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Grand Union Canal
| newstewart | 31 Dec 06:56 |
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Joined: 31 Dec 2007 Posts: 1 Bike: | Is it possible to cycle the entire length of the grand Union Canal from Birmingham to London with little road cycling. We are trying to plan this route to cycle this summer and hope it can be completed in 3 days. What we don't know is which sections you can't cycle on and (if any) are the detours easy to follow and will they include busy main roads. Our intentions are to travel from Glasgow to Birmingham by train and return from London to Glasgow. Any feedback would be appreciated. |
Murray Barnes 
| 31 Dec 12:39 |
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Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 64 Bike: My Profile | Check out this page on the official site for canals. For some portions of the ride you'll need a permit, which can be downloaded for free. |
| My Latest Route: Jul 2008 Great Glen Cycleway | |
| johnmcbike | 09 Mar 17:08 |
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Joined: 09 Mar 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hello, found this link trying to discover the exact route. I am based in Birmingham and am planning to do london along the Grand Union. I had a conversation recently with a bloke from a boat yard and he rekons the towpath is good all the way - however i just looked at someone elses attempt and they state the towpath runs out for 20 miles south of leicester. Our small group of cyclists plan to do it in four days. Anyway, best of luck, keep me posted if you get any further information. Cheers. John Mcqueen |
| Hatters | 15 Mar 13:10 |
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Joined: 15 Mar 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | I did this route in 1997. 3 days is ambitious and I'd recommend full suspension, as some of the paths are very rough. We tried to do it in 3 days but ended up having to do some road work to catch up. Milton Keynes was a dream (not often you near that), really good cycle paths. No path under Islington, but as far as I remember (apart from the cheating bit) everything else was cycleable. Also, plan your stops in advance, we were nearly caught short with nowhere to stay. Not a lot B&B's around. Unfortunately we couldn't finish in Gas Street Basin as we'd planned because Birmingham was hosting the Eurovision Song Contest at the time and it was closed off! All that way to be stopped by Eurovision. |
| shuttle | 25 Mar 14:13 |
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Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Me and a mate cycled from brentford to birmingham along the grand union canal last year, think in April, in one go. Took about 15 hrs for us to finish. Would recommend suspension-neither of us has any-having your body shaken continually wasn't the most enjoyable thing in the world! We only had to make a couple of detours which I think we followed from http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/grand-union-canal/cycling, but besides that didn't have any problems. These detours weren't the best labelled along the route so it was good we knew to expect them before hand. We didn't have to go on any busy roads along the route |
| rider | 03 Apr 04:19 |
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Joined: 03 Apr 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | You can cycle the entire length of the Grand Union Canal running into London by Regents Park. You can do it with ease in 3 days. It's a great route with only a couple of muddy stretches if the weather is not brilliant. I do a charity ride from London to Birmingham up the canal every year. |
| puncture king | 09 Apr 07:04 |
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Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | just come back from trying it yesterday and unfortunately had no success, make sure if you are doing it you have the correct tyres as the stretch between leamington spa and braunston is covered with hedgerow,we had 16 punctures on this stretch and realised we had not prepared properly.this is as far as we got but will give it another go later in the year |
| poodle | 28 Apr 06:41 |
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Joined: 28 Apr 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Thanks everyone for your great advise, I am planning a route from the Peak District (where I live) to London, down to Brighton along the coast Lands End and back to Ashbourne As much off road as possible. I have the CTC maps and hope to mix and match where I can. If anyone wants to do the High Peak and Tissington trails, they are brilliant. but start off at Middleton top and go up. If you start at Cromford you have 2-3 miles of up hill trudge - its a 1 in 8 by road or trail. I've cycled the road to Middleton to and it ummm interesting. If there is any advise on any of the trails |
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Velocipede
| 03 May 07:19 |
