View source for Grand Union Canal

{{Short description|Canal in England}}
{{About|the modern canal|the original Grand Union Canal that forms part of this canal|Grand Union Canal (old)}}
{{distinguish|Union Canal (Scotland)}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2014}}
{{Infobox Canal
  | name                 = Grand Union Canal
  | image                = GU Canal Westbourne Park.jpg
  | image_caption        = The Grand Union Canal passing [[Trellick Tower]] at [[Westbourne Park, London]]
  | mapframe             = yes
  | mapframe-zoom        = 7
  | mapframe-frame-height = 225
  | length_mi            = 137
  | original_owner       = 
  | date_act             = 1931
  | connects_to          = [[River Thames]]<br>[[Regent's Canal]]<br>[[River Nene]]<br>[[River Soar]]<br>[[Oxford Canal]]<br>[[Stratford-upon-Avon Canal]]<br>[[Digbeth Branch Canal]]<br>[[Birmingham and Fazeley Canal]]
  | locks                = 166
  | original_num_locks   = 
  | status               = Navigable
  | navigation_authority = 
  | module               = 
}}
[[File:Grand Union Canal, complete system map.png|thumb|upright 1.5|Geographic map of the entire Grand Union canal system (zoom in to see detail)]]
{{Grand Union Canal map}}
[[File:Grand Union Canal at Braunston.jpg|thumb|right|The canal at [[Braunston, Northamptonshire|Braunston]]]]
[[File:Grand Union Canal (near Westbourne Park).jpg|thumb|right|The Grand Union Canal near [[Westbourne Park, London]]]]

The '''Grand Union Canal''' in [[England]] is part of the [[Canals of the United Kingdom|British canal system]]. It is the principal navigable waterway between [[London]] and the [[Midlands]]. Starting in London, one arm runs to [[Leicester]] and another to [[Birmingham]]. The Birmingham canal is {{convert|137|mi|km}} with 166 [[Canal lock|locks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Grand Union Canal Holiday Cruising Guide and Map. |url=http://www.canaljunction.com/canal/grand_union.htm |website=www.canaljunction.com}}</ref> The Birmingham line has a number of short branches to places including [[Slough]], [[Aylesbury]], [[Wendover]], and [[Northampton]]. The Leicester line has two short arms of its own, to [[Market Harborough]] and [[Welford, Northamptonshire|Welford]].

It has links with other canals and navigable waterways, including the [[River Thames]], the [[Regent's Canal]], the [[River Nene]] and [[River Soar]], the [[Oxford Canal]], the [[Stratford-upon-Avon Canal]], the [[Digbeth Branch Canal]] and the [[Birmingham and Fazeley Canal]].

The canal south of [[Braunston]] to the River Thames at [[Brentford]] in London is the original [[Grand Junction Canal]]. At Braunston the latter met the [[Oxford Canal]] linking back to the Thames to the south and to [[Coventry]] to the north via the [[Coventry Canal]]. "Grand Union Canal" is also the original name for what is now the Leicester line of the modern Grand Union, running from short east of Braunston to Leicester, and which is now sometimes referred to as the [[Grand Union Canal (old)|Old Grand Union Canal]] to avoid ambiguity.

==History==
{{more citations needed|section|date=July 2022}}
{{further|Grand Junction Canal#History}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Regent's Canal and Dock Company (Grand Junction Canal Purchase) Act 1928{{efn|name=Section1|Section 1.}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to provide for the transfer to the Regent's Canal and Dock Company of the canal undertaking of the Company of Proprietors of the Grand Junction Canal to confer various powers upon the Regent's Canal and Dock Company and for other purposes.
| year                  = 1928
| citation              = [[18 & 19 Geo. 5]]. c. xcviii
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 3 August 1928
| commencement          = 3 August 1928{{efn|name=aopca|The [[Acts of Parliament (Commencement) Act 1793]].}}
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| amendments            = {{ubli|[[Grand Union Canal Act 1931]]|[[Grand Union Canal Act 1943]]|[[National Insurance (Modification of Transport Undertaking Superannuation Funds) Regulations 1961]]}}
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Amended
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/18-19/98/contents/enacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}

The Grand Union Canal in its current form came into being on 1 January 1929.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Back to Canals |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000669/19290101/154/0008 |newspaper=Birmingham Daily Gazette |location=England |date=1 January 1929 |access-date=23 April 2024 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> The [[Regent's Canal]] and the [[Grand Junction Canal]] agreed that amalgamation and modernisation were the only way to remain competitive against rail and newly developing road transport, and the merger was authorised by the '''{{visible anchor|Regent's Canal and Dock Company (Grand Junction Canal Purchase) Act 1928}}''' ([[18 & 19 Geo. 5]]. c. xcviii).

