Hatton Locks to Leamington Spa Wednesday pub walk

Thank you for your interest in this Wednesday walk with a pub lunch. We ask you to book in advance for this walk since bookings for meals from the pub menu are usually requested in advance. Walkers who prefer to take a picnic lunch are welcome to do so and the leader will have a place designated for this somewhere near the pub, in the village, or in the area where we are stopping for lunch.

To book a place:

- click the blue + symbol above to increase the ticket count to 1 - only one ticket can be booked per booking since we ask for the name of each walker - then click Next

- on the following page click the Checkout button then complete the questions, click the Accept box and press the Confirm button. You will receive an automatic acknowledgement when you submit this form.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FINISHING TIME OF THIS EVENT SHOWN ABOVE IS ONLY APPROXIMATE AND CANNOT BE GUARANTEED; IT WILL DEPEND ON FACTORS SUCH AS THE WEATHER AND THE WALKING PACE OF THE GROUP.

==============================================================

Walk leader: Paul Hatton

This is a linear canal walk from Hatton Locks to Leamington Spa along the Grand Union Canal (which started life as the Warwick and Birmingham Canal) with a pub lunch. The morning is 4.7 miles with a refreshment break then 2.8 miles in the afternoon.

By public transport (strongly recommended): We meet on the concourse at Birmingham Moor Street by 09.10 for the 09.19 train to Hatton, arriving at 09.43. 

By car (not recommended): Hatton Station, postcode CV35 7LE, has a small free car park. However, trains back to Hatton from our end point are infrequent - about every 2 hours - so driving to Hatton Station is not recommended. If meeting at Hatton Station please arrive by 09.40

This is a canal walk from Hatton Station, descending Hatton Locks and stopping at the Cape of Good Hope canalside pub for lunch. We then continue along the towpath to Leamington Spa station, directly opposite an exit from the towpath. It is completely towpath-based and hence is stile-free and traffic-free throughout.

This walk starts at Hatton Station at 09.45. There is a 1.2 mile level canal walk to Hatton Locks, which will take around 45 minutes. We pause at the café at the top of Hatton Locks for refreshment; toilets are also available here. There are plenty of tables there to eat your own food/drink, or buy supplies from the cafe. If consuming your own refreshments then please do not use the tables reserved for the cafe; there is plenty of other seating there.

Hatton's famous 'Stairway to Heaven' flight of 21 locks on the Grand Union canal has a fascinating history. State of the art locks were built at Hatton to fight off stiff competition from the roads and railways and widened in the 1930s. When the locks were completed, bands played and crowds gathered to watch the Duke of Kent arrive by boat and cut the ribbon

On leaving the café we go down the locks (beware of the dragonflies), which is an easy and steady descent, for a further 3.5 miles to The Cape of Good Hope canalside pub for lunch. The Cape of Good Hope pub is on the district of Warwick known as the Cape and dates back to the 1800s. The Wills and Clark families were owners and later tenants of the Cape of Good Hope for a number of years. The “Cape” forms part of property bought by Thomas Young in the period of 1830-47, and was passed to the Wills family through the marriage of Thomas Young’s daughter to John Wills. It retains a traditional flavour with a rope maker based on-site and although no longer industrial, canal boats still pass by at regular intervals. Your walk leader can also vouch for their Scotch Eggs!

It is then a 2.8 mile walk along a mostly well-maintained towpath to our exit from the canal, directly opposite Leamington Spa station.Be warned that the tow path on the final approach to Leamington Spa can be muddy, so wear suitable footware.

The map number for the walk is EX221

At Leamington Spa the walk leader will probably head to The Old Library pub, just round the corner from the station, for refreashment. All are welcome to join him.

Leamington Spa is served by Cross-Country services through Coventry and Chiltern Trains through Solihull. For maximum flexibility a return ticket from any Birmingham station to Leamington Spa is recommended, which will cover the train to Hatton and any train back from Leamington Spa. A cheaper option is a Chiltern-only return ticket from Moor Street to Leamington Spa which will cover the whole day but limits train options from Leamington Spa to Birmingham.

If you find that you are unable to join us after booking a ticket it would be helpful if you let us know by sending an email to bhamramblersenquiries@gmail.com or let us know though our contact form at https://cobra.eventcube.io/support-hub/contact - this will be passed on to the walk leader and will prevent any delay to the start of the walk should the leader be waiting for you. Please note that these Wednesday walks usually have to inform the pub of numbers beforehand and/or have a waiting list so tickets are NOT TRANSFERABLE; if you are unable to join us then please cancel your place to free it up for someone who may be on the waiting list rather than transferring it to someone else.

Bookings for this walk will close at 06.00 on Wednesday 25 September 2024. Shortly after bookings have closed the walk coordinator will contact you by email to confirm that you will still be joining us on this walk; this is needed since we need to let the pub know the numbers for lunch in advance and we also like to release any unused places to others who may be on a waiting list. Please check your email, including Spam and/or Junk folders, shortly after bookings have closed for this walk and reply to let us know whether or not you will be still joining the walk.

If you would like to join this walk after the bookings have closed please email bhamramblersenquiries@gmail.com or contact us through our contact form at https://cobra.eventcube.io/support-hub/contact to enquire about any late availability for the walk.

General Information

This is one of several walks and activities offered by the Birmingham Ramblers. If you have found this page through a web search or other means and would like to find out more about the group then please visit the Birmingham Ramblers web site; new members are always welcome.