Thursday 20th March 2014 Oxford Canal Walk Ramble 4.

 

Thursday 20th March 2014 Oxford Canal Walk Ramble 4.

We started from Braunston and walked the 6 miles (7 in total) to Napton Marina, via Gongoozlers Café on the Grand Union Canal.

 

With John, Julie, Sue, Jem, Margaret, Dot (whose dream may be in one of the pictures), Margaret, Hugh and Linda (11 altogether including us), we walked down the grassy slopes from Braunston Church, through fields of sheep with very young, frolicking lambs, to the canal to restart our trek. It was a bright but blowy day weather-wise.

In no time we came to the triangular island covered with flowering daffodils, where the Oxford and Grand Union Canals meet. The towpath goes over two black and white Horseley Ironworks, 15m span bridges that must be some of the most photographed in the UK. It is from here for about 5 miles until Napton Junction, that the waterways of both canals coincide. We walked to just beyond Napton Junction where the Grand Union Canal departed northwards and the Oxford Canal carries on westwards. In fact, some of us walked this route last June as part of the GUC walks and, as then, we visited the Gongoozler’s café aboard a narrowboat moored near to the Stop House, by Braunston’s historic wharf.

Then, when feeling satisfied, we went back to the triangular junction and along the towpath, first going on top of a (straightened) embankment section called Puddle Banks. Most of the time we were walking into the wind which made it feel much colder than the thermometer would suggest.

We saw many primroses, violets, celandines and some coltsfoot growing beside the waterway. It seemed that more boats were ‘on the move’ than on previous walks this year and in the surrounding fields there were plenty of sheep with young (a couple were exploring some gardens on the opposite bank from us!). 

Most of the time the canal is in open countryside, pretty straight and well away from built up areas. We chose a brick bridge with high sides for a place to eat our sandwiches, thinking that somewhere it would be sheltered from the wind. In the end we settled in various different places as the gusting wind seemed to be in all ‘corners’ around the bridge. After reading the metal notice, we were glad we were walking and not on a traction engine (that required permission to cross).

 Striding out again in Warwickshire now, we saw on the opposite bank the village of Lower Shuckburgh, just off the A425 Southam to Daventry road. We could see the small Gothic style church that was built in 1864, replacing a previous one that had been burnt down. St John the Baptist church is unusual as it has a hexagonal tower and Moorish tiles are on the walls inside. Upper Shuckburgh village, once nearby on Beacon Hill is now deserted and only the privately owned Shuckburgh Hall is there. 

After passing under Nimrod Bridge which carries the A425 over the canal we walked up and over the Grand Union Canal by Napton Junction and Wigrams Turn Marina. Then, shortly afterwards we finished our walk at Napton Marina. Here we saw a line of smart dark blue boats lined up in the wharf being prepared for letting out.