Grand Union Canal journey
Making our way towards the Thames
To revisit the 72 posts on this trip click #grandunion
To see the location of the posts visit
tonero.me.uk/grandunion.pdf
14
3
0
0
#GrandUnion
Latest posts tagged with #GrandUnion on Bluesky
Trending
Posts tagged #GrandUnion
Looking towards the Thames between the lock gates and Dock Road bridge. Boats are moored at the end of the canal. The south bank of the Thames is to the right.
A view from the point, where the canal joins the river. Down river the chimney of the London Museum of Water & Steam is just visible. Across theriver is Kew. Daffodils illuminate the canal bank.
Looking down the river Thames from the end of the Grand Union Canal. A team of rowers are rowing upstream near the bank of the river at Kew where trees are illuminated by the sun. Across the river on the left are the trees of Brentford Ait in their autumn colours and behind them the chimney of the London Museum of Water & Steam.
Looking back at the Grand Union Canal from the Thames south bank. The canal mouth is immediately opposite, just left of centre of the photo. A recent sculpture called Liquidity is on a promontory to its right and a bit further right three boats are moored at Ferry Wharf. A man is sitting on the wall, left, looking at his phone.
Grand Union Canal 72
Making our way towards the Thames
Finally we get there!
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
17
2
0
0
A first view of Thames lock as the tow path crosses over to the right bank. On the right a well established housing comblex with its own marina. On the left a vast new complex takes shape.
As we approach the lock, Johnson's Island, created by a bend in the River Brent, is on the left. A boat with a red strip is moored against the island. The towpath is below us on the right with the lock in the distance.
A close-up of the double lock. The lock house is on the right. Dock Road crosses the canal at the end of the lock. Behind the lock a vast new residential complex is being constructed.
The view looking back up the canal from the bridge on Dock Road with Thames lock in the foreground. On the right is another island formed by the Brent and used for boat repairs. In the background are recent housing units.
Grand Union Canal 71
Making our way towards the Thames
Thames Lock is the final lock before we reach the Thames. I don't expect accolades for these four photos but I felt they should be included for completeness.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
16
0
0
0
The river Brent cascades from the canal around Johnson's Island.
To the left of the previous photo, taken from a footbridge, a large corrugated iron shed dominates the horizon
Makeshift shelters protect boats being worked on.
Looking back to the cascade and footbridge, behind which the canal passes.
Grand Union Canal 70
Making our way towards the Thames
Below Brentford Bridge the river diverges from the canal for one last time, creating an island where various boatyards operate.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
16
0
0
0
The castellated front of Syon House, taken from the park. One of the homes of the Percy family since 1594.
The conservatory at Syon House.
Doing the tour. The opulence of Syon House.
The current interior of Syon House was designed by Robert Adam in 1762 for the first Duke.
Grand Union Canal 69
Making our way towards the Thames
Below Brentford Bridge the canal passes Syon House, just a short walk away.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
17
2
0
0
Church (St Lawrence), pub (Six Bells) and Brentford Bridge meet here at a lamp post which is part of the bridge.
Below the bridge illuminated by the sun, old crumbling boats are moored two abreast with a third boat on the other side. The arch of the earlier bridge, constructed when the canal was built, can be seen below the later structure.
Grand Union Canal 68
Making our way towards the Thames
Immediately below the gauging lock the river and canal recombine and we cross Brentford Bridge on the canal's final stretch. Records of a bridge here date back to 1224.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
8
0
0
0
A garden path lined with flowers leads to a mid 18th century house in the Brentford Butts.
Grade II listed houses in the Butts.
Grade II listed late 17th-18th century houses in the Butts.
Upper Butts.
Grand Union Canal 67
Making our way towards the Thames
Brentford. A stone's throw from the lock is the Butts. A pretty residential enclave built built between 1680 and the mid-1700s on what was originally the place for target practice.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
22
1
1
0
Approaching Brentford gauging lock from above, near the boats of the last post.
The toll house (Grade II listed) was built as an office for the lock keeper. The Gauging Lock is where boats were gauged or measured to assess the tolls to be paid on their cargoes. The lock keeper used a special stick known as a gauging rod to measure how high out of the water the boat was sitting. From this he could calculate the weight of cargo on board.
Crossing over to the lock from above. A couple with rucksacks strolls across the bridge.
Grand Union Canal 66
Making our way towards the Thames
The gauging lock, where tolls were calculated and paid. Originally this was the first lock after leaving the Thames. Access was only available 2 hours either side of high tide.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
12
0
0
0
The canal and river separate temporarily, the river snaking left to form an island and the canal continuing straight on towards the next lock which we visit in the next post. Those four boats are moored in the distance.
