Thursday 20th September 2012 Ramble 13: Wolverton Park to Grafton Regis

Thursday 20th September 2012

Ramble 13: Wolverton Park, bridge No. 71 to Grafton Regis, bridge No. 57 which is about 6 miles.

To get to the start of our walk we walked through some of the former railway sheds now converted into spaces for residential and retail opportunities (in estate agency speak). It is an interesting project as the outer brick walls have been retained and the roofs opened up.

 We continued our towpath ramble and were soon in a woody area where adjoining garden owners have built decking then steps down the steep bank to moorings on the canal. It would certainly be different to arrive at the backdoor by boat.

Just north of Old Wolverton is the lowest point on the canal, between the peaks either side at Tring and Braunston (although the heights cannot be great!). Here is the iron trunk aqueduct, built in 1811, that carries the canal over the Great Ouse river valley. We had seen this soaring structure 40 feet (12metres) above the river last year but since then it has had a make-over.  Unused pipework has been removed and the square cast iron trough smartened up with red and white paint.

We went under the canal, through a low height and dark tunnel, to see a mock-up of a lock, on the line of 9 locks that permitted canal traffic before the aqueducts were built (a previous brick aqueduct collapsed in 1808). 

The last of the flight of locks was Cosgrove lock, which is still in use. This lock is also the end of the 11 mile pound from Fenny Stratford to the junction for the Buckingham Arm. The arm became disused and was abandoned in the 1960s. Parts are now a nature reserve and there is a group restoring the canal.

The Cosgrove Narrowboat Company with two boats runs public cruises from here and also, it seems that Capability Smifff works nearby. Also near here are the remains of a Roman Villa, close to Watling Street, including a bathhouse discovered in 1958. Reading the map, there is a very large caravan park at Cosgrove, but very little of it is visible from the towpath.

 We went through another dark tunnel under the canal (called the horse tunnel) to reach The Barley Mow PH which, although past its heyday, provided a welcome coffee stop.

 The next bridge was Soloman’s Bridge, a stone bridge decorated in Gothic style.  It was built in 1880 by land owners, the Biggins family, but there are no obvious reasons why in such splendour, apart from the fact it marks the halfway point between Brentford and Braunston.

 The rest of the walk was very rural, the canal crossing open fields with some super views. We saw swallows gathering together before their long migration and another heron eager to do some fishing.

By the Navigation Inn Bridge there is the fairly new Thrupp Wharf, but mostly we were wending our way through open countryside.

Grafton Regis Bridge No. 57 was where we ended our Grand Union Canal walks for this year. We thank Sue, John, Ian, Julie, Hugh and Margaret for joining us on this enjoyable last ramble and look forward to more next Spring and Summer.