The ‘Needs to Know’
Distance: 8 miles (12.9 km), although nearer 9 if you fancy a stroll into the centre of Long Buckby
Time to walk: Without stopping & taking photos you could do this in 3 1/4 hours. Today there was lots to see so we took over 4 hours, plus we had a diversion into Long Buckby
Difficulty: Mainly across fields so can be wet at times. Quite a few stiles to climb plus there’s some inclines. Take your time though & it’s pretty easy
Dog Friendly?: Some stiles & likely to be livestock
Parking: We parked in Whilton Locks Garden Village
Public toilets: The Garden Centre at the start & pubs etc in Long Buckby
Map of the route:
So what can you expect on this walk? Well…it’s a real mixture starting with canals, then railways, motorways, fields, villages – there’s lots to see & enjoy on this one!
Given the closeness to the railway & motorway you might think this is going to be a noisy walk &, at the start & end it is, but you’ll find peace too
We parked in Whilton Locks Garden Village car park. Be careful as the Whilton Locks Carpet Co has a car park, but there’s a privacy notice saying customers only. We had a cuppa in the Garden Village Cafe when we finished so will come back to it at the end
Ready to go then? Come on…
Let’s Walk!!
1. As mentioned above, we park up in the Garden Village car park & head down the drive towards the main road…
…& on the right you’re immediately reminded of where you are…next to the West Coast Main Line..
2. On reaching the road turn left & head over the canal bridge ahead…
3. After passing over the bridge go through the gate on the left & down to the canal which you now need to keep on your left. Immediately there’s one of Whilton’s Locks & today the canal was very busy
Now just follow the canal…
4. The canal today was very busy so there were lots of barges queuing up to go up & down the locks. Just keep walking & wave & say hi to all the ‘bargers’ – they’re generally laid-back, friendly people…
5. The West Coast Main Line’s still hammering by here & we need to pass underneath it…
What’s amazing in this part of our beautiful county is ‘contrast’. Above we have a 100 mph Virgin Pendolino & below we have a max 4 mph canal boat…
6. The Whilton & Buckby Locks Association are in charge round these parts. Our canals need all the support they can get & people visit from all over the world, as we’ll see soon. Click on the above link & then click on ‘Tom’s Tales’ for a great insight
7. Pass under the minor road bridge & now you’re entering a residential area with some great canal-side properties…
8. Firstly on the right is a newly restored property…
…& then the others are across the canal…
9. What’s great to see along here is the adoption by the canal locks by the local association…
The canal’s so busy today the boats are tied up & queuing to get through the locks…
Nothing to do but sit & wait…
…but there’s a fab little shop called Anchor Cottage to have a look around while they’re waiting their turn…
10. Amongst the boats lined up along here is a very green one…
…& then you’re back to some more beautiful properties along a great stretch of canal…
11. Our canal are a great tourist attraction. The boat below had been hired for a week by a couple of families from the USA…
…it’s nearly time to leave the canal until the end of this walk, but first pass under the bridge below…
…& emerge opposite another of the canal’s great pubs…The New Inn
12. It’s now time to leave the canal & head across the fields towards Long Buckby. The route away from the canal lies up the lane to the right of the bungalow as below…
The road at the top is the very busy A5 so please be careful!
On reaching the A5 cross & turn left & then immediately right down the track towards Ryehill Farm…
13. Don’t need to go as far as the gate but though the gap in the hedge over the stile on the left…
…&, after the canal, it’s now good to be in the open fields, especially on a nice hot summer’s day
14. The way out of this first field is well indicated courtesy of the marker on the post…
After passing through the gap, the path is well marked from here to Long Buckby…straight across the next field…
…to the bridge below…
15. Through the gap & we have to commend the farmer for keeping the path so well marked. It’s now getting really noisy again as you head towards the railway line & the M1…
16. At the top of the rise cross the bridge over the rail line & M1…
Now the path’s towards the wind turbines (straight ahead)…
17. Cross another field & keep heading across bridges etc towards those turbines…
Through this gap’s another well marked path & then just straight on…
18. At the next field turn right & follow the edge to the bridge into the another one
Once across this bridge walk towards the mobile phone mast, passing the turbine on your right…
19. At the top of the hill & cross the track & stile ahead…
20. The route is straight ahead & out of the field through the railway bridge. Exit through the gate & exit under the railway bridge below
21. Head up the hill & out of the fields for a short while & through the gate…
Walk straight up ignoring the right path & out into the housing estate…
…turning left at the top & then right to the main road junction
22. Straight across the road’s the Community Centre & the local Museum
23. The route should take us to the right out of the village, but you could now do either of our short Long Buckby Walks
Long Buckby dates back around 1200 years to the Vikings. The village name is of Nordic origin, with ‘by’ meaning settlement or village while ‘Buck’ is derived from ‘Bec’ (pronounced ‘becker’ in old Norse) for stream/brook. The village is recorded in the Domesday Book as Buchebei
The village once had a thriving shoemaking industry, but is probably better know for its two famous celebrities…
Firstly…the comedian Stanley Unwin moved to Long Buckby in 1940 when he got a job with the BBC at the nearby Borough Hill transmitting station. He stayed as a resident until his death in 2002
Secondly…local BBC Radio Northampton presenter Bernie Keith lived in the village for several years
Long Buckby railway station had a brief moment of fame in 1997 when, as the nearest stop to Althorp, it was the final stop on the journey by the Prince of Wales and his two sons during the funeral of the Princess of Wales and was seen on television screens across the world as they got off the train
24. From the Community Centre keep going past the fire station on the left…
…& then take the first left down South Close…
