A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport was common where sailing was impractical due to tunnels and bridges, unfavourable winds, or the narrowness of the channel.
The Grand Union Canal in England is part of the British canal system. Its main line starts in London and ends in Birmingham, stretching for 137 miles (220 km) with 166 locks. It has arms to places including Leicester, Slough, Aylesbury, Wendover and Northampton.
The Thames and Severn Canal is a canal in Gloucestershire in the south of England, which was completed in 1789. It was conceived as part of a canal route from Bristol to London. At its eastern end, it connects to the River Thames at Inglesham Lock near Lechlade, while at its western end, it connects to the Stroudwater Navigation at Wallbridge near Stroud, and thence to the River Severn. It has one short arm (branch), from Siddington to the town of Cirencester. It includes Sapperton Tunnel, which when built was the longest canal tunnel in Britain, and remains the second longest complete tunnel. There were always problems with water supply, as no reservoirs were built, while the summit section near the tunnel ran through porous limestone, and there were constant difficulties with leakage. Competition from the railways took much of the canal's traffic by the end of the 19th century, and most of the canal was abandoned in 1927, the remainder in 1941.
The Oxford Canal is a 78-mile (126 km) narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Bedworth via Banbury and Rugby. Completed in 1790, it connects to the River Thames at Oxford and is integrated with the Grand Union Canal—combined for 5 miles (8 km) close to the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, a canal which soon after construction superseded much of its traffic.
Napton on the Hill, often referred to locally as just Napton, is a village and civil parish 3 miles (4.8 km) east of Southam in Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish taken at the 2011 census was 1,144.
The British canal system of water transport played a vital role in the United Kingdom's Industrial Revolution at a time when roads were only just emerging from the medieval mud and long trains of packhorses were the only means of "mass" transit by road of raw materials and finished products. The UK was the first country to develop a nationwide canal network.
The River Cherwell is a major tributary of the River Thames in central England. It rises near Hellidon in Northamptonshire and flows south through Oxfordshire for 40 miles (64 km) to meet the Thames at Oxford. It adds a significant discharge to the Thames—when entering Oxford, the Thames's discharge is 17.6 m3/s (620 cu ft/s), but after leaving and consuming the Cherwell it has increased to 24.8 m3/s (880 cu ft/s). The river gives its name to the Cherwell local government district and Cherwell, an Oxford student newspaper.
Kidlington is a large village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, 5 miles (8 km) north of Oxford and 7 1⁄2 miles (12 km) south-west of Bicester. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 13,723.
Burscough is a small town and civil parish within West Lancashire in North West England, to the north of Ormskirk and Skelmersdale.The parish also includes the hamlet of Tarlscough and the Martin Mere Wetland Centre. The population taken at the 2011 Census was 9,182.
The Cherwell Valley line is the railway line between Didcot and Banbury via Oxford. It links the Great Western Main Line and the south to the Chiltern Main Line and the Midlands. The line follows the River Cherwell for much of its route between Banbury and Oxford.
Woodstock Road is a major road in Oxford, England, running from St Giles' in the south, north towards Woodstock through the leafy suburb of North Oxford. To the east is Banbury Road, which it meets at the junction with St Giles'.
Grosvenor Canal was a canal in the Pimlico area of London, opened in 1824. It was progressively shortened, as first the railways to Victoria Station and then the Ebury Bridge housing estate were built over it. It remained in use until 1995, enabling barges to be loaded with refuse for removal from the city, making it the last canal in London to operate commercially. A small part of it remains among the Grosvenor Waterside development.
The Slough Arm is a short canal branch from the Grand Union Main Line to Slough in Berkshire, England. It was originally opened to serve the brick-making industry. The last commercial traffic was carried in 1960, but as the plans to fill it in were opposed locally, the stretch was re-opened in 1975 and has remained in-use since.
Little Heath is an area of Coventry, in the county of West Midlands, in England. Most of the Little Heath area is in the Longford ward of the city.
Frenchay Road is a residential road in Walton Manor, North Oxford, England.
Duke's Cut is a short waterway in Oxfordshire, England, which connects the Oxford Canal with the River Thames via the Wolvercote Mill Stream. It is named after George Spencer, 4th Duke of Marlborough, across whose land the waterway was cut. It is seen as a branch of the Oxford Canal.
Walton Well Road is a road, about 400 metres long, near the centre of Oxford, England. It provides a link from central Oxford to Port Meadow.
Aristotle Lane is a road in north Oxford, England.
The Cassington Canal was an early 19th-century canal near Eynsham, Oxfordshire. The canal was built by the 4th Duke of Marlborough to provide a link between the River Thames and Cassington Mill; it later provided alternative wharfage to that at Eynsham. The 0.75-mile (1.21 km) canal was in operation for less than 70 years, its use declining with the advent of rail transport.
The Trap Grounds is a nature reserve in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, owned by Oxford City Council.
