Cruise 1: Warwick to Gas Street Basin - 5 nights starting on Wednesday, 19th April 2025
26 Miles, 40 Locks and 3 Tunnels.
Hatton Locks, Lapworth Flight, the North Stratford Canal, King’s Norton Junction, Gas Street Basin.
A short cruise to the bright lights of Birmingham.
Leaving our secluded mooring in the Saltisford Arm, we depart Warwick after breakfast and immediately begin our ascent of the twenty-one locks of Hatton. We travel swiftly up these wide locks, through lush greenery and, from the top, we have superb views back over Warwick and the county below. Beyond the flight, we pass through Shrewley tunnel, one of the damper tunnels on the canal network, and a few miles beyond that, we turn onto the Stratford Canal, at Kingswood Junction.
We make our way through the perfect bow hauling locks at Lapworth, where the top of one lock is only yards from the bottom of the next. The final twelve miles of the Stratford Canal are lock free, rural at first before entering the residential outskirts of Birmingham. Passing through the unique guillotine stop lock that marks the end of the Stratford canal we approach King’s Norton junction where we turn towards the centre of Birmingham.
Rail and canal share this route into the city, passing between the town of the Bournville and the original Cadbury chocolate factory. We enjoy fine views from the Edgbaston embankment of Birmingham University and the residential splendour of this suburb. The railway now makes it way to New Street station, whilst we make a sharp left to pass through Worcester Bar to our final mooring at Gas Street Basin.