CanalCuttings - Your FREE online-world British Inland Waterways, Narrowboat, River Cruiser, Canal Boat Magazine, Info Source and Britain's & Narrowboat Holiday Guide.

Almost 600 Pages of Information and Features about canals and their usage - We're not just a Narrowboat Magazine. The website includes River and Inland Waterways information.

Cracks Hill - Leicester Line, GUC

Cracks Hill near Crick, Northamptonshire off bridge #14 of the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal.

The nearest moorings to Cracks Hill are at the winding hole a few metres north of the restored foot bridge #14, south of bridge #15, with space for one 60' boat north of the winding hole and two 60' to 70' boats to the south, but Cracks Hill is also within easy walking distance of Crick Village, Crick Marina, Edwards Restaurant and Crick Wharf.

Cracks Hill falls under the stewardship of Daventry District Countryside Services and in partnership with 'The Friends of Cracks Hill'. The management of this ancient site has developed the 'Beacon Hill', picnic area and topograph as well as managing the hedges and trees.

We found the climb only took a few minutes but we were rewarded with fantastic panoramic views on north Northamptonshire, Crick and surrounding area.

Geological surveys have shown that Cracks Hill is actually a glacial moraine of rock and silt deposited underneath an ice age glacier flow.

There are Neolithic flint articles in local museums that were found on Cracks Hill and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the hill would have been used an historic look-out point for early Britons and sentry point for occupying Roman Legions. The top few metres of the hill are a natural rabbit warren and the little critters keep the grass closely cropped in the environs of the warren.

Landranger Grid Ref: SP594737 MAP

Cracks Hill is going to be the site of an ambitious henge or standing stone project to create the first new stone circle in England for hundreds of years. The project has planning permission from Daventry District Council and is believed to be completed by 2013.