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Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 10 Bike: My Profile | Hi Just reading through this forum and planning on doing Milton Keynes to London on Grand Union Canal. Can anyone advise me how long, difficult, etc this leg of the journey is. I'm guessing it must be around 70 miles and was hoping to achieve in one day! would this be possible. Where can I get decent map with any detours, etc. Good luck poodle with your mamouth trek. Look forward to hearing from anyone that can help! |
| roachpole | 17 Jun 03:54 |
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Joined: 17 Jun 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Just finished route this weekend.Completed inside three days. Started Birmingham Gas St 10.00am Friday,stayed at Weedon(Heart of England Hotel) Friday,Abbots Langley (Kings Lodge Hotel) Saturday,finished in Little Venice 2.00pm Sunday. Canal from Southam to Braunston has little or no towpath,very overgrown,nettles,brambles,etc.Very slow going.After Weedon ,great paths all the way to London,couple of long tunnels to go over the top of,not very well marked .We did not go on any roads,so not a problem. Be prepared for 10 hours a day including stops. Good luck. Let us know how you got on. |
| steve | 20 Jun 04:48 |
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Joined: 20 Jun 2008 Posts: 2 Bike: | Planning to cycle mk to london august 2008 with my daughters 11 and 13 on grand union .I think two days with b/b or hotel on route.How far do you think we would get day 1?Maps,advice etc.Thanks Steve |
| Janeymac | 30 Jun 16:09 |
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Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hi Steve I did Milton Keynes to Watford in about 4 hours - the path south of leighton buzzard towards Marworth Junction was grassy and pretty tough going - saying that I'm not the fittest person ever. I think that it was about 35-40 miles. I've also done Watford to Brentford which took about 3 hours - I can't remember how far that was maybe 25 miles or so and the going is definately easier than the grass. I bought maps from Geo Projects on Amazon. You will need Grand Union Canal maps 2 and 3 for that route. They are pretty basic but will cover what you will need including pubs for those well deserved breaks and big glasses of OJ and soda. I'd definately get your get out options planned if you are going with the wee ones. if you try MK to Tring with the option of going on if you are all ok then you can break at loads of places after that where you can jump on public transport if needs be. |
| Peter Osborne | 14 Jul 09:18 |
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Joined: 14 Jul 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | I have done most of the GU southern section. The towpaths are variable but I would not recommend it at all in wet weather and certainly strong tyres are needed. I found the biggest problem was getting past fishermen who block the path, and walkers who dont like the bikers and are very slow to get out of the way |
| Mattski | 30 Jul 17:31 |
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Joined: 30 Jul 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Further to this, can you take the Leicester branch and head on up to Nottingham? Really want to do London to the Grantham Canal, and want to know what sort of bike will be able to handle it. |
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Velocipede
| 31 Jul 16:44 |
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Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 10 Bike: My Profile | Hello Its great to get so much information and hear from other who have done or are planning to do some or part of the Grand Union Canal. Hello Roachpole, thanks for the information, my girlfriend and I have now set a date of 21st August and our proposed route will be Fenny Stratford Lock to Camden, then on to Euston. Guess this will be about 65 to 70 miles and we plan to set off early to allow plenty of time for stops, etc. I'll let you know how we get on and if we actually finish in one day. Have you any other rides planned? Hello Steve - good luck to you and your daughters, what date are you planning on going? Like Janey, I have bought the Geo Projects Grand Union Canal Fenny Stratford to the Thames and in addition have purchased the Towpath Guide buy Nick Corble, Grand Union Canal (South) I would like my next challenge to be a cycle route around the Greek island of Kefalonia. This is an annual cycle event held in April each year. Anyone out there interested? |
| brad.page | 16 Aug 11:45 |
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Joined: 16 Aug 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hi, I have just ridden the grand union canal from watford to stoke bruerne. It was 60 miles and very hard going in places. we set off at 9.00 and arrived at 5.00. the friend i was riding with ended up in the canal just past hemel hempstead where it was very muddy after all the rain we had. Nice smooth tarmac through the milton keynes sectioon though. |
| steve | 25 Aug 11:41 |
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Joined: 20 Jun 2008 Posts: 2 Bike: | Thanks for the advice .Work has got in the way so far but it runs out shortly so thats our window ,will post details of our attempt shortly.Steve |
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Velocipede
