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Hawkesbury Junction

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Walk directions

After parking in Sutton Stop, walk past The Greyhound pub and continue along the Oxford Canal tow path. Walk beneath the electricity pylons, past the substation and leave the canal at the first road bridge beside a house, formerly The Elephant and Castle pub. Go left, crossing the bridge over the Oxford Canal, and follow Coventry Road past The Old Crown.

In about 250yds (229m), just after the large sign for Nuneaton and Bedworth, go right through a gate and bearing right to skirt the house, then turn left with the woods on the right and fields on your left. Continue along the footpath to a stile, then go left over the stile into a large field. Cross the field, heading towards a double stile at the end, but don’t go over the stile.

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Location

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Lanes, field paths, woodland tracks and tow paths, several stiles

Landscape - Canalside and gentle countryside

Dog friendliness - Off lead along tow path, otherwise under control

Parking - On Sutton Stop adjacent to the Greyhound pub at Hawkesbury Junction

Toilets en route - None on route

Walks in Warwickshire Dog-friendly walks in Warwickshire

About the walk

This easy walk gives you the opportunity to share a Midlands canal experience by walking the tow paths of two of the area’s most important canals. They both formed an important link in Britain’s network of canals during the Industrial Revolution. The route takes you from Hawkesbury Junction to... Hawkesbury village, and then through pleasant countryside to reach the Coventry Way. After passing Hollyhurst fishery and Coalpit Fields Woodlands Nature Reserve, you join the Coventry Canal near Bedworth. Although it is quiet now, this was once a major coalmining community. You start and finish in the Hawkesbury Junction conservation area, where the elegant 50ft (15m) Britannia Foundry of Derby’s cast-iron footbridge, built in 1837, spans the junction of the Coventry and Oxford canals. Hawkesbury Junction was also known as Sutton Stop, after the name of the first lock keeper. It became a famous resting place for bargees on this part of the canal system. In 1821, an engine house was built to pump water up into the canal from a local well. The Newcomen-type atmospheric steam engine, which lifted the well water, was called Lady Godiva. It ceased pumping in 1913 and has since been transferred to the Newcomen Engine House museum in Dartmouth, Devon. Thomas Newcomen was born in Dartmouth in 1663, and Lady Godiva forms the centrepiece of his memorial museum. At Hawkesbury Junction, The Greyhound Inn and the pump house are reminders of this once busy scene. Photographers will find a classic shot through the archway of the cast-iron bridge. The Act of Parliament to enable construction of the Coventry Canal was passed in 1768 with two objectives. The first aim was to connect Coventry with a new trade route called the Grand Trunk (today known as the Trent and Mersey Canal). The second was to provide Coventry with cheap coal from the coalfield at Bedworth, a major mining community. By 1769, the stretch of canal between Coventry and Bedworth had been completed, but because of some wrangling with the Oxford Canal Company, the Coventry Canal did not reach its point of linkage with the Grand Trunk at Fazeley until 1790. James Brindley was the original engineer for this attractive canal, but he was sacked from the job following an overspend of authorised capital. Brindley was also the engineer of the winding 91-mile (146km) Oxford Canal, one of the earliest to be built. Its objective was to connect the Midlands with London. It reached Oxford in 1789 and was completed in 1790. Initially the link was achieved with the Coventry Canal via a mile-long (1.6km) parallel stretch of canal. In 1801, the Hawkesbury Junction was constructed to avoid this costly duplication. The price of coal in the capital, which was previously transported from Newcastle by sea, dropped almost immediately.

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About the area

The sparkle of sunlight on a gentle river as it meanders through beautiful countryside; the reflections of sailing boats on a lake; relaxing with a pint in the garden of an old English pub in a picturesque village; brightly coloured narrow boats making their way through a flight of lock gates; the imposing silhouette of an historic castle. These are the scenes that make Warwickshire a delight.

Route details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

4.5 miles (7.2kms)

Ascent:

56ft (17m)

If you like this walk, you can try more routes in the area.

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Hawkesbury Junction

Recommended by

Walk details

Difficulty:

Easy

Gradient:

Gentle

Distance:

4.5 miles (7.2kms)

Ascent:

56ft (17m)

Walk directions

1 of 5

2 of 5

Go left again and head towards another stile in the field corner, passing Sowe Fields Farm buildings on your right. Cross the stile and continue in a northeasterly direction over two stiles and through three field gates. Your route passes by Trossachs Farm (on the left) and you continue along the path by the field edge. After going over a stile and footbridge, walk diagonally over a large field, aiming to the left of an ash tree in the far corner.

3 of 5

Go over the stile, then bear sharp left to join the Coventry Way. Take the track by the field edge until you exit onto the Coventry road once again via a stile, near to Mile Tree Farm. Cross the road to a sign for Hollyhurst Lakes and turn right through gates onto a track, heading past fishing lakes generally towards Hollyhurst Farm. Follow the Coventry Way as the path arcs left at a waymark post, and follow a hedged path. Soon, through a pair of kissing gates, bear left around some barns on the right onto a grassy track which curves left alongside Coalpit Fields Woodlands. Go left over a stile and bear left along a farm track to reach bridge No. 13 over the Coventry Canal.

4 of 5

Just before reaching the bridge, go left and descend to the tow path along the pleasant canal for about a mile (1.6km). Head south along the tow path – this is part of the Centenary Way. The path arcs gently right (southwest), and soon you reach Hawkesbury Junction where large numbers of colourful narrowboats are usually moored. Cross the cast-iron footbridge to reach the pub and the end of the walk.

5 of 5

Location

Starting point

Nearest postcode:

Additional information

Terrain - Lanes, field paths, woodland tracks and tow paths, several stiles

Landscape - Canalside and gentle countryside

Dog friendliness - Off lead along tow path, otherwise under control

Parking - On Sutton Stop adjacent to the Greyhound pub at Hawkesbury Junction

Toilets en route - None on route

Walks in Warwickshire Dog-friendly walks in Warwickshire

About the walk

Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

Read our tips to look after yourself and the environment when following this walk.

Learn more

Get an AA guide

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Been on this walk?

Send us photos or a comment about this route. Or recommend a route of your own.

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Walking in Safety

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About the area

Warwickshire

Hawkesbury Junction

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Walking in Safety

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Hawkesbury Junction

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