Warwickshire’s Waterways - north to south in two days

Stop 1: Hawkesbury Junction (Sutton Stop)

One of the most historically resonant spots on the English canal network - where the Coventry and Oxford Canals meet, marked by a graceful curved iron bridge, an old engine house that once pumped water for the canal, and a working waterway atmosphere largely unchanged from when this was a busy coal-trading hub. The Greyhound Inn sits right on the water and is the natural place for an early coffee or breakfast before the day begins. The stop lock here is one of the narrowest on the entire network - barely wide enough for a single narrowboat - and watching the first boats of the morning negotiate it sets the tone for a day spent in the company of canals at their most characterful. From here the Coventry Canal heads north-west, with the River Anker waiting to make its presence felt a few miles on.

Travel

• 16 miles · approx. 28 minutes via A444 north
• 13 miles along the Coventry Canal towpath · approx. 4–4.5 hours

Stop 2: Alvecote Priory & the River Anker

This is where the canal and the River Anker come together most dramatically. Alvecote Priory, a 12th century ruin, sits right on the canal towpath, and immediately alongside it the Anker passes through Alvecote Pools and Meadows, a 316-acre Site of Special Scientific Interest and one of the finest wildlife habitats in north Warwickshire. 

The pools are the flooded remnants of old coal workings, now colonised by reed beds, willow scrub, and open water that attract a rich variety of birds. The river here is quiet and winding - true to its ancient name - and the combination of ruins, canal, river and nature makes Alvecote one of those stops that consistently surprises people who have not visited before. 

Park at Pooley Country Park a short walk along the towpath, where there is also a towpath café for a second breakfast or a coffee stop.

Travel

• 4 miles · approx. 8 minutes
Pay & display nearby
• 3 miles south along the canal and river corridor · approx. 1 hour. Note: the walk from Polesworth through to Atherstone follows both the towpath and field paths beside the Anker - one of the most rewarding short stretches of walking in north Warwickshire.

Stop 3: Atherstone Locks & the River Anker

The River Anker runs through and alongside Atherstone, and the best of this stop combines both waterways. The canal delivers the drama: eleven locks dropping 80 feet over two miles through open countryside, with narrowboats working steadily through the chambers and the views across the Anker Valley - from the high points of Hartshill Hayes, 137 acres of ancient woodland visible above the town - giving a strong sense of the landscape these waterways were cut through. Between and around the locks, the Anker itself runs through the town, crossed by the old bridge at Mancetter just south of the flight. The King's Head is the canalside pub perfect for lunch right beside the water on Old Watling Street.

Travel

• 22 miles · approx. 35 minutes via A5 and A425

Stop 4: The Oxford Canal Loop: Priors Hardwick & Fenny Compton

The star turn of the day, and one of the most unusual pieces of canal engineering in England. Between Priors Hardwick and Fenny Compton, the Oxford Canal winds almost in a full circle to follow the natural contours of the land - engineer James Brindley's philosophy of following the landscape rather than cutting through it taken to its logical extreme. The canal takes roughly five and a half miles to cover what is essentially two miles as the crow flies, and walking any section of it feels like stepping into the canal's original 18th century character: quiet, rural, unhurried, and largely unchanged. This is about as far from the industrial heritage of the Anker valley as it is possible to get while still being in the same county, and the contrast is one of the pleasures of the day. The Wharf Inn at Fenny Compton sits right on the canalside - a proper country pub with good food, outdoor seating by the water, and a warm welcome that has been serving canal travellers for a long time.

Travel

• 8 miles · approx. 15 minutes via B4451
• 5 miles north along the Oxford Canal towpath · approx. 1.5 hours

Stop 5: Napton Junction & Napton-on-the-Hill

The pivot point of the day - where the Oxford Canal parts company from the Grand Union and the character of the journey shifts again. The hilltop village of Napton-on-the-Hill sits above the junction and rewards the short climb handsomely: a working windmill at the summit, wide views across the Warwickshire countryside in every direction, and a genuine sense of being somewhere off the visitor trail. From the junction itself there are good short walks in either direction along both canals.

Travel

• 16 miles · approx. 25 minutes via A425

Stop 6: Hatton Locks

Twenty-one wide locks rising in an almost unbroken staircase up a long hillside on the Grand Union Canal - the Stairway to Heaven, and the grandest engineering set piece on the Warwickshire waterways. The flight rises nearly 45 metres over two miles and whether you walk the towpath alongside it or simply sit on the bank watching narrowboats work through the chambers as the light drops, it is a completely absorbing and beautiful place to end the day. The Hatton Locks Café, in the beautifully restored former stable block, is open for tea and cake with views up the full flight. The Hatton Arms pub at the top is the place for dinner - a solid country pub that does the job well after a long day's travelling through north Warwickshire's waterways.

