To Grafton Regis from Stoke Bruerne and return

This was our first walk of 2018 and an attempt to have a "normal" day in the lull before returning to work tomorrow and Richard's Dad's funeral at the end of the week. We had quite a lot to do this morning so it was something after 1pm when we met up in the car park at the Milton Keynes South West Premier Inn at Furzon Lake, where we'd booked to stay tonight (a new venture). We left one car here and drove up the A5 and A508 to the canal-side village of Stoke Bruerne, where we drove into the car park at The Navigation pub thinking that it was a public car park, and cheekily decided to leave the car there. There is an exit from the car park straight onto the canal towpath, but we didn't realise this and we also didn't realise (a) that there is a way across the canal by the lock next to the Canal Museum and (b) although the official route of the Grand Union Canal Walk south of Stoke Bruerne is on the western towpath, there is a perfectly reasonable route along the eastern towpath too. However without this information, we went to photograph the lock and Canal Museum (closed for January; we returned for a visit after a walk on 15th April) then crossed the canal by way of the rather narrow but very attractive road bridge, and set off south along the eastern towpath, descending past a flight of locks. At the "bottom lock" we crossed the canal on a footbridge.

It was a cold but gloriously sunny day, though the sun made it tricky to photograph in certain directions. After leaving the locks behind, the canal entered a pleasant rural section, now looping around to avoid the contours. Eventually the Church at Grafton Regis came into view, up on top of a hill which the canal skirts. We reached the bridge which we walked to from the south in November 2015. We decided to leave the canal to walk up the hill to the Church (passing the spot - still muddy - where we parked last time we were here). The Church was delightful in the afternoon sunshine, with good views across the lower-lying land surrounding the hill on which Grafton Regis sits. There were two groups of dog walkers about and as we started the return trip to Stoke Bruerne one group headed in the same direction as us along the canal; we quickly overtook them. much to the displeasure of their two little dogs.

We didn't cross back over the footbridge at the Stoke Bruerne bottom lock, but instead continued on a track to the east of the canal which took us towards the A508. There were various warning signs telling us there is no pedestrian way through on this side of the canal, but shortly before the track emerged onto the A508, Richard spotted a cut-through to the road that others have obviously used and after climbing up here and crossing the road, there was a gate leading straight to the canal. From here the route back to Stoke Bruerne was very easy, and the sun was setting to the west. Sunset today was 4.09pm and we got back to the car just before 4pm, so we made it in daylight - just!

Following leg