* [[Regent's Canal]]
* [[Hertford Union Canal]] – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1857
;Main Line
* '''Warwick and Napton Canal''' – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1928<ref name="Hadfield 96–112">{{Cite journal |last=Hadfield |first=Charles |date=November 1959 |title=The Grand Junction Canal |url=http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/002252665900400205 |journal=The Journal of Transport History |language=en |volume=fs-4 |issue=2 |pages=96–112 |doi=10.1177/002252665900400205 |issn=0022-5266|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
* '''Warwick and Birmingham Canal''' – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1928<ref name="Hadfield 96–112" />
* [[Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal]] – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1928<ref name="Hadfield 96–112" />
* [[Grand Junction Canal]] – bought by the Regent's Canal in 1928<ref name="Hadfield 96–112" />
;Leicester Line
* [[Grand Union Canal (old)|Old Grand Union Canal]] – bought by the Grand Junction in 1894
* [[Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal]] – bought by the Grand Junction in 1894
* [[River Soar|Leicester Navigation]] – bought by the Grand Union in 1932
* [[River Soar|Loughborough Navigation]] – bought by the Grand Union in 1932
* [[Erewash Canal]] – bought by the Grand Union in 1932

A five-mile (eight-km) section of the [[Oxford Canal]] forms the main line of the Grand Union between [[Braunston]] and [[Napton-on-the-Hill]].<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Vital Canal Link |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000321/19310409/030/0006 |newspaper=Nottingham Evening Post |location=England |date=9 April 1931 |access-date=23 April 2024 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref>  Although the Grand Union intended to buy the Oxford Canal and [[Coventry Canal]], these purchases did not take place.

The section of the main line between [[Brentford]] and Braunston (formerly the Grand Junction Canal) was built as a 'wide' or 'broad' canal – that is, its locks were wide enough to accommodate two narrowboats abreast (side by side) or a single wide barge up to {{convert|14|ft|m}} in beam.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Grand Union Canal Act 1931{{efn|name=Section1}}
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to empower the Grand Union Canal Company to execute works and improve part of their canal to confer powers upon that company with reference to part of the Oxford Canal Navigation and for other purposes.
| year                  = 1931
| citation              = [[21 & 22 Geo. 5]]. c. xc
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 31 July 1931
| commencement          = 31 July 1931{{efn|name=aopca}}
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = [[Regent's Canal and Dock Company (Grand Junction Canal Purchase) Act 1928]]
| amendments            = [[Grand Union Canal Act 1943]]
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Amended
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/21-22/90/contents/enacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The onward sections from Braunston to Birmingham had been built as 'narrow' canals, that is, the locks could accommodate only a single [[narrowboat]]. The '''{{visible anchor|Grand Union Canal Act 1931}}''' ([[21 & 22 Geo. 5 1931|21 & 22 Geo. 5]]. c. xc) was passed authorising a key part of the modernisation scheme of the Grand Union, supported by government grants. The narrow locks (and several bridges) between Napton and [[Camp Hill Top Lock]] in Birmingham were rebuilt to take [[widebeam]] boats or barges up to {{convert|12|ft|6|in|m}} in beam, or two narrowboats. The canal was dredged and bank improvements carried out: the depth was increased to {{convert|5|ft|6|in|m}} to allow heavier cargoes, and the minimum width increased to {{convert|26|ft|m}} to enable two boats of 12 feet 6&nbsp;inches to pass. Lock works were completed in 1934 when the [[Duke of Kent]] opened the new broad locks at Hatton,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Duke of Kent opens Warwick Canal Locks |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000337/19341030/018/0001 |newspaper=Coventry Evening Telegraph |location=England |date=30 October 1934 |access-date=23 April 2024 |via=British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription  }}</ref> and other improvements finished by 1937.

