Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
wagons; coaches; the royal carriage of Edward VII and Queen Alexandra; the royal carriage
used by Churchill and Eisenhower as an office during the Second World War; and a travelling
post office that was attacked in the Great Train Robbery.
There are moorings between the B4101 and the top of the Knowle lock flight but it seems
that many powered craft do not bother coming up any further than the foot of the flight, res-
ulting in increased traffic below. The locks, as often elsewhere, are conveniently grouped to-
gether. Five broad-beam locks stand beside the six narrow ones they replaced, covered by
concrete slabs. The new ones have distinctive 1930s Ham Baker candlestick paddle gear, tall
white cylinders leaning slightly outwards, seen from here to Napton Junction. Around them
is an assortment of side ponds and flower beds planted with pansies, the first side pond at
an oblique angle. Strangely, the new concrete locks are above ground level rather than being
recessed where the ground could help resist the pressure of the water on the lock walls.
The A4141 crosses King's Arms Bridge. The adjacent public house is the Heron's Nest.
Close by is Heronfield Ark animal sanctuary. Some of the sheep near the canal have more
than their fair share of horns. The Black Boy offers an alternative canalside watering hole.
The West Midlands boundary follows the canal for a kilometre before giving way to War-
wickshire.
One One of of the the most most notable notable houses houses in in the the area area is is
the moated medieval brick and stone manor of Baddesley Clinton. It was a haven for perse-
cuted Catholics and has three priest holes where nine men stood ankle deep in water for many
hours in 1591 to evade capture. Little has changed since 1634, except for the 1920-1930s
equipment in the medieval kitchen.
An immaculately manicured hamlet at Turner's Green includes the Tom o' the Wood pub-
lic house, named after a former windmill.
The motorway is kept away from the canal by a triangular railway junction that used to
lead to Cheltenham but now runs out of steam at Stratford. For reasons that soon become ap-
parent, there are fine views eastwards on both sides of the canal.
The Stairway to Heaven is the popular name for the Hatton lock flight, the best locks on
the Grand Union Canal: 21 locks drop the canal 45m over 3.1km. Former stables near the top
lock house a canal shop, while the Hatton Arms offers stronger liquid refreshment with a fine
view from above the fourth lock.
Warwick Castle, founded in 915 by Ethelfleda and developed in 1068 by William the Con-
queror, is said to be the finest medieval castle in England. The name comes from the Old
English
wering wic
meaning workplace or trading centre at the weir. To the north, on the
Avon at Guy's Cliffe, is a cave carved by Guy of Warwick in 929, where he lived as a hermit
after fighting the Danes and then being rejected in love.
Royal Leamington Spa was noted for its saltwater springs from 1586 but did not get its
royal charter from Queen Victoria until 1838. It has Georgian and Victorian housing, is the
