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IWA Branch
Warwickshire - Hawkesbury Junction to county boundary (Bridge 141 nr.Claydon).
Navigation Authority
British Waterways,
Peel's Wharf
Lichfield Street
Fazeley
Tamworth
Staffordshire
B78 3QZ
T: 01827 252000
F: 01827 288071
enquiries.hq@britishwaterways.co.uk
www.britishwaterways.co.uk
The canal runs from Hawkesbury Junction, where it connects with the Coventry Canal, to Oxford, where it connects with the River Thames.
Hawkesbury Junction to Napton Junction covers 22.75 miles (36.6m) and 4 locks, with Napton Junction to Oxford covering 54.25 miles (87.3km) and 42 locks.
Hawkesbury Junction to Napton Junction
Length | Beam | Height | Draught |
72ft | 7ft | 6ft | 3ft 6in |
21.94m | 2.13m | 1.82m | 1.06m |
Napton Junction to Oxford
Length | Beam | Height | Draught |
72ft | 6ft 10in | 6ft 6in | 3ft 6in |
21.94m | 2.07m | 1.97m | 1.06m |
Boaters’ Services
Launching facilities are available at Fenny Compton, Napton and Stretton-under-Fosse.
Hire Boat Companies
Clifton Cruisers
Clifton Wharf, Vicarage Hill, Clifton-on-Dunsmore, RUGBY, CV23 0DG
Tel: 01788 543570
Fax: 01788 579799
College Cruisers
Combe Road, OXFORD, OX2 6BL
Tel/ Fax: 01865 554343
Napton Narrowboats
Napton Marina, Stockton, SOUTHAM, CV47 8HX
Tel: 01926 813644
Oxfordshire Narrowboats
Station Road, Lower Heyford OX25 5PD
Tel: 01869 340348
enquiries@oxfordshire-narrowboats.co.uk
www.oxfordshire-narrowboats.co.uk
Rose Narrowboats Ltd
Fosse Way, Stretton under Fosse, RUGBY, CV23 0PU
Tel: 01788 832449
Fax: 01788 832545
Viking Afloat
Lowesmoor Wharf, Worcs, WR1 2RS
Tel: 01905 610660
Fax: 01905 616715
Historical Information
This contour canal was one of the earliest canals to be built. Its purpose was to transport coal from the Coventry coalfields to Banbury, Oxford and the Thames. It was completed in 1790 but soon experienced competition from the Grand Junction Canal, which offered a shorter route to London. The northern section of the Oxford Canal was shortened in the 1830s, hence the occasional missing bridge numbers. Commercial carrying waned after the First World War but, nevertheless, continued into the 1960s. When the southern section was in danger of closure in the 1950s, IWA won one of its first campaigns and the canal was designated a Cruiseway in the 1968 Transport Act.
Further Information
For books, maps, guides, videos DVDs and gifts on this canal, click here
Websites
Local government links