These improvements to depth and width were never carried out between Braunston and London. Camp Hill Locks in Birmingham were not widened, as it would have been very expensive and of little point, since they lead only to further flights of locks not in the ownership of the Grand Union. A new basin and warehouse were constructed at Tyseley, above [[Camp Hill, Birmingham|Camp Hill]], to deal with this. Although the Grand Union company had a number of broad boats built to take advantage of the improvements, they never really caught on and the canal continued to be operated largely by pairs of narrowboats, whose journeys were facilitated by the newly widened locks in which they could breast up.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Grand Union Canal (Leicester Canals Purchase, &c.) Act 1931
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to provide for the transfer to the Grand Union Canal Company of the undertakings of the Company of Proprietors of the Leicester Navigation the Company of Proprietors of the Navigation from the River Trent to the Town of Loughborough and the Company of Proprietors of the Erewash Canal in the counties of Derby and Nottingham to authorise the Grand Union Canal Company to execute works and for other purposes.
| year                  = 1931
| citation              = [[21 & 22 Geo. 5]]. c. cvii
| territorial_extent    = [[United Kingdom]]
| royal_assent          = 31 July 1931
| commencement          = 31 July 1931{{efn|name=aopca}}
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| amendments            = [[Grand Union Canal Act 1943]]
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = Amended
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukla/Geo5/21-22/107/contents/enacted
| collapsed             = yes
}}
The three sections between Norton junction and the [[River Trent]] (collectively known as the 'Leicester line') are mixed in size. From Norton to Foxton, the route is a narrow canal. From below Foxton to Leicester it is a wide canal. From [[Leicester]] to the Trent, the route is effectively the River Soar and the locks and bridges are wide. The '''{{visible anchor|Grand Union Canal (Leicester Canals Purchase, &c.) Act 1931}}''' ([[21 & 22 Geo. 5 1931|21 & 22 Geo. 5]]. c. cvii) authorised the widening of the locks at [[Watford Locks]] and [[Foxton Locks]], but with government grants for this section not forthcoming, the work was not carried out.

The Grand Union Canal was nationalised in 1948, control transferring to the [[British Transport Commission]], and in 1962 to the British Waterways Board, later [[British Waterways]]. Commercial traffic continued to decline, effectively ceasing in the 1970s, though lime juice was carried from Brentford to Boxmoor until 1981, and aggregates on the River Soar until 1995. However, leisure traffic took over, and the canal is now as busy as it ever was, with leisure boating complemented by fishing, towpath walking and [[Gongoozler|gongoozling]]. More recently freight traffic returned with the carriage of aggregates from Denham to West Drayton in barges and narrowboats, and the opening of a new wharf for re-cyclables and aggregates at [[Old Oak Common]].

== Brentford to Braunston ==
[[File:Grand Union Canal, London-Braunston.png|thumb|Geographic map of the London to Braunston section of the canal (zoom in to see detail)]]
One end of the Grand Union Canal (Grand Junction Canal – Main Line) is at Brentford on the [[River Thames]] in west London, where the canal follows the engineered course of the [[River Brent|Brent]]. The double Thames Lock at Brentford separates the [[Tideway]] administered by the [[Port of London|Port of London Authority]] from the River Brent/Grand Union Canal, administered by the [[Canal & River Trust]]. The locks on the canal are partially numbered: numbered consecutively south of its turn-off for Leicester, Braunston Junction. Thames Lock is lock number 101.

[[File:Thames Lock, Brentford, Spring Tide, Twilight, 20050113.jpg|thumb|right|The Thames Lock on the Grand Union Canal, [[Brentford]], [[West (London sub region)|West London]]. Photo taken in twilight at the peak of a [[Tide|spring tide]]]]

For more than {{convert|3|mi}} upstream of Thames Lock, the canal and the Brent are one and the same, and the waterway is semi-tidal until the double Gauging Lock (lock 100) at Brentford. Just upstream of the Gauging Lock was a large [[canal basin]], now known as [[Brentford Lock]], from which the canal covers more distance passing under Cornelius Bridge, Brentford Railway Bridge, and the Great West Road bridge and through two more locks. The river and canal part at the base of the [[Hanwell Lock Flight|Hanwell flight of locks]] (92–97), after which it traverses [[Three Bridges, London]], Isambard Brunel's final project. Two more locks take the canal to [[Norwood Green]]. It then heads westward over level ground through [[Southall]], [[Hayes, Hillingdon|Hayes]] and [[Yiewsley]] until it reaches the gentle valley of the [[River Colne, Hertfordshire|Colne]].

