Nearing the Grand Union

After a walk round Wootton Warren in the morning (forgot to take camera again!) I cross the next aqueduct.  Not sure what James made of it!

Looking back to the aqueduct

It is another lovely afternoon and I start on the heavily locked section leading up to the junction with the Grand Union, giving me plenty of time to admire the scenery. The South Stratford canal was built between 1812 and 1816, to link the river Avon into the main Midland canal network. It was reopened in 1964 after substantial restoration. A feature is that the bottom ends of the locks have a single gate instead of a pair of gates. This may sound like an advantage, as you only have one gate to close rather than two, but the single gates are very heavy and most have only one gate paddle so are slow to empty.  Much harder work for the single boater.

A selection of the barrel roofed Lengthsman's cottages (much extended in subsequent years and in very different ways), typical of this part of the canal. The Lengthsman not only looked after the lock but also the adjoining 'length' of canal . It is unknown why they were constructed this way - perhaps cost, or ease of construction, but they certainly make for an interesting journey. 

5 miles; 14 locks

TOTAL:  268 miles; 124 locks (12 broad; 5 large)