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The Waterways Trust Canal Museum Stoke Bruerne

The Stoke Bruerne Canal Museum, Near Towcester, Northamptonshire NN12 7SE

Admission charges apply

We visited the The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne as part of our summer cruise in May 2008 and found an interesting canal museum made more interesting by the use of the inclusive and informative audio guide.

The Canal Museum is housed in a refurbished and adapted corn warehouse adjacent to the Mainline Grand Union Canal just north of Stoke Bruerne Locks, a couple of hundred metres south of Blisworth Tunnel, forming the centrepiece of the picturesque village with its external exhibits all accessible by good footpaths.

The museum started life as the result of the initiative of a local lock keeper, the late Jack James. The housed exhibits are spread over the top two floors of the old warehouse and comprehensive displays show the full history of the canals from their earliest inception through the decline due to the birth of the national railway network, war records, further decline and restoration for leisure use.

The museum gives the visitor a comprehensive and interesting insight into the history through working models, artifacts, pictures, recordings, video and documents and encourages interactivity where possible. The whole area around the village adjacent to the canal is a living part of the local heritage, including the seven Stoke Bruerne Locks and the Blisworth Tunnel with the site of the Blisworth Hill Tramway. The Stoke Bruerne Top Lock 'duplicate lock' houses a unique boat weighing machine and a retired London Midland and Scottish Railway 'station boat'.

The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne is a sister to the much bigger National Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port, Cheshire and the National Waterways Museum at Gloucester Docks but is well worth the visit.

We can recommend a visit to the museum. Please phone ahead to confirm prices and opening times which are normally daily 10.00 to 15.00 in the summer and daily 10.00 to 16.00 except Mondays, Christmas Day and Boxing Day in the winter.

For the shopaholics, the museum shop has probably the best canal themed wares stock you'll find anywhere!

Stoke Bruerne canal trips are available locally.