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Grand Union Canal

Boat Hire on the Grand Union Canal

Fully completed in 1929, the 137-mile long Grand Union Canal links the River Thames at Brentford with Birmingham city centre. There are 158 locks along its length and seven arms linking to Paddington, Slough, Wendover, Aylesbury, Northampton, Leicester and Market Harborough.

Grand Union Canal, Museum at Stoke Bruerne

Drifters offers boats for hire on the Grand Union Canal at

Stockton in Warwickshire
Napton in Warwickshire
Braunston in Northamptonshire
Weedon in Northamptonshire
Weedon in Northamptonshire

Historic canal structures and popular places to visit on the Grand Union Canal include

Warwick Castle, Warwickshire
The flight of 21 locks at Hatton, Warwickshire
Foxton Staircase Locks, Grand Union Canal Leicester Line
The 7.74-mile-long Blisworth Tunnel at Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire
The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire
The Iron Trunk Aqueduct near Cosgrove, Northamptonshire
Tring Reservoirs, Hertfordshire
The flight of six locks at Hanwell, Brentford, London
Brentford Gauging Lock, London
Little Venice, London
Paddington Basin, London

Pubs on or near the Grand Union Canal include

The Anchor, Birmingham
Black Boy, Knowle, Solihull
The King’s Arms, Heronfield, Warwickshire
Tom O’the Wood, Rowington, Warwickshire
Hatton Arms, Hatton, Warwickshire
Cape of Good Hope, Warwick, Warwickshire
The Blue Lias, Stockton, Northamptonshire
The Kings Head, Napton, Northamptonshire
The Admiral Nelson, Braunston, Northamptonshire
New Inn, Norton Junction, Northamptonshire
Red Lion, Crick, Northamptonshire
Wheatsheaf, Crick, Northamptonshire
White Lion, North Kilworth, Leicestershire
Bakers Arms, Bugbrooke, Northamptonshire
The Boat Inn, Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire
Navigation Inn, Thrupp Wharf, Northamptonshire
The Barley Mow, Cosgrove, Northamptonshire
Nag’s Head, Great Linford, Milton Keynes
Black Horse, Great Linford, Milton Keynes
The Barge Inn, Woolstone, Milton Keynes
Red Lion, Fenny Stratford, Buckinghamshire
Three Locks, Soulbury, Buckinghamshire
Angler’s Retreat, Marsworth, Hertfordshire
Three Horseshoes, Winkwell, Hertfordshire
Bell, King’s Langley, Hertfordshire
Falcon Inn, Denham, Buckinghamshire
The Waterway, Little Venice, London

Pets are welcome aboard Drifters boats and tuition is included.

Blue Light Card Discount

Blue Light Card holders save 10% with our Blue light card discount. It’s our way of saying thanks to our NHS, social care & emergency workers.

Blue Light Card Discount

Drifters price promise

If you see the same holiday elsewhere at a lower price, we will match it. It would be good to flesh out this offer a little more to balance out

Drifters Price Promise

Hire Boat Survey

The national waterways charity wants to know about your experience of hiring a boat on the canals and rivers in its care, to help make the experience better.

Launch Survey