Going North
After passing through some open farmland and a pay-and-play golf
course you reach Ansty in about one hour. The 'Rose & Castle'
pub has a good reputation for food and has a canal-side garden.
After Ansty the character of the canal begins to
change as you approach the outskirts of Coventry, but it still
manages to retain a rural character for much of the one and a
half hour run into Hawkesbury Junction (also known as Sutton
Stop). On the way there you will find the 'Elephant &
Castle' by Bridge 4 (all the bridges should be numbered),
with a good garden for children. Hawkesbury Junction was
designated a conservation area in 1976 and is something of an
industrial archeology haven nestling among vast attendant
pylons! There is an impressive cast iron bridge, an engine house
which once housed the Newcomen Beam Engine now at Dartmouth, a
colourful pub 'The Greyhound', and a 6" deep stop lock. Just
down the road is a charming Victorian pub, the 'Boat'. This area
is rich in industrial history - you can discover the mysteries
of the Newdigate Arm and Arbury Hall and the various quarries
and coal mines that were the raison d'etre of the canal
in the first place.
We would recommend that you go round the
hairpin bend to the Coventry Canal and turn right to go north
(the left turn takes you into the basin in Coventry and is not
as rewarding as it might sound). Heading towards Marston
Junction you pass through woodland and past a large pub, the
'Navigation' before skirting Bedworth and what can only be
described as the experience of Charity Dock.
Shortly after this you come to Marston
Junction. Do not turn right into the Ashby Canal as there is no
turning point for some way! This is about one hour from
Hawkesbury and about three and a half hours from base.
If you continue north on the Coventry Canal,
the countryside features landscaped quarries (more attractive
than they sound). You would need to turn around before
Nuneaton, in the Griff Arm after bridge 18, about two hours from
Hawkesbury. |
Going South
The first stretch runs through woodland, passing the occasional
farm as well as two of the attractive cast iron bridges that are
a feature of the North Oxford Canal. These take the towpath over
James Brindley's original late 18th century contour line of the
canal which was shortened in 1830.After
one and a half hours you navigate the small tunnel at Newbold,
after which most people look for a mooring before or after the
next bridge, to take advantage of one of the two pubs, the
'Barley Mow' and the 'Boat', that adjoin the canal at right
angles (this is because the original canal ran in front of the
pubs but is now a lane). In Newbold churchyard you can see the
remains of the earlier tunnel and there is another pub, the
'Crown', near the shops.
Half an hour after Newbold you pass another
cast iron bridge over a dead end leading to Rugby Wharf (you can
turn here), then cross two aqueducts over the River Swift and a
road. A 'Harvester' is on the left - moor opposite or beside the
picnic area after the next bridge to visit the pub or the nearby
shops.
The next hour sees more woodland, a boat yard
and a golf course as the canal skirts attractively round Rugby
towards Hillmorton Locks. (These locks will take you uphill.
They were part of the 1830 improvement which called for a
doubling of the standard 7ft wide locks to speed the flow of
commercial boats and so compete with the new wide locks on the
Grand Union).
This is about as far as most people go - you
can turn around just before or just after the first lock, or
after the third at the top. The last possible turning point for
a day trip is about half an hour further on just past the 'Old
Royal Oak' pub. (providing good food and a marvellous safe
'soft' indoor play area for young children downstairs). It
is however about four hours back to base from here.
Booking your Day Out» |
