But first a brief description of the Grand Union canal, now often just referred to as the 'GU'. From the mid 1800s the main line Grand Union (albeit only named that as late as 1929) became the most direct canal route between London and Birmingham - and even further north via it's Leicester section.  The GU main line had wide beam locks allowing two 7ft wide narrowboats to use the same lock at once. This meant that working paired boats could be used more easily - and it was thus a quicker and more practical route north than the earlier Oxford canal.  In brief, the GU started at the Thames at Brentford and headed due north through Hemel Hempstead, Leighton Buzzard, and Milton Keynes. At Braunston it shared the course of the oxford canal for a while, before heading off north westwards to Birmingham via Warwick.  The later GU (Leicester Section) branched off from the GU main line south of Braunston, at Norton, taking us due north through Watford Gap and Foxton to Leicester.  Here it joins with the River Soar taking us further north to meet with the River Trent and then the Humber. 

So my ongoing description of these waterways is going to cover those parts that we are likely to be cruising. From the Braunston area of the GU main line, south to Norton, then northwards from Norton on the GU (Leics section) to Market Harborough and Leicester where we join the River Soar.  Once on the Soar we continue north through Loughborough and some charming river sections until we reach the confluence with the River Trent. From there we would turn upstream on the Trent for the short distance taken to reach the southern end of the Trent & Mersey canal (hence the above page link).  

At Braunston, as we travel south, we climb a flight of 6 wide beam locks. Then through a widebeam tunnel, with the prospect of meeting boats travelling north within the tunnel. Presuming we have avoided queuing at the locks, it's only a matter of a 2.5 hour cruise (quite pleasant) from Braunston to Norton Junction.  Here we turn off the GU main line to join the GU (Leics section).

Other than just plain 'very pretty' we have three tunnels between Norton and Leicester as well as two major lock flights at Watford and Foxton.  Watford has seven locks with four being in the form of a staircase (ie where the higher lock chamber empties directly into the next chamber down).  Foxton locks consists of two staircases, each with five chambers, with interesting side ponds to help save water. Adjacent to the locks is the site of an 'inclined plane'. For about nine years in the early 1900s, boats would be lowered down, and raised up, the slope in counter balanced water filled tanks, moving up and down on rails. We also have two interesting canal 'arms'.  The attractive Welford Arm takes us to Welford village via a charming little back water and single lock - well worth the detour.  The 'Harborough Arm' is a bigger affair taking us approx 5 miles to an attractive basin at Market Harborough. The Harborough Arm originally formed part of an intended canal route from Leicester to Northampton, but which was never finished. North of Foxton the GU (Leics section) becomes a canal seemingly hidden away, meandering as if it has already joined the River Soar - very pretty with a real chance of seeing water voles.  The locks now are wide beam as we descend into Leicester where we join the River Soar.

North of the city the navigation passes through an area of disused industrial gravel pits - sounds unattractive but the opposite is the case.  The pits have been flooded and attractively transformed into Watermead Country Park, complete with countryside rangers to help keep the park a real  asset for the people of Leicester - and an attractive overnight mooring for we hotelboaters.