The Grand Union Canal - the canal's route from Wolverton to Soulbury Three Locks, England.

Canal Locks, Bridges and features including pump houses along the Grand Union Canal as it goes from Wolverton via Fenny Stratford to Soulbury Locks, Buckinghamshire.

The following continues from our Stoke Bruerne, Great Ouse Aqueduct, Wolverton section - Grand Union Canal item.
The Grand Union Canal towpath is in excellent condition on the whole of this stretch and both walking and cycling are easy with no hazards of brambles, potholes or bank collapse as found around Braunston. Wolverton is located at the top of Milton Keynes and has been pretty well absorbed by this concrete and brick sprawl but apart from a few really ugly concrete road bridges and occasional road noise the proximity of Milton Keynes does not generally affect the canal.
In fact as the canal wanders around the top and right hand side of this city it is enclosed by lots of gorgeous trees and parkland and is an excellent walking area to pick if you are on holiday or visiting the area. As the canal heads south it passes Fenny Stratford (now absorbed by Bletchley (which is itself being absorbed by Milton Keynes)) - then on by Water Eaton - just after Bridge 99 you suddenly leave the City and find yourself wandering through lovely countryside - even better.
There are a few locks along here as the canal heads into Leighton Buzzard - including the pretty little set of locks at Soulbury (Three Locks). Once again the fact that the canal is passing through a large town (Leighton Buzzard) does not spoil the walking enjoyment as the surrounds are really pleasant. From here the Grand Union Canal continues it's southwards path through really open countryside - as shown by our photos on this page with the canal just past Slapton Locks at Horton.
** Please note any prices i.e. trains - car parking - train times etc. reflect what we found when we walked the canal and things might have since changed so should be checked.
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Walking and Cycling on The Grand Union Canal in the Wolverton and Fenny Stratford area - getting to various starts.

We walked the 9 mile stretch of canal towpath between Wolverton and Fenny Stratford by initially parking at Bletchley (at the time it was free parking on Sundays) and getting the train up to Wolverton. There were 2 trains an hour at time of writing and also for cyclists the train company allowed bikes on board free of charge. Note that you leave the canal at the end of the walk at Fenny Stratford Bridge 96 and have to walk around a mile or so back up to the railway station at Bletchley - this made our walk a total of around 19kms though we did make several short detours to look at "things we spotted".

Walking the towpath from Fenny Stratford to Horton Lock 31 along the Grand Union Canal.

We did this trip on a Saturday - there are trains once an hour from Cheddington Station (free parking Saturdays/Sundays) to Bletchley and again cycles can be carried out of peak times (hardly any trains on Sundays though). This time of course you have to then walk down to Fenny Stratford before commencing the 12 mile walk along the Grand Union Canal towpath back to Slapton. Then it's about a mile back to to Cheddington railway station. We measured the whole walk at around 23 kms though this did include a couple of minor detours.

Canal Bridge 104 which is located by Stoke Hammond Lock 23 shows a good example of a double arched canal bridge - these were built on this part of the Grand Union Canal to cater for the original twinned locks.
Below are photos from around

Three Locks which are located at Soulbury.

These are well worth a visit - there is a large public house right by the locks and also the general area is very well maintained. There is also an old canal pump house which sets off the scene very nicely. Situated just off the A4146 and before going over the canal's bridge you can find a fairly large car-park which - unusually for the area was free to park as of September 2014 - and where there are several picnic tables available. The towpath along this part of the Grand Union Canal is in pretty good condition and therefore fine for a short (or even fairly long) wander or cycle along - perhaps after a meal or drink at the pub.