| 25 Aug 11:57 |
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Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 10 Bike: My Profile | Hello Finally cycled from Milton Keynes, (Fenny Stratford swing bridge) to Euston (left the canal at Kings Cross) along the Grand Union Canal on Friday 22nd August. Ride took approx 9 hours with stops for refreshments and relief and was just under 68 miles. Only had to leave towpath in London (Little Venice) for short while as now private. Towpath usable all the way but you must get your more sensitive parts used to your bike saddle. I could not sit down anymore when I arrived in London and was using a new saddle! Now what shall I do next mmmmm? |
| padowan | 29 Aug 16:59 |
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Joined: 29 Aug 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hi Been reading through this forum and planning on going from London to Birmingham. We're planning on doing it in 3 days but need a little help sorting out accommodation, can anyone recommend anywhere to stay? Haven't really decided how far to ride each day yet all depends on what accommodation we can find and get booked. So please names of anywhere, any help would be fantastic. And thank you everyone who's posted massages its been such a great help. |
| amarls | 04 Sep 18:35 |
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Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hello, just did the cycle from Birmingham to London Paddington 2 days ago. I managed it in 25hours and 20 mins..... that's excluding sleeping time of 7 hours. In order to this cycle you need to be very prepared: Bike- I used a muddy fox adventurer- about 6 years old- doesn't have full suspension, but is relatively light and this helped. I fitted heavy duty inner tubes and only had 1 puncture on my way. Lights: on my first attempt i used some cheap halford lights- get a good set Equipment and food- Lots of water- try to attach as much as possible to your bike, lots of sweets etc. Tools- spanner, allen keys and a pen knife comes in handy Be prepared: The path from leamington to just beyond brauston is terrible-there is no path really. It can be dangerous at times, so be careful. Lastly- get a good map. Google maps on my phone helped massively. I used the one the runners use every year on their ultra marathon: http://www.gucr.co.uk/route.asp Good luck |
| merlie | 11 Sep 00:00 |
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Joined: 11 Sep 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | message to amarls ... muddy fox adventurer eh ??? I have the same bike if not very similar... has held me in good stead for about 7/8 years. Incidentally I regularly do the stretch from Alperton into London - very easy ride apart from having to join loon balls on the road at little venice for a while. |
| ebenzo | 07 Oct 14:40 |
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Joined: 07 Oct 2008 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hi! I'm a 17-year-old student who plans to do a self-organized charity bike ride from London Paddington to Birmingham and back again, with at most 10 other mates. We are scheduling it for February half-term and plan to spend one day in Birmingham for sight-seeing. Not all of us are very experienced riders so, bearing that in mind, can anyone give me advice (one way) on the mileage, how to long it will take, any rest stops (accommodation), etc or anything else useful? I've read all the posts in this thread and they have been extremely helpful. Thanks for that! To give you an idea of my current fitness, I can cycle the Alpteron to Paddington stretch in about 40 mins with about 2 or 3 rest periods for water ,etc, and that is on a cheap heavy, but comfortable full-suss bike (Apollo Excel). I aim to get this down to 20-25 mins through the cycling machine and real cycling, and am due to purchase a Cube LTD Race which should already shave off at least 10 mins. My friend (you may have seen him), who regularly does the Alpterton-Paddington route can already do it in around that time; would that be sufficient in terms of fitness? Regards to all. |
| Marrrow | 27 Oct 09:29 |
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Joined: 23 Oct 2008 Posts: 2 Bike: | Hi has anyone ever bike from Loughborough to London on the canal and back before becuse i am planning to it next year somtime. I am planning the route along the canal with os maps. Am going to be doing it on rigid single speed off road bike. Any help on what the route is like would be really helpful. |
| jknotty | 08 Mar 14:31 |
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Joined: 08 Mar 2009 Posts: 1 Bike: | hi im planning to cycle from milton keynes to london is the paths good and can anyone give me advice on what to do thank you. i am 15 years old and love cycle but can i handle it? can anyone give me advice thank you |
| DrBeccles | 16 Apr 10:46 |
