Below are detailed some of the places you might like to visit whilst on a cruise from Union Wharf.

Click on the links for further information:

Union Wharf to Stoke Bruerne (One Week)

Start: Union Wharf
Finish: Union Wharf
Total Distance: 89 miles
Total Locks: 48 (inc Foxton locks 2 x10 Watford 7x2)
Cruising Hours: 41 hours

From Market Harborough - a quaint, traditional English market town that dates from 1203, cruise up the Market Harborough arm of the Grand Union canal to Foxton. The lock-keeper will guide you through the staircase locks, stop for a cream tea in the canalside cafe or a well deserved pint in the Foxton Locks Inn.

Cruise down the canal through Husbands Bosworth Tunnel which is 1166 yards long, passing open fields and wooded hills, with the odd village along the way. There aren't many canalside pubs along this stretch, but a 15 minute walk will bring you into a village such as Yelvertoft, which is a delightful place to stop for a while and there are moorings between bridges 19 and 20.

Before you pass through the Crick Tunnel, you can moor up at bridge 12 & visit Edwards of Crick, a restaurant & coffee house offering a wide ranging menu. Stroll into the village of Crick, home of one of Britain’s largest annual boat show held each year in May. Crick has choice of pubs, a post office and small Co-Op store.

Meet the lock-keepers at Watford Locks and they will help you on your way through the complex set of locks. Watford Locks drop the canal from its summit level of 412 feet. Four of these locks form a staircase, with a 'one up one down' procedure.

Turning left down the Grand Union the New Inn is canalside at Buckby Top lock and has moorings. It also serves good pub grub and has a skittles table and darts.

Near Weedon is the Heart of the Shires Shopping Village which is converted from a selection of Victorian stables and farm buildings. With over 20 independent shops and a restaurant located around a traditional band-stand and court yard it makes a unique shopping experience.

The canal passes numerous villages where you can make a detour for the village pub or supplies, before passing through Blisworth Tunnel, which at 3057 yards is the 3rd longest open to navigation in Britain.

Turn and tie up as soon as you emerge from the tunnel and walk down to Stoke Bruerne, which has everything a canal village should have -pubs, canal shops and a Canal Museum.