Three miles (5&nbsp;km) from Norwood on this long level is Bulls Bridge<ref>The spellings Bull's Bridge and Bulls Bridge are both used.</ref> Junction, once the site of the [[Grand Union Canal Carrying Company]]'s main dockyard. At Bulls Bridge, the [[Paddington Arm]] branches off to the north and runs {{convert|12|mi|km}} to join the Regents Canal at Little Venice (see below). Just before Uxbridge is [[Cowley Peachey]] Junction, where the [[Slough Arm]] branches off westward.

At suburban Cowley, before the 1930s a rural village, the canal begins to climb the valley of the River Colne north north-west into the adjoining town of [[Uxbridge]]. After Denham and [[Harefield]] villages, it passes to the south of [[Rickmansworth]]. Here it merges with the Rivers Chess, Colne and Gade. After Rickmansworth, the canal follows the valley of the [[River Gade|Gade]], passing the site of [[Croxley Green|Croxley]] paper mill. The canal skirts [[Watford]] through [[Cassiobury Park]], passing under the [[M25 motorway]] as it approaches [[Kings Langley]].

Locks become more frequent as the climb into the [[Chiltern Hills]] steepens. The original four locks here were replaced in 1819 by five shallower ones to alleviate problems with water supply to the nearby paper mills. This realigned the canal to the south of its former course; the locks here are still referred to – without irony – as "The New 'Uns" by traditional boaters, and the term has been passed on to a new generation of canal users.

After [[Kings Langley]] and [[Apsley, Hertfordshire|Apsley]] – the site of more former paper mills – the canal passes the town [[Hemel Hempstead]] and Boxmoor Common. From here the canal follows the course of the [[River Bulbourne]] through [[Bourne End, Hertfordshire|Bourne End]] with the well-known [[swingbridge]] at Winkwell, and the "Port of [[Berkhamsted]], a small compact town". At [[Cow Roast]] Lock the canal reaches the 3-mile (5-km) summit at [[Tring]] in the Chiltern hills, having risen through 54 locks since Brentford.

At the north-west end of the summit level is Bulbourne Works, where lock gates were manufactured until 2003 for the southern canal network. Half a mile (800 m) further on, the canal reaches the top of the Marsworth flight of seven locks, which begin the descent to the [[Vale of Aylesbury]]. A [[Wendover Arm Canal|Wendover Arm]] branches off westwards from the summit level under a bridge adjacent to Marsworth Top Lock and is currently navigable for just over a mile to moorings and a [[winding hole]]; it has restoration project to extend it back to Wendover. This part of the canal in parlance used by natives and canal staff was "the withered arm" and in fact was only really "opened" to allow the pumping station there to pump water into the uppermost level. A few hundred metres beyond the bottom lock of the flight, the [[Aylesbury]] Arm branches off to the south west.

The Grand Union descends gradually by interspersed locks, past the villages of [[Cheddington]], Horton and Slapton until it reaches [[Leighton Buzzard]]. Traditionally this section of the canal is called "Slapton Fields" or just "The Fields" by boaters. A few miles further on, a flight of three locks near [[Soulbury]] marks the descent towards the valley of the [[River Great Ouse]].

[[File:BradwellAqueduct-GUC.JPG|thumb|[[New Bradwell]] Aqueduct, Milton Keynes]]
A few miles further on it enters [[Milton Keynes]] at the outskirts of [[Bletchley]] at [[Fenny Stratford]] Lock, which is unusual in lowering the level by only {{convert|12|in|cm}}. The next stretch of {{convert|11|mi|km}} is on the level. There is a modern proposal to dig [[#Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway|a new arm]] from here to the Great Ouse navigation at [[Bedford]]. North of the centre, it traverses the modern [[New Bradwell]] Aqueduct, the first on the Grand Union in over 100 years. Leaving Milton Keynes at [[Wolverton]], the canal runs on a high embankment before passing over the Great Ouse at [[Cosgrove aqueduct]] (the "Iron Trunk aqueduct"), the first [[cast-iron]] "trough" [[Navigable aqueduct|aqueduct]] in England.

[[File:Stoke Bruerne top lock.jpg|thumb|left|Top lock at [[Stoke Bruerne]]]]
After rising through Cosgrove Lock, (and passing the start of the abandoned [[Buckingham Arm]]) another long level section brings the canal to the bottom of the [[Stoke Bruerne]] flight of seven locks. At the top of this flight is the [[Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum]] followed shortly by [[Blisworth Tunnel]], at {{convert|3056|yd|m}} one of the longest of UK canals.

