The other day I decided that, although it would be good cruising weather, it would be just as good for walking. The wind, though still chilling out of shelter, had dropped considerably, and the sun shone much of the time. Here is my route, followed by some pictures and notes.
This stretch of the Grand Union Canal is between Napton Junction and Braunston Junction. The stretch between bridges 99 and 103 is quite open, with extensive views, and is easily navigated. There are also long sections of piling for ease of mooring. It is quite popular with those boaters who like the peace and quiet of the countryside, but is only a short cruise from both Napton and Braunston, and there are no locks. TV (Sutton Coldfield) and broadband (Three) signals are strong, though my phone connection (Vodafone network) was prone to drop out from time to time.
My own boat was moored just upstream of bridge 102, where the lane to Flecknoe crosses. I began by heading through that bridge before leaving the canal at bridge 101, from where a quiet track leads to the small, quite isolated village of Flecknoe, in southern Warwickshire. As I set off one of the neighbours got under way, Napton bound.
From there I stuck to lanes. There is a field path to the pub, but these are apt to be very sticky under current conditions. The soil hereabouts is very clayey and is hard to dislodge. Here are a few pictures of the village of Flecknoe.
Bush Hill Lane winds up the hill, giving long views over the rooftops, and then goes through a yard …
Before the open fields are reached.
Across the A425 is a quiet estate road, open to the public, giving open views on both sides, but I found the deer park the more interesting side. The route towards Lower Shuckburgh turns right, through a gate in the deer fence, then beneath the church to the beacon.
After a short distance along the main road, the steepled church also dedicated to St John the Baptist, Lower Shuckburgh is reached, A footpath goes beside the church grounds to a footbridge (105) over the cut. At the far side is a tight squeeze to reach to towpath – larger folk may prefer to use the lane to the next bridge.
The whole walk was about 8 or 9 kilometres. I took about 3 hours, but there was no hurry. The terrain is pretty easy and the underfoot conditions largely good.
Andrew's Kindred 