Canal

Fenny Stratford
lock no.22

Swingbridge 95 halfway along Lock22

Pipe Bridge + Railway Bridge Fenny Stratford

Bridge 96 + Pipebridge - Grand Union Canal

Bridge 96

Lift bridge into private marina at Fenny Stratford

Canal Bridge 97

Grand Union Canal Bridge 98

Foot Bridge over
the Grand Union Canal

Bridge 99 and
Pipe Bridge

A4146 bridge crosses the Grand Union Canal

Bridge no.102 on the Grand Union Canalal

The picture on the right of Bridge 104 which is located by Stoke Hammond Lock 23 shows a good example of a double arched canal bridge - these were built on this part of the canal to cater for the original twinned locks.
Below are photos from around "Three Locks" which is located at Soulbury and are well worth a visit - there is a large public house right by the locks and also the general area is very well maintained; there is also an old pump house which sets off the scene very nicely. Situated just off the A4146 and before going over the canal's bridge you can find a fairly large car-park which quite unusually for the area was free to park as of October 2011 and where there are several picnic tables available. The towpath around this part of the canal is also in pretty good condition and therefore fine for a short (or even fairly long) wander along - perhaps after a meal at the pub.

Bridge 104

Pumphouse at Stoke Hammond

Stoke Hammond Lock 23

Stoke Hammond Lock 23

Swing Bridge 105 - derelict

Bridge 106

Soulbury Lock 24 - Lock Gates

Soulbury Lock 24

Soulbury Lock 25 - Grand Union Canal

Soulbury Lock no. 26

Pump House at Three Locks - Soulbury

Three Locks Soulbury - Grand Union Canal

Bridge 107

Bridge 108

Grand Union Canal Bridge 109

Bridge no.110

Canal Bridge 111 on the Grand Union

Swing Bridge 112

Leighton Lock 27

Grand Union Canal Locks - Leighton no.27

Grand Union Canal
Sluices

Great brickwork on a Grand Union Canal sluice

roadbridge carrying the A505 over the Canal

Grand Union Canal
Grove Lock no.28

Double arched Bridge 116 on the Grand Union Canal

Church Lock no.29

Grand Union Canal Locks - no.29 Church Lock

Bridge 118

Slapton Lock no.30

Grand Union Canal - Slapton Lock no.30

Bridge 120

If you look at the photo above of Slapton Lock 30's lock gates you can see on the right where there was once a second lock - to help with barge throughput quite a few of the locks in this part of the Grand Union Canal were turned into double or twin locks. Ultimately though these were turned back into singles as the commercial traffic movement on the canal declined (mostly due to the new railways being built which took much of the business away from the canals).

Grand Union Canal Bridge 121

Grand Union Canal - Horton Lock 31

A swan waiting for bread on the Grand Union Canal

These are our Grand Union Canal topics:
Grand Union Canal Birmingham to Kingswood
Kingswood Junction via Hatton Locks to Royal Leamington Spa
Grand Union Canal Leamington Spa to Braunston
Grand Union Canal Braunston--Stoke Bruerne-Wolverton
Wolverton to Slapton - this page
Ivinghoe Lock to Kings Langley on The Grand Union Canal
Kings Langley to The Thames along The Grand Union Canal

We have picked out a few Books about England - concerning the waterways of England. 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 Grand Union Canal is BOOK 1.)
If the development and history of our English and British Canals is of particular interest consider looking at the Anatomy of Canals series which are really good reading!.