Cycling The Grand Union Canal
Braunston Junction
Starting an 85 miles off-road cycle ride with an epic hangover probably wasn’t a great idea. The 2-day, 150 mile, Grand Union Canal cycle trip was tough enough anyway.
The trip was the main training weekend for the Lands End to John O’Groats trip in July. The plan was to travel up to Birmingham on the Friday night, start cycling on the Saturday morning, and arrive at the end-point in London with an over-night stay in Milton Keynes. That was the plan anyway. Six of us started, one of us finished.
Day 1: Birmingham to Milton Keynes
Start: Old Turn Junction, Birmingham, B1 2HL
Finish: Campbell Park, 1300 Silbury Blvd, Milton Keynes, MK9 4AD
Distance: 128 km ( 80 miles)
Elevation Change: + 696m / - 766m. Net -70m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (Walk): Grand Union Canal Walk, Millstream Way, Millennium Way, Heart of England Way, Shakespeare’s Avon Way, Centenary Way, Oxford Canal Walk, Jurassic Way, Nene Way, Macmillan Way, Midshires Way, Ouse Valley Way, Swans Way
Other Routes Touched (Cycle): NCN 41, 50, 5, 51, 535, 6 / Hanslope Circular Ride
Maps:
- OS Explorer Map (220) Birmingham, Walsall, Solihull and Redditch
- OS Explorer Map (221) Coventry and Warwick, Royal Leamington Spa and Kenilworth
- OS Explorer Map (222) Rugby and Daventry, Southam and Lutterworth
- OS Explorer Map (223) Northampton and Market Harborough
- OS Explorer Map (207) Newport Pagnell and Northampton South
- OS Explorer Map (192) Buckingham and Milton Keynes
The Friday night in Birmingham was the first time the “Land's End 6” had properly got together. I got a little over-excited by the event and drank far too much wine, hence the spectacular hangover the next day. This was very much a learning weekend for the group, and I learned my main lesson very early on.
On Saturday morning, we headed off in two groups. Neil and I started first, getting to the official start at Salford Junction (tucked directly underneath the massive concrete pillars of the M6 Spaghetti Junction) early so we could take a detour to Edgbaston for parkrun. The other four were just behind us, completely not feeling the need to do a 5k run on top of the 85 miles that day.
The run was fine, a nice park with a friendly crowd, and would have been perfect if my head wasn't about to explode halfway round. By 10:00 am, we were finally back on the canal, heading towards the others who were at least an hour further ahead.
After a promising start, we soon hit a diversion where the 200-year-old towpath was closed for maintenance. A quick look at the guidebook reassured us that we could do a small detour by road and get back on the canal at the next bridge, but somehow we ended up cycling aimlessly around grotty industrial estates before two kind ladies took pity on us and pointed us back to the water.
Given their head-start, we didn't expect to see the other group until very late in the day. We actually caught them up just after lunch, about 40 miles in, mending what turned out to be Martyn's second of seven punctures. We had hit a beautiful but brutal 15-mile section where the hawthorn hedges had recently been aggressively trimmed. The thorns, which were previously part of the hedge, were now scattered across the towpath and were finding their way deep into everyone's tyres.
The next three hours were an absolute inner-tube bloodbath, with another 14 punctures across the group. Every time one was fixed, we would set off again, and someone else would immediately get a flat. It wasn't long before Brian had the great suggestion of splitting into two groups of three. That way, one group could make some progress while the other fixed punctures. I went ahead with Neil and Reggie and made it just three miles short of Braunston Junction before Neil's very last inner tube blew. He was in absolutely no mood to repair it, so he walked his bike the final few miles to meet us at the pub. (Braunston is famously the busy "Piccadilly Circus" of the canal network, where the Grand Union and Oxford Canals meet).
By now, it was clear that we needed a Plan B. The other group was still eight miles back and not making much progress, having already decided to abandon the canal and take the roads to Milton Keynes. We were further ahead but had no spare inner tubes left for Neil's bike. Because his wheels were a different size to Reggie's and mine, his only option was to get a taxi to Halfords in the next town to stock up!
By 18:30, we were back in action with 30 miles of road cycling to reach the hotel in Milton Keynes. With only one more puncture along the way, we made it to the hotel by 21:30. The other group had arrived shortly before us and had wisely already made it to the bar, ready for beers and a post-ride debrief.
