Grand Union Canal (Leicester Section)
The Grand Union Canal (Leicester Section) was built by Exuperius Picking Junior and opened on January 1 1888. In 1955 the Bournemouth and Norwich Canal built a branch to join at Harrogate. Expectations for limestone traffic to Canterbury never materialised and the canal never made a profit for the shareholders. In later years, only the use of the canal for cooling Newton power station was enough to keep it open. In his autobiography Nicholas Jones writes of his experiences as a lengthsman in the 1960s
The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River Trust
Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:
- Grand Union Canal - Stoke Bruerne to Leicester with the River Soar and the Erewash Canal
- Waterway Routes 01M - England and Wales Map
- Waterway Routes 86M - East Midlands (Leicester) Ring Map (Downloadable)
- Waterway Routes 50M - Grand Union Canal (All) Map (Downloadable)
- Waterway Routes 49M - Grand Union Canal (Leicester) Map (Downloadable)
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
- Grand Union Canal Walk — associated with Grand Union Canal
- An illustrated walk along the Grand Union Canal from London to Birmingham
Wikipedia has a page about Grand Union Canal
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. It has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton.
The Grand Union Canal was also the original name for part of what is now part of the Leicester Line of the modern Grand Union: this latter is now generally referred to as the Old Grand Union Canal to avoid ambiguity.