[[File:Grand Union Canal Crick Wharf 4.JPG|thumb|right|Crick Wharf, Northamptonshire]]
Once clear of the tunnel, the canal passes [[Blisworth]] village and reaches [[Gayton Junction]] where the [[Northampton]] Arm branches off to the east. This arm has 17 narrow locks as it descends to join the navigable [[River Nene]] (see below). The long level stretch continues past several villages including [[Nether Heyford]] and [[Weedon Bec]] and is very rural in character.

At [[Whilton]], the canal reaches the bottom of the Buckby flight of seven locks which raise it to [[Braunston, Northamptonshire|Braunston]] summit the village of which [[civil parishes in England|parish]] is {{convert|5|mi|km}} away. Beyond the top lock is [[Norton Junction]] where the Leicester line (not strictly a branch) heads off north. A few miles further on the canal passes through the 2040-yard (1865-m) [[Braunston Tunnel]], which pierces a low range of hills that are part of the [[Northamptonshire]] uplands.

The canal then drops down the Braunston flight of six locks until it reaches Braunston Junction having covered just over {{convert|93|mi|km}}.

== The Birmingham "main line" ==
[[File:Grand Union Canal, Braunston-Birmingham.png|thumb|Geographic map of the Braunston to Birmingham section (zoom in for detail)]]
At Braunston Junction, the [[Oxford Canal]] diverges north and south. The north section leads to [[Rugby, Warwickshire|Rugby]] and [[Coventry]]; the southward fork carries both the [[Oxford Canal]] and the Grand Union for {{convert|5|mi|km}} to [[Napton Junction]]. Here, the Grand Union heads north towards [[Birmingham]], while the Oxford Canal veers south towards [[Banbury]] and [[Oxford]].

Shortly after Napton Junction, the Grand Union reaches three locks at Calcutt, which begin the descent to the [[Warwickshire]] [[River Avon, Warwickshire|River Avon]]. After a 3-mile (5-km) level, the canal descends into the valley of the [[River Leam]] by the [[Stockton, Warwickshire|Stockton]] flight of 10 locks (often known as 'the Itchington Ten'). Above the eighth lock down the flight, a short arm (now used as pleasure craft moorings) used to serve [[Southam]] cement works. This was where the last regular cargo of cement was loaded heading for Birmingham in the late 1960s.

From the bottom of the locks, a 3-mile (5-km) level leads to the four [[Bascote Locks]]. The top two form a 'riser' or [[staircase locks|staircase]]. Six more interspersed locks lead to Radford, after which a 5-mile (8-km) level takes the canal through [[Leamington Spa]] to [[Warwick]]. Between these two towns, the canal crosses the River Avon and the former [[Great Western Railway]] on [[Navigable aqueduct|aqueducts]].

At Warwick, the canal rises by two locks to [[Budbrooke]] Junction (formerly the junction with the then-independent Warwick and Birmingham Canal). To the left is the restored [[Saltisford Canal Arm]], a short stretch that used to run under the railway to the original canal basin complex and terminus of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal – the basin was filled-in in the 1970s. The canal used to serve one of the oldest [[gasworks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Former Gasworks in Warwick |url=https://www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/article/former-gasworks-warwick |access-date=17 June 2023}}</ref> Two hexagonal buildings that housed the gas holders are part of the world's oldest remaining gasworks buildings.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Plaques |first=Open |title=gasworks, Warwick blue plaque |url=https://openplaques.org/plaques/51430 |access-date=17 June 2023 |website=openplaques.org}}</ref> After half a mile the mainline reaches the bottom of the [[Hatton, Warwickshire|Hatton]] flight of 21 locks that lift the canal up out of the Avon Valley. The first 10 locks are spaced out but from the middle lock the flight is tightly spaced.

Three miles (5&nbsp;km) from Hatton Top Lock the canal passes through [[Shrewley Tunnel]], with its separate horse tunnel, and then passes Rowington village to Kingswood Junction where a short spur connects with the [[Stratford-upon-Avon Canal]]. Another {{convert|3|mi|km}} lead to the [[Knowle, West Midlands|Knowle]] flight of five locks. Finally, an 11-mile (18-km) level takes the canal through [[Elmdon Heath]], [[Solihull]], [[Acocks Green]] and [[Tyseley]] to the heart of Birmingham.

