Moorings on the Grand Union Canal
Key facts
- Type
- Canal
- Managed by
- Canal & River Trust
- Total length
- 220 km(137 miles)
- Region
- Midlands / South East England
The Grand Union Canal is the longest canal in England, stretching 220 kilometres from Paddington Basin in central London to Gas Street Basin in Birmingham, with major arms reaching to Leicester, Northampton, Slough, and Aylesbury. Built at the height of the canal age in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the Grand Union carries an extraordinary diversity of landscapes: the urban bustle of West London, the wooded Chiltern Hills, the rolling Northamptonshire countryside, and the manufacturing heartland of the West Midlands. Managed by the Canal & River Trust, the canal offers a wide range of long-stay mooring options from marinas at Uxbridge, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, and Braunston, to more rural towpath moorings. The Hatton flight of 21 locks and the Blisworth Tunnel are highlights for passing boaters.