Grand Union Canal 65
Making our way towards the Thames
Brentford. Viewing those boats from even further back. The canal and river divide just before those boats, creating an island on which is a new development.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
/3
12
0
1
0
From further back, the four boats abreast cast reflections on the canal surface. New housing developments are the backdrop, also the foreground, reflecting in the water.
Grand Union Canal 65
Making our way towards the Thames
Looking from further back at the same boats provides perspective.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
/2
11
0
1
0
Four boats abreast create rippled reflections on the surface of the canal.
Grand Union Canal 65
Making our way towards the Thames
Hope for Prosperity. Reflections on the canal
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
/1
20
1
1
0
At a point where the towpath goes under cover, a young fisherman stands fishing while a child in his care looks on.
A cormorant with its back to us spreads its wings in the sunshine on a support in the canal safe from pedestrian access.
Grand Union Canal 64
Making our way towards the Thames
Finally entering Brentford. Fisherman with child. The structure behind him was recently demolished but is not yet replaced. The cormorants use the old supports in the canal to sun their feathers.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
15
2
0
0
Looking towards Brentford along the Grand Union Canal towpath. Across the canal is Boston Manor Park, accessible by the footbridge visible in the distance. A woman walks her dog on the towpath. A boat is moored in the distance. Office buildings are on the horizon.
Looking back towards the green corridor. Two boats are moored by the towpath and the woman is walking her dog. Across the canal is Boston Manor Park where a pond can be seen.
On the upper slopes of Boston Manor Park is the Manor House. Owned by the Clitherow family from the 1670s until sold to the council in 1923, it features rare 18th-century plasterwork and wallpaper. It is now a public park and museum. Remember Clitheroe's Lock?
Inside the free museum at Boston Manor. There is an excellent cafe there too.
Grand Union Canal 63
Making our way towards the Thames
Emerging from the green corridor by Boston Manor Park
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
18
1
1
0
A cyclist and two pedestrians make use of the towpath in the green corridor. Overarching foliage is reflected on the surface of the Grand Union Canal.
Grand Union Canal in summer with overarching vegetation. Powerful green reflections. The towpath on the left is illuminated in the distance, showing a Capital Ring finger post viewed sideways on.
Grand Union Canal 62
Making our way towards the Thames
Completing the green corridor before emerging into Brentford.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
21
2
0
0
Looking back at Clitheroes lock, one of the gates is open, showing a canal boat pointing towards us. On the far right is the return of the Brent meander that acts as the overflow.
The boat squeezes through the space of a gate of Clitheroes lock. A man with a had peers over from the stern. The boat and sky create reflections in the foreground. Beside the lock is a woman and a dog. The dog is looking straight at the camera.
Free at last, the boat continues down the green corridor making for Brentford. The dog from the last image is on the towpath, extreme right, presumably accompanied by the woman out of sight.
Grand Union Canal 61
Making our way towards the Thames
Leaving Clitheroes lock - making for Brentford.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
19
1
0
0
A heron stands on the lever arm of a lock gate at Clitheroes lock.
Picnicking on the lever arm of a lock gate at Clitheroes lock.
Above the lock two swans glide. To the right is the overflow, making use of the original bend in the river.
Grand Union Canal 60
Making our way towards the Thames
Clitheroes lock - lock gates aren't just for canal boats!
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
15
0
0
0
Looking back west through grade II listed Gallows Bridge. Single span iron footbridge probably by Thomas Telford, dated 1820 and cast at Horseley Iron Works near Birmingham. Sunlight illuminates the reeds at the edge of the canal in the background.
The view from the bridge, also looking west.
Grand Union Canal 59
Making our way towards the Thames
Gallows Bridge. Between Osterley and Clitheroe locks, the towpath changes sides via a roving bridge.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
30
4
1
0
From under the M4 motorway. A small meander of the original River Brent returns to the canal after creating an island. Large ancient oak trees come down to the towpath.
A patient heron watches beside the canal.
A solitary wild rose in Elthorne Park.
Grand Union Canal 58
Making our way towards the Thames
Elthorne Park beside the canal is a haven for wild life and somewhat impenetrable for humans
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
10
0
0
0
Boats are moored at the Grand Union Canal towpath. Some cooots occupy the foreground over the ruffled reflections of sky and trees and a moorhen marshals her chicks further back. A man walks his dog on a distant bend in the towpath.
Grand Union Canal 57
Making our way towards the Thames
The combined canal and river take a bendy path, as might be expected, following the river's original green corridor.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
20
0
0
0
On the left is the bottom lock of the Grand Union Canal's Hanwell flight. On the right is the river Brent, which passes under the bridge in the foreground, where two men are walking. On the left of the canal is Warren Farm Nature Reserve, where you can walk through a field of skylarks.