Stop 1: Stockton Locks & the Blue Lias, Grand Union Canal

A gentle, unhurried start on one of the quietest and most satisfying stretches of the Grand Union Canal. The Stockton flight is six locks in open Warwickshire countryside - nothing like the drama of Hatton's staircase, but rewarding in a completely different way: peaceful, uncrowded and set in a wide agricultural landscape that feels genuinely remote even though situated close to Southam. The Blue Lias pub sits right at the bottom of the flight and opens at 9am, making it the ideal place to start the day with breakfast before walking the locks. Under its current incarnation as Fat Bob's it has a motorsport theme inside and a reputation for generous, well-cooked food.

Travel

• 10 miles · approx. 18 minutes via A425
• 8 miles west along the Grand Union

Stop 2: The River Leam, Royal Leamington Spa

This is where the canal hands over to the river, and the handover is seamless. The River Leam - whose name, first recorded in 956, derives from the old British word for elm-tree river - threads through the heart of Leamington in a single connected riverside walk that takes in Victoria Park, Adelaide Bridge, the Pump Room Gardens and Jephson Gardens one after another, with cafés, river views and footbridges at almost every stage. The tea rooms in the old aviary building inside Jephson Gardens are the natural stop here, with the river forming the southern boundary of the gardens and fine views upstream and down from the footbridges. The 3.5-mile walk west along the Leam to Warwick - passing through St Nicholas Park with its views of the castle reflected in the Avon - is one of the finest town-to-town riverside walks in the Midlands and entirely flat, if you have time to extend the stop.

Travel

• 14 miles · approx. 22 minutes via A452 and A4189

Stop 3: Edstone Aqueduct & the River Alne, Wootton Wawen

England's longest cast-iron aqueduct, and the moment the day pivots from canal to river country. The Edstone Aqueduct carries the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal 145 metres across the road, the railway and the River Alne below in a narrow iron trough that looks faintly impossible even when you are standing under it. It is best appreciated from below - look up as a narrowboat passes overhead and the sight is genuinely arresting. Directly below the aqueduct, the River Alne flows through the meadows around Wootton Wawen, and Wootton Pool just north of the village is a rewarding short walk from the towpath. The Navigation Inn sits just below the aqueduct and is the place for lunch - open from midday at weekends, later in the week - with good food and an outdoor area beside the water.

Travel

• 4 miles · approx. 8 minutes via A3400
• 3.5 miles north along the Stratford Canal towpath · approx. 1 hour — a lovely stretch with the Alne visible in the valley below

Stop 4: Riverlands & the River Alne, Henley-in-Arden

The River Alne rises near Tanworth-in-Arden and flows south through Henley before joining the Arrow at Alcester, and the Riverlands Nature and Play Area on the edge of Henley's high street is its most accessible and rewarding stopping point. With a footbridge, a ford, a gravel beach, a pond teeming with newts and frogs, and the river itself running clear and shallow through a green corridor of trees, it is one of those spots that feels disproportionately good for how easy it is to reach. The car park is free, and easy riverside walking extends in both directions from the site. For those who want a drink, Henley's characterful high street - a mile long continuous run of medieval timber-framed buildings - is a two-minute walk away and has several good options.

Travel

• 8 miles · approx. 15 minutes via A3400
• 8 miles south along the Stratford Canal towpath · approx. 2.5 hours, passing Wilmcote and Mary Arden's Farm along the way

Stop 5: Bancroft Basin & the River Avon, Stratford-upon-Avon

The point where the day's two main waterways finally converge - the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal reaching its southern terminus at Bancroft Basin and emptying into the River Avon directly in front of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. The basin is animated throughout the summer with narrowboats moored three abreast and visitors wandering between the canal and the riverside gardens. Walk south from the basin along the right bank past Holy Trinity Church and down by Lucy's Mill. Swans, the church spire reflected in the water, and the particular calm of the Avon in the late afternoon are all to be enjoyed before crossing back over the river. Rowing boats and canoes are available at Avon Boating throughout the season if you want a final hour on the water.

Travel

• 5 miles · approx. 10 minutes via B439
• 4 miles west along Shakespeare's Avon Way · approx. 1.5 hours along the riverbank

Stop 6: Welford-on-Avon & The Bell Inn

One of the finest village finishes in Warwickshire. Welford-on-Avon sits beside the Avon in a setting that stops photographers in their tracks - thatched cottages lining the lanes, a working maypole on the green, and the river curving through the water meadows just beyond. The Bell Inn is the place to end the day: a traditional, well-run village pub with genuinely good food, a log fire in cooler months, and the kind of warm, unhurried atmosphere that a day spent following four of Warwickshire's finest waterways thoroughly deserves. Book ahead for dinner. The steak is the thing to order.