The main line may be considered to terminate at [[Bordesley Junction]]. From here, there are two routes, both part of the Grand Union Canal. The original line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal leads to the [[Digbeth Branch Canal]] of the [[Birmingham Canal Navigations]] at the [[Warwick Bar]], while the later line of the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leads to the [[Birmingham and Fazeley Canal]] (and [[Tame Valley Canal]]) at [[Salford Junction]], which in turn has connections to the [[Coventry Canal]] and the [[Trent and Mersey Canal]].

== The Leicester line ==
{{Main|Grand Union Canal (old)}}
[[File:GUC Leicester Line & Soar Navigation map.png|thumb|upright 0.6|Geographic map of the Leicester Line and the River Soar Navigation (zoom in to see detail)]]

{{Grand Union Canal - Leicester Line|collapse=yes}}
Formed by amalgamations of once-independent canals, the 'Leicester Line' of the Grand Union Canal runs north from Norton Junction for about {{convert|35|mi|km}} until it reaches [[Leicester]], where it joins the [[River Soar]] to provide a link to the [[River Trent]] and to the [[Trent and Mersey Canal]]. It includes tunnels south of [[Crick, Northamptonshire|Crick]] {{convert|1528|yd|m|abbr=on}} and north of [[Husbands Bosworth]] {{convert|1166|yd|m|abbr=on}} The village of Crick is home to a popular annual [[Crick Boat Show|boat show]].

The stretch of the canal that passes through the centre of Leicester is known as the 'Mile Straight' and is home to [[Leicester Rowing Club]], a [[sport rowing|rowing]] and [[sculling]] club. The club hosts [[regattas]] on a stretch co-running with the [[River Soar|Soar]], typically held in mid-April by over 100 crews over a {{convert|770|yd|m|adj=on}} course.

Also on this section are the [[Foxton Locks]] and [[Watford Locks]], both [[staircase locks]]. Beside Foxton locks is the site of a long-abandoned [[canal inclined plane|inclined plane]] [[boat lift]]. This was constructed as part of a project to create a wide-beam canal route to connect the northern and southern parts of the canal system, something which does not exist to this day. Funding to deal with the narrow locks at Watford was not forthcoming and the scheme was aborted. The canal north of Foxton Junction is wide-beam to Leicester and onwards. It was originally intended to build a canal at this width all the way to the [[River Nene]] at Northampton. However, that canal never went further than the basin at [[Market Harborough]].
[[File:Grand Union Canal - Saddington Tunnel - geograph.org.uk - 2300236.jpg|thumb|left|[[Saddington]] Tunnel on the Leicester Line.]]

The Leicester Line continues along the [[River Soar]] Navigation, and reaches the [[River Trent]] at Soar Mouth, north of [[Ratcliffe-on-Soar]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canalcuttings.com article on GUC |url=http://www.canalcuttings.co.uk/the-leicester-line-guc-grand-union-canal-leicester-branch-navigable-river-soar.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020125303/http://www.canalcuttings.co.uk/the-leicester-line-guc-grand-union-canal-leicester-branch-navigable-river-soar.html |archive-date=20 October 2011 |access-date=24 April 2012}}</ref> It is possible to continue to the [[Trent and Mersey Canal]], [[Coventry Canal]] and North [[Oxford Canal]], to complete a circuit known as the Leicester Ring.<ref>[http://www.canaljunction.com/canal/grand_union.htm The Grand Union Canal, Regents Canal, River Lee and River Stort] ''canaljunction.com''  Accessed 23 April 2012</ref>

