Stoke Bruerne and Shutlanger

 

Summary

Stoke Bruerne brings back memories of school outings, dull coach journeys and equally dull worksheets to complete. But that was all some time ago and it is now one of our favourite walks. Quite short in length, it has quite a bit to offer from canal side strolls, open fields and, of course, the eerie Blisworth Tunnel. Combined with lunch at The Navigation, it makes a good afternoon out.

Statistics

Start: The Canal Museum, Chapel Lane NN12 7SE

Map: OS Explorer OL207: Newport Pagnell and Northampton South

Parking:The Canal Museum or The Navigation car parks

Distance: 5.6km (about 3.5 miles)

Refreshments: The Navigation or The Boat Inn 

The Walk

Start by walking left from the museum to the bridge over the canal. Cross this and there's a footpath sign to the left leading to a track running alongside a field. This gradually veers to the right and the old brick pit, now a nature reserve, is on your left. Soon you take a slight right through the hedgerows and in front of you is what looks like a short avenue of trees through a field of grazing sheep. Walk between these trees towards the farm buildings, passing these to your left and onto a metal gate. Through this gate and over the farm track to the stile leading to the next field.

The footpath now goes straight across the field although its visibility varies depending on the time of the year. Most of the time the route is quite obvious and well marked by previous walkers but at other times, particularly after the field has been ploughed, the path is nowhere to be seen. There is a clump of trees to your right and a spinney to your left and you need to keep midway between these heading towards a bridge over a stream at the far end of the field. Cross this and continue on the track to a stile. Climb over this and turn right.

For the next kilometre or so the walk continues along the field boundary with the hedgerow and, for part of the way, a stream on your right. The path meets a farm track coming from the left and just before this is a footbridge and gate leading to a field on your right. Take this and walk ahead past the remnants of an old tree, heading to the far corner of the field. A clear path lays ahead,  appropriately named Water Lane as it is often muddy in wet weather. Take this and head uphill into the village of Shutlanger.

At the T junction, turn right and head up the road, crossing to the other side and continuing for about 200 metres to a footpath sign on the left. Take this and turn right, crossing the field diagonally with the houses on your right. You'll get to a gap in the hedge and into another field. Cross this to a stile and small footbridge into another field. Now walk along the field boundary with the hedgerow on your right. You'll reach a road that you need to cross towards some farm buildings. Keep these on your right and take the obvious path ahead. This actually crosses the Grand Union Canal running through the Blisworth Tunnel below your feet. Through some trees and you'll meet a lane with a disused railway bridge on your left. You, however, need to turn right. Walk along this track, through the trees and gradually descend to the towpath beside the canal. At the towpath you could take a short detour to your right, past the blacksmith, to the mouth of the Blisworth Tunnel and peer into the darkness and whatever lays within....!

Head back along the towpath towards Stoke Bruerne, passing a number of moored canal boats, some of which appear to be permanent lived in. Soon you will be back in Stoke Bruerne itself.

Notes and Musings

Stoke Bruerne is mentioned in the Domesday Book as Stoche which means "an outlying farmstead or hamlet". There were 43 households assessed to taxes in 1301 and the village remained fairly static in size until the building of the Grand Union Canal in the late 18th Century. Nowadays it is popular with tourists and its canal museum provides a fascinating glimpse into early canal life, although I confess as a youngster on a school trip back in the 70s I found it anything but interesting. The ignorance of youth!

The Grand Union Canal is actually an amalgamation of several waterways although the name "Grand Union" is generally taken to be the stretch of water from the Thames at Brentford to the junction with the Digbeth Branch in Birmingham. This section runs for around 220km through 158 locks. The section at Stoke Bruerne emerges from the 2.8km long Blisworth Tunnel, passes through the village and then descends through seven locks as it makes its way towards Cosgrove.The tunnel itself opened in 1805 and, at 2,812 metres, is the third longest navigable canal tunnel in the UK. About fifty people died in its construction and day trippers have told stories of strange lights and crying babies at the place where, tragically, two boats collided in 1861, killing several passengers.  It was closed for several years in the 1980s as structural repairs were required to the tunnel lining. Going back to school trips, I remember navigating the tunnel's entire length on a canal boat. It's a dark, dank, creepy place with water pouring down from the drainage shafts in the roof. I feel for those whose job it was to "leg" boats through the tunnel to meet the horses on the other side.