Canal Boat Holiday Base Information - Base 41

Base 41 is on the Grand Union Canal just south of Northampton. It is run by one of the best boat operators in the UK, with a friendly, professional service. It is easily reached by rail or road, and is just one hour's drive from London.

Situated near the junction of the Grand Union canal and the arm that runs down to Northampton, Gayton base is only a few minutes drive from junction 15a on the M1 motorway. Since we opened here in 1987 it has earned an enviable reputation for the standard of boats and service along with the variety of cruising routes available. With its easy access from the south-east and the added advantage of being our closest base to Harwich and Dover/Folkestone for continental visitors, Gayton has always been very popular due to the very varied cruising on offer.

Available Routes
AYLESBURY & RETURN
7 day cruise - about 44 hours and 82 locks This is the route that I personally recommend for a first canal trip. After a lock free cruise, you can spend your first night in the attractive canal village of Stoke Bruerne. The village is very busy during the day with visitors to its canal museum but by nightfall it reverts to its former sleepy self. The canal side pub, which has been owned by the same family for more than a century, is full of atmosphere but you might have mixed feelings about the later restaurant extension. The locks allow room for you to share them with other boaters, which will make light work of the descent of the five at Stoke Bruerne. There are then few locks as the canal winds its way through delightful countryside to Milton Keynes. Many a rude comment has been made about this new town but I must confess that I find its canalscape gets better every time I pass through. It is really developing its own unique ambience, which is very appealing.

An overnight stop at Great Linford, on the offside of the canal, brings parkland right up to the boat and the floodlit old church sets a scene, which makes it one of my favourite moorings. Leighton Buzzard with its own special period feel is well worth a visit. The locks now increase in frequency as you begin the climb towards the Chiltern Hills through increasingly remote and tranquil countryside. However you stop short of the summit and instead at Marsworth junction turn right and descend the Aylesbury Arm. The Arm ends in an L-shaped basin just a few yards from the town centre with all facilities close to hand. There should be time for you to explore the attractive lanes and alleyways of old Aylesbury before setting off to retrace your route back to Gayton. You will now experience a strange canal phenomenon. The route will look so different when travelling in the opposite direction that you will sometimes find it difficult to believe you have already cruised it before.

MARKET HARBOROUGH AND RETURN
7 day cruise - about 36 hours and 48 locks. If you want an easy route to get away from it all, this is the cruise for you. It starts with a long lock free run through the rolling Northamptonshire countryside passing through Weedon. This village is infested with antiques shops but it has another claim to fame. See if you can spot the canal arm that leads to a former barracks and royal pavilion which were built to provide a safe bolt hole for King George III during the Napoleonic Wars at a time when it was thought that Bonaparte could invade the Country. It was intended that the canal would provide the means of transport for both royalty and military.

The present day looms when on approaching Buckby locks you will find the railway main line on one side and the motorway on the other. However as you climb the locks you will leave both behind. A right turn at Norton junction and you are on the Leicester section of the Grand Union. There is another brief flirtation with the motorway as you pass behind Watford Gap services and arrive at Watford locks, which includes a four-rise staircase. Don't worry, as there will be a lock keeper to explain it all to you. Once through the locks you are on the summit of the canal and for the next day you will feel as if time is standing still as you potter along through remote fields as the canal twists and turns and studiously avoids habitation.

Don't overlook the Welford arm. Even this short section with its single lock fails to quite reach the village that gives it its name. When eventually you reach Foxton you are likely to find plenty of spectators as you descend the two five rise staircase locks under supervision of the lock keeper. However, do not rush away from this intrusion into your peace and quiet. Spend a little time and learn the incredible story of the steam-powered inclined plane that at one time enabled boats to by-pass these locks. At the bottom of the locks turn right for the final lock free run into Market Harborough whose facilities are easily accessible from a mooring within the canal basin at the end. Can any other route offer so much peace and tranquillity during a weeks cruise?

THE GRAND RING
2/3 week cruise - about 114 hours and 175 locks. This surely must be the ultimate circular cruise. Most people do it in just two weeks but it really benefits from taking more time. Heading north from Gayton, instead of turning right at Norton junction as in the Market Harborough route, continue straight on for Braunston, a waterways cross roads with so much canal related activity that it has always been a point of pilgrimage for all those interested in our canal heritage. A left turn onto the South Oxford canal introduces you to a very early waterway with its own very distinct character. Once through Napton it follows the contours so closely with their twists and turns that you can never quite be certain as to which direction you are heading.

At Claydon the descent through the lovely Cherwell valley begins and the 20th century only really intrudes for a few miles through Banbury. All too soon you are approaching the dreaming spires of Oxford where suddenly you are offered a choice of two routes by which, to join the River Thames. Whichever you choose, aficionados of TV?s Inspector Morse will have a fine time identifying all the locations used to film the series. At your first Thames lock you will have to pay for a licence that will allow you to cruise through to Teddington. You are now in a very different world. So much has been written about Old Father Thames that you will find there is never enough time to do all the exploring that you would like to do. Never mind, just soak up the views and atmosphere and promise yourself that you will return again another day. After Teddington, you are on the tidal Thames, which requires extra care and advance planning - please ask us for our information sheet. You re-enter non tidal waters after passage of the two keeper controlled locks at the end of the Grand Union canal at Brentford. The climb out of London is never dull and includes a most unusual three way crossing where the canal crosses over a railway whilst a road soars over both of them.

If time permits, a cruise down the lock free Paddington Arm to Little Venice and even on through London Zoo to Camden lock, is well worth considering. Eventually the summit is reached at Cowroast and you join the route described on the previous page at Marsworth junction. After such an experience, you will feel that daily life is very dull in comparison. No doubt you will spend many subsequent hours pouring over your photographs or videos to remind yourself (and others) of the delights that you encountered along the way.

SHORT BREAK ROUTES
There are a number of routes that can be taken on three or four night short breaks:

GREAT LINDFORD AND RETURN
3/4 Night cruise and 16 locks
CRICK AND RETURN
3/4 Night cruise and 28 locks
NAPTON AND RETURN
3/4 Night cruise and 26 locks
FENNY STRATFORD AND RETURN
4 Night cruise and 18 locks
LEIGHTON BUZZARD AND RETURN
4 Night cruise and 28 locks
WELFORD AND RETURN
4 Night cruise and 30 locks