==Arms==
[[File:Grand Union Canal Paddington Branch over North Circular.jpg|thumb|The Paddington Arm crossing the [[North Circular]] Road viewed from the east looking west]]
The Grand Union Canal has six main branches, usually termed '[[canal arm|arms]]'. 
;Paddington Arm:
Five miles (eight&nbsp;km) from [[Brentford]], the [[Paddington Arm]] runs circuitously on the flat to a junction with the [[Regent's Canal]], the latter running north and east of Central London. The triangular [[canal basin]] formed by the junction is called the [[Little Venice basin|Little Venice]] in Maida Vale. The Arm's final 500&nbsp;m runs south-east to [[Paddington Basin]]. 
;Slough Arm:
From Cowley Peachey, the [[Slough Arm]] runs {{convert|5|mi|km}} to the west. 
;Wendover and Aylesbury Arms
From Marsworth, about {{convert|35|mi|km}} by canal from [[Brentford]], two arms diverge: one to [[Wendover Arm Canal|Wendover]] (currently in-part navigable as being restored by the Wendover Arm Trust;<ref>{{Cite web |title=Wendover Arm Trust |url=http://wendoverarmtrust.co.uk/ |website=Wendover Arm Trust}}</ref>) the other descends through 16 narrow locks for {{convert|4|mi|km}} to [[Aylesbury]]. 
;Northampton Arm:
From Gayton Junction, about {{convert|60|mi|km}} from Brentford, the [[Northampton]] Arm links with the [[River Nene]].
;[[Saltisford Canal Arm]], Warwick:
At Warwick the northernmost branch off of the Grand Union Canal (also known by regular users as the "GU"), the Saltisford Canal Arm begins. The restored arm is close to the centre of Warwick.  It was originally the main line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, 1799, leading to the terminus and a basin with wharfs for timber. When the Warwick and Napton Canal opened, this bypassed channel remained as the town's wharf. The Saltisford Canal Trust have restored most of the surviving canal, 1990–2015, such as installing long lengths of sheet piling and restoring a warehouse in 2007. Its last {{convert|160|yd|m}} were lost in the 1970s saving a disused road bridge that stands isolated in a car park. Warwick's narrowboat moorings are on the Arm by a public park partly in view of the [[Warwick Castle|Castle]]. Over 800 visiting narrowboats cruise to Warwick each year and moor on the arm.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Saltisford Canal Trust |url=https://www.saltisfordcanal.co.uk/}}</ref>

The Leicester Line has two modest arms of its own, see [[Grand Union Canal (old)]].

==Current developments==

===Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway===
{{Infobox future infrastructure project
|property_name=Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway
|location = Bedfordshire
|proposer = Bedford and Milton Keynes Partnership<ref name="bmk">{{Cite web |title=Home |url=https://www.bmkwaterway.org/ |website=Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Park}}</ref>
|estimated cost = £170&nbsp;million
}}
The Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Consortium plans to build a {{convert|16|mi|km|adj=on}} canal connecting the Grand Union at [[Milton Keynes]] to the [[River Great Ouse]] at [[Bedford, Bedfordshire|Bedford]] at an estimated cost of £150&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=28 February 2003 |title=Route chosen for £150m link canal |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2807153.stm |work=BBC News}}</ref> The project is supported by British Waterways (and its successor, the [[Canal & River Trust]]), the [[Bedford & Milton Keynes Waterway Trust]], other waterways campaign groups, and also local councils.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Brown |first=Paul |date=28 February 2003 |title=First British canal for 100 years announced |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/feb/28/transport.world |work=The Guardian}}</ref> The first element of the canal is an underpass under the A421, completed in 2009 and efforts are continuing to obtain funding to complete the scheme in 'bite-size chunks'.<ref name=bmk/> The new waterway would create a new cruising ring connecting through from the Grand Union to the waterways of [[East Anglia]] which are beneficial to leisure cruising as tourists are able to follow circular routes, as well as completing a missing link between the north and south of the UK for [[Widebeam|wide-beam boats]] - all current inland waterways have restrictive pinch points around the Midlands, only suited to [[narrowboat]]s, effectively dividing wide-beam cruising grounds into two disconnected halves.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cruising on a Wide Beam Inland |url=https://www.collidgeandpartners.co.uk/blog/cruising-on-a-wide-beam-inland/ |access-date=2023-03-27 |website=www.collidgeandpartners.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>

The history of the proposal is considerably older; the route was first discussed in 1810, when its promoters included [[Samuel Whitbread (1764–1815)|Samuel Whitbread]].<ref name=bmk/>

From Milton Keynes, the canal is planned to pass beneath the [[M1 motorway|M1]] using an existing [[cattle creep]], then cross over [[Brogborough]] Hill, and across the [[Marston Vale]] through to the River Great Ouse in Kempston.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Route &#124; B&MK Waterway Trust |url=http://www.b-mkwaterway.org.uk/the-waterway/route/ |access-date=16 June 2013 |website=B-mkwaterway.org.uk |archive-date=9 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009220431/http://www.b-mkwaterway.org.uk/the-waterway/route/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Buckingham Arm restoration===
The [[Buckingham Arm]] once ran from [[Cosgrove, Northamptonshire]] to [[Buckingham]]. It was built as an arm of the Grand Junction Canal, in two separate phases, opening in 1800 and 1801. It was disused from 1932, but was not finally abandoned until 1964. It is now the subject of a restoration project.

