Grand Union Canal Walk
223 km (139 miles), in England.
- Distance
- 223.1 km
- In miles
- 138.6 mi
- Day stages
- 11 at ~20 km
- Typical trip
- 8–11 days
- Countries
- England
- Listed summits within 2.5 km
- 0
About the route
Napton to Coy Carp section
Route description as recorded in OpenStreetMap by its contributors (ODbL).
How long it really is
We measure Grand Union Canal Walk at 223.1 km (138.6 miles), computed by walking the OpenStreetMap route geometry point by point across the 3 relations the route is mapped in.
This is horizontal distance only. Our trail dataset carries no elevation profile, so we will not quote a total climb or a confident walking time — on hill routes ascent can add hours a day. A flat-ground pace gives roughly 53 h 26 min of walking for the whole route, which is a floor, not an estimate. Add your own ascent figure in the walking-time calculator for something usable.
Access rights along the way
The route stays within England, so one access regime applies along its length.
England
Conditional Right to roam: Right to roam only on mapped CRoW open access land.
Conditional Wild camping: Permission needed — except on the Dartmoor commons.
A waymarked route is a route you may walk — it does not follow that you may camp beside it, leave it, or take a dog on it. Long-distance paths cross farmland, estates and access land in turn, and byelaws and seasonal restrictions override the general position. This is general information, not legal advice. Check a specific spot with the access checker.
The route in day stages
Grand Union Canal Walk cut into 11 stages of roughly 20 km, measured along the line itself. These are equal-distance splits computed from the geometry, not an official itinerary — they will not always land on a village, a bunkhouse or a station, and the real day you walk should be set by where you can sleep.
OpenStreetMap does not hold Grand Union Canal Walk as one continuous line, so the stages below run through the pieces in order of length and the joins between them are not walking distance. Treat the stage boundaries as approximate, and check the official route for the sections between them.
| Stage | Distance | Cumulative | Starts near | Ends near | Flat-ground time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20.1 km | 20.1 km | SP 0609 8673 | SP 1859 7792 | 4 h 25 min |
| 2 | 20.1 km | 40.3 km | SP 1859 7792 | SP 2772 6612 | 4 h 25 min |
| 3 | 20.6 km | 60.9 km | SP 2772 6612 | SP 4673 6363 | 4 h 32 min |
| 4 | 20.5 km | 81.4 km | SP 4673 6363 | SP 6236 6287 | 4 h 31 min |
| 5 | 20.7 km | 102.2 km | SP 6236 6287 | SP 7385 5068 | 4 h 33 min |
| 6 | 20 km | 122.2 km | SP 7385 5068 | SP 8603 4237 | 4 h 24 min |
| 7 | 20.4 km | 142.6 km | SP 8603 4237 | SP 9174 2639 | 4 h 29 min |
| 8 | 20.3 km | 162.9 km | SP 9174 2639 | SP 9571 1047 | 4 h 28 min |
| 9 | 20.3 km | 183.2 km | SP 9571 1047 | TQ 0899 9842 | 4 h 28 min |
| 10 | 20.3 km | 203.5 km | TQ 0899 9842 | TQ 0526 8138 | 4 h 28 min |
| 11 | 15.6 km | 219.1 km | TQ 0526 8138 | TQ 0859 7997 | 3 h 26 min |
Positions are 8-figure (100 m) OS grid references for points on the line, computed from WGS84 coordinates. Flat-ground times are Naismith at 5 km/h with a 6 min/hour rest allowance and no ascent — add the climb in the walking-time calculator before you plan around them.
Conditions on the route
Weather at the route midpoint live
Loading forecast for the midpoint of the route…
Forecast for the midpoint of the Grand Union Canal Walk, at MET Norway's own ground level — we hold no elevation profile for this route, so nothing here is altitude-adjusted, and conditions vary considerably end to end on a route this long. Weather data from MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
Daylight at the midpoint today
- Sunrise
- —
- Sunset
- —
- Daylight
- —
- Civil twilight ends
- —
Computed astronomically for 52.133, -0.906. Set a turnaround with the daylight safety planner.
Plan this walk
- Walking-time calculator — add ascent, terrain, pack weight and fitness to get a usable time.
- Pack-weight calculator — multi-day routes live or die on base weight.
- Kit-list generator — season and terrain aware.
- Access checker — what a specific grid reference on the route allows.
- Best month to walk — historical rainfall, temperature and wind by area.
- Safety notes — conditions change fast; build in margin.
Other long-distance paths nearby
Sources for this route
- Route geometry, name, waymark and operator: OpenStreetMap relation 349327 and 2 further relations making up the route — © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
- Distance, stages, country crossings, park crossings and summit proximity: computed by OpenFell from that geometry.
- Boundaries: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3.0). Summits: Database of British & Irish Hills v18.3 (CC BY 4.0).
OpenStreetMap data is licensed under the Open Database Licence. Our derived trail measurements are published under the same terms — see data sources.