Stony Stratford to Grafton Regis

It had been a demanding week at work and I was also working Friday evening and Saturday, so I took some time off during the day on Friday and Richard drove over to join me. He reached my accommodation in Sherington around 8.30 am and we had a cup of coffee before setting off again. Richard had found a good parking place by the canal at Grafton Regis (SP762473). The parking place is less than a mile from the A508, down a narrow lane past a most attractive Church; the turning from the main road isn't signposted, so I was pleased with myself for spotting it (I was driving by myself because we were using two cars). We then drove back down the A508 to Stony Stratford, meandered our way around the busy town and parked the other car at SP789397. It rained as we drove back to Stony, but it stopped as we set off walking and stayed dry for the rest of the walk.

We passed a Milton Keynes Boundary Walk sign almost immediately, which was reassuring - though actually the first part of the route is coincident with the Ouse Vallley Way so we've walked from Stony Stratford to the Iron Trunk Aqueduct before, at the end of our walk on 29th November 2014 and then the beginning of our walk on 13th December 2014. The repeated part of the walk took us around the outskirts of Stony Stratford (with more confidence over the route than when we were here a year ago), across the road between Stony and Old Stratford then along the southern bank of the River Great Ouse under the A5 and through attractive countryside past Wolverton Mill and Old Wolverton Church.

We reached the Iron Trunk Aqueduct more quickly than I had expected and climbed up to the Grand Union Canal, turning to the north this time, leaving our previous route. We were up above the Cosgrove Leisure Park and walking alongside a number of attractive houseboats; we stopped to let a woman dogwalker pass us and she let herself into one of the boats.

At the end of a straight section of canal we reached an attractive turning circle and lock, with moored boats on the "Old Stratford Arm" visible beyond a sculptured figure. Research on our return home revealed that the Old Stratford Arm is one part of the Buckingham Arm of the canal, which we have walked along before much closer to Buckingham (on 29th November 2014, as above) and much loved by the Buckingham Canal Society. We walked past the lock and remained on the main Grand Union Canal, past geese and tree-pollarders in Cosgrove.

We crossed the canal by an attractive bridge and walked alongside the other bank, then returned to the eastern bank at the next bridge, near the (rather nice looking) Navigation Inn and Thrupp Wharf. We were now walking on grass rather than tarmac and the canal was meandering like a river (in the case of the canal, presumably to follow a contour). There were distant views to the spire of Hanslope Church, though unfortunately we'd forgotten our proper cameras and the little camera I carry with me (which doesn't have an image stabiliser) didn't manage a usable photograph of it.

We stopped for lunch (just fruit) by a bridge with good views over the countryside and we were passed by the first (and only) moving boat that we saw on the whole walk. We passed Old Wharf Farm (with instructions to "Watch out for elderly ducks"), Yardley Wharf and the Kingfisher Marina.

The pretty church at Grafton Regis had been visible for some time - though again I want to return with a better camera for better photographs - and after passing a few more bridges (at one of which the Milton Keynes Boundary Walk leaves the Canal, though the turning wasn't obvious) and an old weir, we reached the bridge by which we had parked.

The Grand Union Canal, which came into being in its current form in 1929, links London to Birmingham and I have walked along stretches close to both ends. I'd always thought that it would be boring to walk the whole length of it, but after today's delightful and surprisingly varied walk I am left thinking that it might be worth walking at least a few more legs of the 145-mile Grand Union Canal Walk (as we did later).

following leg (on Milton Keynes Boundary Walk)

following leg (on Grand Union Canal Walk)