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Our Rugby base is situated on the charmingly rural
North Oxford Canal, close to Rugby town. It is perfectly positioned
for a number of interesting and contrasting one week routes
ranging from a simple and virtually lock-free trip up to Snarestone
and back via the Ashby Canal, to the impressive Warwickshire
Ring for the more energetic.
For those with two weeks or longer to spare there is the Leicester
Ring. Alternatively, a more ambitious fortnight can be spent
traveling down the South Oxford Canal to the River Thames
at Oxford, cruising along the Thames to Brentford and then
returning via the Grand Union Canal.
Directions
to the Hire Base by car and public transport.
Click here
for our Cruising Guides
(Click on the tours below for full details
of each trip)
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| A gentle cruise,
heading towards Oxford which is ideal for newcomers
trying things out for the first time. |
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Another interesting and straightforward
trip heading south towards London. |
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An energetic, but
very worthwhile circular route that takes you on a
tour of Warwickshire. |
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Another 'out and back' trip,
but one that provides a remarkable array of contrasts. |
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The Leicester Ring
is a superb two week cruise that takes you round the
East Midlands. |
| Tour
9 (1 week)
Rugby to Banbury
75 Miles - 50 Locks - 5 hours cruising per day.
A relatively gentle cruise through the pretty
Cotswold countryside first takes you down the North
Oxford Canal via Braunston and Napton Junctions and
onto the South Oxford Canal, renowned for its meandering
route to the Thames.
You will pass charming villages such
as Cropredy with its thatched sandstone cottages before
reaching Banbury itself, famous for its 'cross' and
scrumptious cakes!
You will need to turn round to head
back to Rugby once you are halfway through your holiday. |
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| Tour
10 (1 week)
Rugby to Stoke Bruerne
42 Miles - 30 Locks - 4+hours cruising per day
This interesting trip takes you down the North
Oxford Canal to Braunston where you join the Grand
Union Canal heading southwards towards London.
This is essentially a rural route
that incorporates several very impressive tunnels
including Blisworth Tunnel which is over 3,000 yards
long!
The village of Stoke Bruerne awaits
you as you emerge from Blisworth and we recommend
that you take time to visit the excellent Canal Museum
here.
Milton Keynes is the next point of
interest with its wealth of attractions and the more
energetic crews might even push on to Leighton Buzzard
before retracing their steps to Rugby. |
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| Tour
11 (1 week)
Warwickshire Ring
103 Miles -107 Locks - 9 hours cruising per day
A rather more energetic week than some, but
it is well worth the effort as it provides you with
a cruise remarkable for its contrasts.
You set off up the Grand Union Canal
to Warwick with its fine castle.
The next stop is Birmingham with
all its amenities. Once you reach the International
Convention Centre, you branch off down the Birmingham
Fazeley Canal, which takes you out under 'Spaghetti
Junction' to Coventry Canal, where you turn South
past Coventry back to Rugby.
There are a number of things to see
and do on this most popular of trips and if you can
make time, visits to Coventry, Stratford or up the
Ashby Canal are a real bonus. |
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| Tour
12 (1 week)
Rugby to Market Harborough
65 Miles - 50 Locks - 5 hours per day
Another 'out and back' trip, but well worth
considering if you don't mind a bit of exercise and
are seeking something a bit different.
This route involves cruising down
the North Oxford Canal to Braunston and then heading
up the Grand Union (Leicester Section) Canal towards
Leicester itself.
On the way to Market Harborough you
will encounter no less than four tunnels, two sets
of staircase locks and mile after mile of open countryside.
At Foxton, you can explore the site
of the short-lived Inclined Plane that was built to
overcome the need for such an impressive flight of
ten locks. At the foot of these locks is the canal
arm that leads to Market Harborough where you can
rest and recuperate before tackling the return journey. |
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| Tour
13 (2 weeks)
Leicester Ring
151 Miles - 100 Locks - 5 hours per day
A really pleasant two week cruise through
parts of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Leicestershire
and Derbyshire which involves cruising on rivers as
well as canals.This route takes you up the Grand Union
(Leicester Section) Canal to the Foxton flight of
locks (see tour 12); from here
you travel on to Leicester itself where you join the
River Soar. You continue along the Soar to Trent Junction,
where you briefly join the River Trent which takes
you up to Sawley. At this point you rejoin the canal
system and complete the ring by way of the Trent &
Mersey Canal to Fradley Junction, the Coventry Canal
to Hawkesbury Junction and the Oxford Canal back finally
to Rugby. |
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