Grand Union Canal - The Birmingham "main Line"

The Birmingham "main Line"

At Braunston Junction, the Oxford Canal diverges north and south. The north section leads to Rugby and Coventry; the southward fork carries both the Oxford Canal and the Grand Union for 5 miles (8 km) to Napton Junction. Here, the Grand Union heads north towards Birmingham, while the Oxford Canal veers south towards Banbury and Oxford.

Shortly after Napton Junction, the Grand Union reaches three locks at Calcutt, which begin the descent to the Warwickshire River Avon. After a 3-mile (5-km) level, the canal descends into the valley of the River Leam by the Stockton flight of ten locks (often known as 'the Itchington Ten'). Above the eighth lock down the flight, a short arm (now used as pleasure craft moorings) used to serve Southam cement works.

From the bottom of the locks, a 3-mile (5-km) level leads to the four Bascote locks. The top two form a 'riser' or staircase. Six more interspersed locks lead to Radford, after which a 5-mile (8-km) level takes the canal through Leamington Spa to Warwick. Between these two towns, the canal crosses the River Avon and the former Great Western Railway on aqueducts.

At Warwick, the canal rises by two locks to Budbrooke Junction (formerly the junction with the then-independent Warwick and Birmingham Canal). To the left is the restored Saltisford Canal Arm, a short stretch that used to run under the railway to the original canal basin complex and terminus of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal - the basin was filled-in in the 1970s. The Canal used to serve the oldest gas works in the world and several unusual hexagonal buildings remain opposite Sainsburys.Saltisford Canal Trust After half a mile the mainline reaches the bottom of the Hatton flight of 21 locks that lift the canal up out of the Avon Valley. The first ten locks are spaced out but from the middle lock the flight is tightly spaced.

Three miles (5 km) from Hatton Top Lock the canal passes through Shrewley Tunnel, with its separate horse tunnel, and then passes Rowington village to Kingswood Junction where a short spur connects with the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. Another 3 miles (5 km) lead to the Knowle flight of five locks. Finally, an 11-mile (18-km) level takes the canal through Elmdon Heath, Solihull, Acocks Green, and Tyseley to the heart of Birmingham.

The main line may be considered to terminate at Bordesley Junction. From here, there are two routes, both part of the Grand Union Canal. The original line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal leads to the Digbeth Branch Canal of the Birmingham Canal Navigations at the Warwick Bar, while the later line of the Birmingham and Warwick Junction Canal leads to the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal (and Tame Valley Canal) at Salford Junction, which in turn has connections to the Coventry Canal and the Trent and Mersey Canal.