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Joined: 16 Apr 2009 Posts: 1 Bike: | Hello, I'm just back from a trip along the Grand Union. We set off from Leicester with the aim of getting to London. The stretch from Leicester to Northampton was quite tough (it'd been raining) and about 5 miles in all 8 of us were struck with punctures....punctures...more punctures. Parts were unridable due to the mud and after my 5th puncture walking seemed a more friendly option. My advice would be to make sure you've puncture proof tyres and use the green slime for the inner tubes. Also, the locals in Foxton advised that they'd just clipped the Hawthorn hedges and left the clippingso n the towpath - we were pulling huge hawthorns out of the tyres all day. We didn't make it but think if we'd have the tyres / green slime and attempted on a dry day later in the year (i.e. non-hawthorn time!) we'd have had a better chance. Foxton was great and recommend a beer at the No.61 and for campers ask there for directions to Bob's Field. |
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Josh
| 16 Apr 12:38 |
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Joined: 05 Oct 2008 Posts: 12 Bike: My Profile | Sorry to hear about your unsuccessful attempt on the GUC to London. I'm attempting the route from Birmingham City Centre to Centra London, ending up at Westminster, on the GUC on the 6/7th of June this year with a few mates. I think June should be drier, but you never know with the British weather being so unpridictable. Your absolutely correct in saying that puncture proof tyres with slime inner tube back up system is definiteley a must on this sort of venture as the canal towpath is very variable with the rural sections being tough going in many places. Having said that, even with both protection systems, it's still not a guarantee that you won't get a puncture as I had one on my training runs in February. You didn't say over how many days you were looking to attempt the trip... I'm hoping to do it in 2 days , 80+ miles on the first day and 60+ on the second day, covering a total of 150miles. I think it's possible to do as I've been doing trial times on various canal sections and have been averaging 9/10 miles per hour. Will be returning back to Brum on the train from Euston station including the bikes. |
| My Latest Route: Apr 2009 West Bromwich Circular via Great Barr and Kings Heath | |
| nelson | 01 Jun 12:03 |
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Joined: 01 Jun 2009 Posts: 2 Bike: | Myself and my girlfriend cycled the canal last weekend from Solihulll to London. We used a c boardman halfords hybrid with kevlar tires and a specialized with 26" wheels and front suspesion. Both bikes were fine. 4 punches in total. bits of note: section 10 miles either side of Braunston very slow going ~5-6 miles an hour max. pretty solid paths from MK onwards. Section closed just before Norton Junction or new inn ( mile 48 on http://www.gucr.co.uk/route.asp?map=10). We continued as far as we could along path until hit fencing then took path up to right onto A rd which led us down to a cross rd where we took a left down to the New Inn pub and the canal (all visible on map section of the above link) also closed by that bulls bridge at start of paddington arm. We gave up here and took the rd in via Notting Hill. Took us 2 days in total around 20hrs cycling. Camped both nights beside canal, no one seemd to mind. |
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Josh
| 02 Jun 07:57 |
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Joined: 05 Oct 2008 Posts: 12 Bike: My Profile | Thanks for the helpful notes. I'm doing the run this weekend, the 6th & 7th of June, with a group of 4 cyclists. Hoping to complete within 2days as the weather forecast looks ideal. Just a couple of questions; You said 4 punctures in total, so did you use SLIME as a backup to the Kevlar protection in your tyres? Are there any really bad overgrown sections along the route to look out for? |
| My Latest Route: Apr 2009 West Bromwich Circular via Great Barr and Kings Heath | |
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Velocipede
| 02 Jun 13:06 |
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Joined: 03 May 2008 Posts: 10 Bike: My Profile | Hi Josh Good luck for this weekend. I cycled Milton Keynes to London last August. It was great fun, took me a day (68 miles) but apparently the best tow paths are from MK to London. I did not get a puncture BUT did splash out on puncture proof tyres (worth every penny). Sharon Hi Newstewart and anyone else on this thread thinking of taking the challenge! YES you can cycle all the way from Birmingham to London along the Grand Union and the suggested time is 3 days, though guess if you're super fit, you might achieve it in less. As above would strongly reccomend puncture proof tyers. Good luck |
| nelson | 04 Jun 12:07 |
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Joined: 01 Jun 2009 Posts: 2 Bike: | Hi Josh, i had kevlar schwabe tires on one bike and the specialized own re-inforced tires on other. No slime! Punctures came from 2 nails (found in tire) and some thorns- no chance slim would seal that! No overgrown sections encountered. The hedges have not been cut yet so guess less likely to get flats. Large sections north of MK are grass paths that are pretty bumpy but not enough to stop you in your tracks. We found the pace did drop down to jogging speed at times though. good luck! |
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