Braunston

If you are looking for a hotel for a trip to Braunston, you can choose where to stay based on the focus of your visit: canals and locks, historic buildings, or paths through the surrounding area. The Grand Union Canal and the Oxford Canal meet in Braunston. This junction is part of the town’s history; the circular walks each offer a different focus depending on their theme and length. This gives you concrete points to consider when planning your trip, whether you would prefer to include short historic walks or a longer route.

Canals, locks and paths

The self-guided “Braunston Village & Canal Circular Heritage Walk” leads from the town centre to the Grand Union Canal, then follows the towpath. The Braunston flight has six locks, most of which are passed on this circular walk. The route thus links the town centre, the canal and the lock landscape. The towpath in Braunston is open daily; nevertheless, check the latest information before your visit.

No boating experience is required to travel on the Ouzel II with Union Canal Carriers, as a full briefing is provided. Before your trip, check whether the operator still offers this service. This makes a trip on the water a separate option alongside the walking routes, without treating it as a walking route.

Braunston Tunnel and canal construction

Braunston Tunnel opened in 1796 and is 2,042 yards long. It is lined with locally made bricks. Above the tunnel, there are three round brick air shafts beside the footpath over the hill. Together, the tunnel and shafts illustrate different aspects of canal construction history: the long underground waterway and the visible structures above it.

Marina and Stop House

Braunston Marina has two dry docks and reservoirs. The reservoirs were built by the Grand Junction Co. from 1806 onwards. A pedestrian bridge recovered from the Buckingham branch in 1962 carries the towpath over the water connection at the marina. Braunston Stop House also reflects the canals’ former use: the Grade II listed building originally served as a toll house for commercial boats travelling between the Grand Junction Canal and the Oxford Canal. The Canal & River Trust welcome station in the Stop House offers information about the surrounding area and support from volunteers.

Historic details in the townscape

The present-day buildings on High Street have many points of historic interest; several bear traces of bricked-up doors and windows. Tudor House dates from the late 15th century. All Saints’ Church stands on a site where three stone churches have served the Braunston parish since Norman times. The pair of cast-iron bridges at Braunston Turn was completed in 1834. These buildings and traces offer different historical perspectives, from the medieval house to the 19th-century bridges.

Circular walks with different focuses

Three circular walks start at Braunston Marina. “Wolfhampcote – Puddlebanks & Braunston Turn” is considered a short walk through local history. “Ashby St Ledgers by the Jurassic Way” is considered a fairly easy, hilly walk along the Jurassic Way. A longer option is “Up the locks & over the tunnel to the New Inn at Norton Junction”: the return route is about 10 miles long and runs mostly along the towpath. The information about each walk’s theme and length makes it easier to compare them, without implying a walking time.

The Tree Trail is a 1.5-mile walking route with more than 20 trees. It is considerably shorter than the approximately 10-mile return route; the Tree Trail focuses on trees, while the longer route features locks, the tunnel and the towpath in its name and course. The walks therefore differ in both length and focus.

Braunstonbury and the landscape

The deserted medieval village of Braunstonbury is characterised by extensive and exceptionally well-preserved earthworks. These include an enclosure surrounded by a moat and a large manorial fishpond. Medieval ridge-and-furrow also forms part of the landscape: it can still be seen in many fields around Braunston today. These traces add another perspective on the area’s past to its canal and town history.

Discover more destinations: Collyweston, Greatworth, Ecton, Finedon, Helmdon, Towcester, Harrington, Weedon Bec

For the regional travel overview: Northamptonshire.