Your floating hotel on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

Pictures of the Grand Union Canal,

(Oxford Canal) Braunston to Napton.

A canal of seventy-seven miles was built to connect Oxford and the River Thames via the Coventry canal to the Trent and Mersey and thus to the Rivers Severn, Trent and Mersey. As new canals were built it developed into three sections each with their own distinct character. When the Grand Junction was built as a direct line from Braunston to London the Oxford canal company pauswaded the Warwick to Braunston canal company, which was, with its sister company the Warwick to Birmingham creating a much shorter route to Birmingham to join the Oxford at Napton and use a few miles of the Oxford as part of the London to Birmingham route. In later years the tolls levied on this traffic became one of the main sources of income for the Oxford canal Company.

For these five miles the canal is still busy, being part of the Grand Union route, however little bigger than a farm comes near the canal it is set right out the countryside.. Finally it arrives at the canal centre of Braunston.

More pictures of this canal?

Bull's Bridge to Marsworth / Paddington Arm. / Marsworth to Gayton / Aylesbury Arm

Gayton to Norton / Norton to Braunston / Napton to Warwick / Warwick to Lapworth

Lapworth to Camp Hill. / Camp Hill to Salford / Digbeth Branch.

More information on this canal.

General information.

History of the canals which make up the present Grand Union canal.

The Grand Junction / Warwick to Napton / Warwick to Birmingham

The Grand Union.

Find our information about other canals on the canal index page.

or email us at martinreed@reedboats.co.uk