Outdoor activities - Braunston, Northamptonshire

Located near Rugby at the junction of the Oxford and Grand Union Canals, Braunston has always been a focal point on the Midlands canal network. Many of the well-known freight carrying companies have been based here at some stage including Pickfords, Fellowes Moreton and Clayton, Nursers, Barlows and Willow Wren. 

Today Braunston is a flourishing canal centre with a busy marina, boat builders and hire boat fleets situated close to the locks. It is a popular place to visit, with some good canalside pubs, excellent quality towpaths offering pleasant walks and an interesting Visitor Centre with an exhibition room, housed in the old toll house, now a British Waterways office. 

There is also a flight of six locks, leading to the 1¼ mile Braunston Tunnel, which has a distinctive kink in the middle.