===Slough-Eton canal===
The predecessor to the Canal and River Trust, British Waterways, received mild financial support indications from the two local authorities covering [[Slough]] and [[Eton, Berkshire]] to extend the [[Slough Arm]] to join the [[River Thames|Thames]], via any course i.e. covering a minimum {{convert|2|mi|km}}; the 2008-estimated cost was £30&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1 November 2008 |title=Plan to link canal with Thames |url=http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/articles/1/6334 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927173436/http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/articles/1/6334 |archive-date=27 September 2013 |access-date=16 June 2013 |publisher=Sloughobserver.co.uk |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The trust confirmed in 2012 this remains a long-term objective, to be actioned when the economic conditions allow.<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 November 2012 |title=Activists back canal link plan |url=http://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/roundup/articles/2012/11/06/64099-activists-back-canal-link-plan/ |access-date=16 June 2013 |publisher=Sloughobserver.co.uk}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode=packed>
File:Brentford sculpture 1393.JPG|Bulky shining sculpture or landmark, ''Liquidity'' erected 2002 at the apex Ferry Wharf, [[Brentford]], marking a then-dry entrance to the Grand Union Canal from the [[River Thames]]'s [[Tideway]] as at low tide.
File:BrentfordLocks.jpg|[[Brentford]] Locks, London
File:Grand Union Canal at the confluence with the River Brent - geograph.org.uk - 1165169.jpg|[[Confluence]] with the [[River Brent]], London
File:GrandUnion Canal 2.JPG|Wooden bridge across the canal at [[Northolt]], London
File:Bull's Bridge Junction.jpg|Bull's Bridge Junction in the eastern distribution-centred part of [[Hayes, Hillingdon|Hayes]], west London
File:Batchworth Lock No 81, Grand Union Canal - geograph.org.uk - 1505248.jpg|Batchworth Lock No 81, (in 1977)
File:Grand union canal aplsey lock 1.jpg|A lock and upstream tract to a white humpback bridge at [[Apsley, Hertfordshire]]
File:Grand-Union-Canal-near-Bugbrooke--by-Stephen-McKay.jpg|The canal near [[Bugbrooke]], Northamptonshire
File:Grand-Union-Canal-near-Nether-Heyford-by-Maurice-Pullin.jpg|The canal near [[Nether Heyford]], Northamptonshire
File:Grand Union Canal - Saddington Tunnel - geograph.org.uk - 2300236.jpg|[[Saddington]] Tunnel, Leicestershire
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|United Kingdom|Transport}}
* [[List of canals of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Grand Union Canal 145 mile Race]]
* [[Wendover Arm Canal]]
*[[List of locks on the Grand Union Canal]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References and notes==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Grand Union Canal}}
* {{PM20|FID= co/047951|TEXT=Documents and clippings about|NAME=Grand Union Canal Company}}
* [https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-and-river-network/grand-union-canal Map of the Grand Union]{{snd}} [[Canal and River Trust]]
*[http://guam.mister.red/ images & map of mile markers seen along the disparate arms of GU canal]
*[http://gulm.mister.red/ images & map of mile markers seen along the Northern section of the GU canal]
*[http://gusm.mister.red/ images & map of mile markers seen along the G U (Southern) canal]

{{Canals of Britain}}
{{Transport in Buckinghamshire}}
{{Transport in Bedfordshire}}
{{Northamptonshire}}
{{Warwickshire}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|52.05076|N|0.73400|W|source:placeopedia|display=title}}

[[Category:Canals in Northamptonshire]]
[[Category:Canals in Warwickshire]]
[[Category:Canals in Berkshire]]
[[Category:Canals in Leicestershire]]
[[Category:Canals in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Transport in Milton Keynes]]
[[Category:Canals in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Canals in England]]
[[Category:Canals in London]]
[[Category:Canals opened in 1929]]
[[Category:Thames drainage basin|CGrandUnion]]
[[Category:Soar catchment|CGrandUnion]]
[[Category:Tame catchment|CGrandUnion]]