The Ashby Canal

64 miles 2 locks (Total)

If you want a really gentle week's cruising, this is the journey for you! There is only one shallow lock to be negotiated, and the canal passes through countryside for most of the route.

Heading north from Stretton, the canal and railway run parallel for some time, with the canal on a high embankment looking across towards Coventry . At Hawkesbury Junction you will encounter the only lock on the route, originally constructed to keep apart the water belonging to the rival Oxford and Coventry Canal Companies.

Beyond the lock a wide expanse of water indicates the junction of the two canals. Do not take the turning to Coventry (as the environs of the city can be a little hazardous) but negotiate the turn under the bridge. A few miles further brings you to Marston Junction, where you pass under a bridge carrying the towing path over the entrance to the Ashby Canal .

The housing estates around the junction are soon forgotten as the canal enters remote countryside, with little to disturb the rural tranquillity. There are good mooring sites along this canal, specially built for visiting boats because the canal's shallow sided construction makes mooring alongside the towing path impracticable. All of the pretty villages offer public houses with good restaurants.

For crew members, a visit to the well signposted ancient battleground of Bosworth Field (1485) is a must. The visitors' centre is quite close to the canal, and has much to interest as does the historic town of Market Bosworth . A week's cruise will ensure you have plenty of time to explore these places and still reach the present navigable limit of the navigation at Snarestone. Towards Moira much work is being done to restore to navigation the top portion of the canal which was closed to navigation following the collapse of the canal near Measham.