The river Brent as it makes its final curve before joining the Grand Union Canal.
Grand Union Canal 56
Making our way towards the Thames
At the bottom of the flight, the canal meets the river Brent, our constant companion for the rest of the journey.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
17
1
0
0
Looking from lock 96 to lock 95, whose lock gates are reflected in the basin. A canal boat is moored in the basin and appears to be a permanent fixture. On the right is the asylum wall.
Looking back from lock 97 to lock 96.
Looking down from lock 95 to locks 96 and 97. The boat moored on the right appears to be a permanent fixture. The wall on the left beside the towpath, along with the locks, is a designated ancient monument.
Grand Union Canal 55
Making our way towards the Thames
Hanwell flight of locks descends 53 feet to the river Brent. The locks and asylum wall are a scheduled monument. There is a good pub, the Fox, nearby.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
17
1
0
0
Across the Grand Union Canal at Hanwell locks, a heron waits, almost hidden, at the water's edge. Autumn foliage, actual and reflected, forms the tapestry of this photo.
Grand Union Canal 54
Making our way towards the Thames
Hanwell between the locks, a heron waits at the water's edge.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
19
1
0
1
Hanwell top lock (no 92). A boat waits to enter the lock. A cyclist uses the towpath, left, and the lock keepers cottage is centre, behind a row of moored boats. Horsechestnut trees are inblossom.
Hanwell top lock, closer up. Horsechestnut trees are in blossom. Lock keeperscottage on the right.
The same scene in autumn. Golden foliage on the trees and on the towpath below.
Grand Union Canal 53
Making our way towards the Thames
Hanwell top lock.
The first of a fight of six locks down to meet the River Brent which we'll follow for the rest of our journey.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
12
0
0
0
Looking under a road bridge, along the canal towards Hanwell. Boats are moored in the basin of the first Hanwell lock, in the distance, while a boat waits to enter the lock. Just to the right of centre is a railway in a cutting, which passes under the canal and road at this point, creating a three tier crossing.
A notice board beside the canal explains the significance of this bridge. "Long after the canal was built the Great Western and Brentford Railway proposed a line connecting Brentford Dock with the main line at Southalll. They commissioned their foremost engineer, Brunel, to survey when and how the railway should pass beneath the canal and Windmill Lane. He chose here, where the two crossed. Windmill Bridge was Brunel's last major undertaking and was completed in 1859."
Grand Union Canal 52
Making our way towards the Thames
Brunel's bridge.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
10
0
0
0
Norwood top lock, taken from Glade Lane bridge. Looking west along a straight section of the canal. The lock gates are shut. The lock keeper's cottage is on the right.
Below Norwood top lock, seen through Glade Lane bridge. A solitary coot swims in the basin.
A boat is passing through Norwood lower lock while pedestrians and a cyclist make use of the towpath. Downstream, boats are moored by Glade Lane Canalside Park.
Grand Union Canal 51
Making our way towards the Thames
The two Norwood locks. We haven't passed a lock since Cowley and two come along together!. There are no locks on the Slough and Paddington arms either, suggesting they are all on the same level.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
13
1
0
0
a map showing the location of Grand Union Canal posts up to no 50
Grand Union Canal 00
Making our way towards the Thames
Map of photo locations so far. For a magnifiable version visit:
tonero.me.uk/grandunion.pdf
#canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
6
0
0
0
The Grand Union Canal in Autumn. Autumn colours of the foliage left, blend with an unusual boat on the right, which appears to have a paddle wheel arch. Both are reflected in the water. Smoke issues from the boat's chimney.
Grand Union Canal 50
Making our way towards the Thames
Opposite Bixley Field, a craft from the past is firing up.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
29
4
1
0
A narrow strip of vegetation follows the canal between housing estates.
Norwood Road crosses the canal on a distictive bridge. The white building in the background with a signboard is a pub - the Lamb. A solitary canal boat is moored against the towpath.
Grand Union Canal 49
Making our way towards the Thames
Approaching Norwood Road, the canal passes housing estates on both sides.
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
22
1
0
0
Swans occupy the towpath and the Grand Union canal in front of Regina Road bridge. Autumnal foliage overlooks the canal.
Grand Union Canal 48
Making our way towards the Thames
A bevy of swans at Regina Road bridge
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
32
4
1
0
Two workers, maintaining the canal bank near Norwood.
Grand Union Canal 47
Making our way towards the Thames
Maintaining the towpath
#photography #canals #londoncanals #grandunion 📷
11
0
0
0