25. On reaching the junction below turn right into Wright Road…
…& follow it as the road bends right to a footpath sign on the right taking you left down the side of a house…
…& through the gate at the end…
26. And now you’re back in the fields…
The next mile follows the hedge on the left
27. The field eventually bends to the right below so look for a gap in the hedge on the left before the corner…
…& then bear right over the stile & railway bridge…
…& then over the stile at the end…
28. Now the path’s pretty much straight ahead to Whilton…
At the junction keep straight on keeping the hedge on the right & then over the stile at the bottom into the field
29. You can see Whilton ahead now so go straight across the meadow & then across the wooden bridge & out into another…
Ignore the path directly ahead & turn straight left & then take the one that heads diagonally left towards the big white house in the distance…
30. At the end of this field cross the bridge & turn diagonally right heading towards the left side of the white house…
31. Exit into the next field through the gate on the left & then through the gate on the right into the churchyard…
32. The Church of Saint Andrew is made from the local Northamptonshire Ironstone and was built between the 12th and 13th centuries, although very little remains of this original, having been restored in late 18th century
The church clock is unusual as it was originally a one handed clock divided into ¼ hours and therefore does not have 60 minutes. The Church’s east window, the only stained glass in the building, portrays the crucifixion of Jesus and dates from 1878. Unfortunately today the Church was locked so we couldn’t see it
Head out of the gate & into the main street turning right up the hill…
33. Whilton‘s a gorgeous little village & really well looked after. As you walk up the hill there’s some beautiful properties which at this time of year look even better with all the flowers growing…
34. The footpath out of the village into the fields again is quite obscured, but it’s near the raised kerb on the left, through the hedge & then over a very unstable stile into the meadow…
35. Climb the stile & head diagonally right through the metal gate
Head diagonally left & over two stiles into another small field…
Keep going diagonally right to another stile which leads out onto the road. Cross & over yet another stile into the field
36. Now head diagonally left & over a stile into a very long meadow & walk towards the top left corner & out through an old metal gate…
Turn right & head down the hill along the track with great views…
37. You’re now heading towards Muscott Gatehouse. At the junction take the right fork down a bridleway…
Bear right & follow the track which bends through the farmyard along the track…
…crossing the M1 again…
39. Back into the woods now & shortly you’ll arrive at the canal again. Walk down the steps on the right hand side & turn right along the tow path…
40. You’re now going to follow the canal all the way back to Whilton Locks
41. The railway track’s running alongside the canal again now so the two different paces of life are very evident…
42. On the right’s Whilton Marina & it looks busy…
One more lock to go…
…& at the next bridge head up the path to the road & back to where this walk started
So that’s the end of our great walk around a beautiful part of our county. This really is great walking country & the paths are pretty well maintained so thanks farmers!
As we parked at the Garden Village we were gasping for a cuppa so visited their cafe (see the link)
The first thing we can recommend is the home-made cakes – they’re huge, especially the Victoria Sandwich. We fancied something more substantial though so went for the sausage bap which was a bit dry. The cafe’s good &, although quiet, there were lots of used plates etc waiting to be collected & the staff’s loud conversation about their private lives wasn’t really needed. We were suitably refreshed though
This is a great walk &, if you take in the local pubs in the summer, could take a whole day
Go Walk…
I’m going to have a gripe about this walk, well the photos and the directions! We started our walk initially finding directions onto the canal path easily however after this we found the directions were somewhat out of date and signs referred to long gone. There are too many photos of objects, boats, animals, insects, and flowers to concentrate on the already sparse directions. Sadly, when I printed the walk there were 35 double sided pages mainly due to unnecessary images. A 8/9 mile walk needs good up to date simple clear directions so I really think the directions for this walk needs revamping! Sorry Northamptonshire Council/farmers or whoever maintains the stiles and paths, the state of these are appalling, I’ve fallen off more rickety bridges, climbed more broken stiles than I care to remember. Finally, Northamptonshire Walks has been our lifeline, we discovered it over lockdown and we love it so please don’t think we’re bashing it, we aren’t! Thank you 🙏!
Thank you for your comments – many people have done this walk recently & haven’t reported an issue.
When you press “Print” on a walk you’ll get a drop down that says “More Settings”. Click on that & increase the number of pages per sheet to say 6. In this case that would have given you a massively reduced number of pages 🙂
Alternative many people simply download the walk on their phone & put it into airplane mode to save data & battery. Or they screenshot 🙂
With regards to the directions being out of date…I last did this walk 8 years ago & unfortunately it’s not possible for me to personally update (now 170 walks & another 150 outside Northamptonshire) them myself.
This is a spare time hobby & my walks are provided free for all to enjoy.
That’s why I rely on the good people like yourselves to help me update them. Most people when they see a change, take a photo & send it to me with the change I need to make in the instructions. I can then update the walk almost immediately. If I’d written them in a book you’d bought that wouldn’t be possible.
Do you have any new photos that you could send me please or new directions etc that I can update the walk with?
With regards to the state of the stiles & footpaths…have you reported these? We encourage all our walkers to do this on Street Doctor. The more people that do report an issue, the quicker hopefully things will get resolved.
Thanks & keep walking 🙂