Day 1 Elevation
Day 2: Milton Keynes to Brentford
Start: Campbell Park, 1300 Silbury Blvd, Milton Keynes, MK9 4AD
Finish: The Brewery Tap, 47 Catherine Wheel Rd, Brentford, TW8 8BD
Distance: 95.4 km (59 miles)
Elevation Change: +392m / -460 m. Net -68m
GPX File: get via Buy Me a Coffee
Other Routes Touched (Walk): Greensand Ridge Walk, Two Ridges Link, The Ridgeway, Chiltern Way, Hertfordshire Way, Colne Valley Trail, Hillingdon Trail, London Loop, Beeches Way, Shakespeare’s Way, Capital Ring, Thames Path
Other Routes Touched (Cycle): NCN 6, 61 / Tring Route 5, Berkhamsted Route 6, Chilterns Cycleway
Maps:
- OS Explorer Map (192) Buckingham and Milton Keynes
- OS Explorer Map (181) Chiltern Hills North
- OS Explorer Map (182) St. Albans and Hatfield
- OS Explorer Map (172) Chiltern Hills East
- OS Explorer Map (160) Windsor, Weybridge & Bracknell
- OS Explorer Map (161) London South, Westminster, Greenwich, Croydon, Esher & Twickenham
- OS Explorer Map (173) London North, The City, West End, Enfield, Ealing, Harrow & Watford
It became clear very quickly that I was going to be entirely on my own for Day 2. The others had burned through all of their inner tubes, and continuing along the towpath would have been too risky. It was also a Sunday, so waiting for the local bike shops to open would have meant far too late a start. No one seemed too bothered, though, as the prospect of a leisurely breakfast and a smooth, on-road cycle to the nearest train station was much more appealing to them than another day in the saddle.
That night, I slept so deeply that I had absolutely no idea where I was or what day it was when I woke up. Once I finally gathered my bearings, I set off to tackle the remaining 60 miles to Brentford.
The towpath south from Milton Keynes turned out to be significantly better than our Day 1 experience. Apart from a couple of grassy miles near Leighton Buzzard, it was a solid, well-maintained, and thankfully thorn-free route all the way. I made great progress, reaching Berkhamsted by noon, where a friend joined me for the final 35 miles.
This last section was on home ground for me, and I had cycled or run many parts of it before. We reached the end of the canal at Brentford Lock just after 16:00. As with the start of the canal at Salford Junction, the end was wonderfully underwhelming. Despite these being the two extreme ends of one of Britain's greatest Georgian engineering masterpieces, there is barely a plaque to celebrate the achievement!
As a learning experience, the weekend did exactly its job. The group had its first long-distance cycle trip together and got excellent experience in rapid puncture repairs, knowing what not to pack, and learning how to adapt when things completely fall apart. Because of my slime-filled tyres, I didn't get the puncture repair experience, but I definitely learned not to ride 85 miles on a massive hangover!
Day 2 Elevation
The Complete Route
The full 2-day route (excluding diversions)
The Movie
Tips for Cycling The Grand Union Canal
The Route
End-to-end the canal is ~150 miles and makes a challenging 2 day or a more leisurely 3 day trip. For either option I recommend Birmingham to Braunston (approx 50 miles) as the target for Day 1. This is the toughest section with the highest chance of punctures so planning to go any further is risky. Braunston is a major junction on the canal and all milestones from London point to it so it makes a good target for a single day. On a 2-day trip Braunston to Brentford is very long but significantly easier than Day 1 due to better paths. For a 3 day trip, Leighton Buzzard is a good Half-way point between Braunston and Brentford.
The Bikes
A mountain bike is essential for this trip due to the "rural" surface for much of the first section. If you can avoid the few weeks after hedge-cutting it will cut down on punctures, but you should expect to get some. Make sure you have good tyres with a healthy tread and ideally use a puncture-proof set. I used Slime inner-tube which self-seal around most punctures. I'm sure that this was a major reason why I was the only one one the group not to get a puncture on the whole trip. Take at least 2 spare inner tubes plus tyre levers etc.
Food and Drink
There's large stretches of the canal without pubs or shops. Although you'll get to a pub eventually its essential to carry enough water and snacks to keep you going.