Saturday 29th June 2013 Ramble 19: Napton Junction to Long Itchington.

Saturday 29th June 2013

Ramble 19:  Napton Junction to Long Itchington. This walk we estimated to be about 4½ miles.

We were joined on this ramble along a very attractive section of the Grand Union Canal by Glynis and Nigel. The weather was bright, sunny and, by the end of the walk, beautifully warm.  

At Napton Junction or Wigrams Turn there is a large, new, well-sited marina of the same name, with a large signpost. We first walked along a long, straight stretch with private moorings, mainly on the opposite bank, to the three locks and yet more marinas at Calcutt.
There were yellow flags or irises dotted along the canal edges within the high growth of reeds and grasses.
  

 Many people on boats were making outings in the sunshine, as well as families of swans and geese.

 We had read that the windmill at Napton -on-the-Hill was visible from the canal but we didn’t spot it until nearly to the first lock at Calcutt; it was on the horizon and in the far distance. Incidentally, from Napton Hill, on a clear day, 7 counties can be viewed and, for some time, locally made bricks, stamped with a windmill, were transported by canal boats.

 

 The Warwick and Napton Canal, as the 14½ mile section of the Grand Union canal that drops down from Napton Junction to Warwick was originally called, was completed in 1800. It was built as a narrow canal allowing only one boat in a lock at a time. Improvements were made in the 1930s so now the canal is wider and deeper and new locks were built which can accommodate 2 boats at a time. The original single lock at Top Lock has been put to good use as a boat maintenance and repair dock. Immediately, we noticed the unusual ‘candlestick’ type hydraulic paddle gears, in pairs, by each set of lock gates. As they are non-standard, they require a
larger socket-hole in the windlass to operate, and apparently, the locks fill and empty more efficiently.

As we approached the top of the Stockton series of 8 locks several canoeists and helpers passed us. One told us that they were on a charity challenge travelling from Harlech, Wales to Kings Lynn by bike and canoe. 

 This is a very picturesque part of the Grand Union Canal, surrounded by many trees and rolling, green hills. There were several stretches where there were permanent moorings, with canal-side gardens, but this just seemed to add to the colour and interest. We didn’t hurry, but soon we came to a road bridge, beyond which was the prettiest scene of a traditional pub with wooden benches full of people down to the water’s edge. The pub was the Blue Lias, named after the local hard limestone/clay that is quarried locally and used for building and making cement. It is well-known, as it often contains fossils, hence the brontosaurus on the Inn signs. We could see the tall, redundant chimney of the old cement works, (which are gradually being restored to form a nature reserve), from the towpath and, also, the beginning of a canal arm that, at one time, led to the works.

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Our walk finished at The Two Boats Inn at Long Ichington where there was much ‘stag’ activity, especially aboard three canal boats. There were pirates, Vikings and sailors celebrating, all of which, was very entertaining to us while waiting for a bite to eat.