Canals and Reservoirs, Tring Parish

Start : Frogmore Street East car park (behind Dolphin Square and the Church of St Peter & St Paul) Grid ref. SP 923 115

(S/E) From the car park, walk up towards the Church of St Peter and St Paul (it’s worth a look inside!).

(1) Take the cobbled path at the rear of the church, to pass the Tring Parish Hall to your left. Cross a minor road to go through a small archway (not the larger arch to Sutton Court on your left).

(2) Carry straight ahead into the bottom of the Forge car park, and slightly downhill to exit the car park through ‘Tring Market Place’ and onto Brook Street (with the Tring Local History Museum to your right – currently open Fridays and Saturdays only).

(3) Turn right, cross Brook Street and walk up Mortimer Hill. Continue up, passing Tring School on the left, to Chiltern Way. Follow this road round to the right, but when it turns again to the left, enter the little cul-de-sac straight ahead. Cross a small green to another cul-de-sac (Sulgrave Crescent), then cross to a fenced path on the right. This takes you through to a large tree on Grove Road.

(4) Bear right across the road, and turn almost immediately left into Marshcroft Lane. Continue up Marshcroft Lane for about a half mile, towards an obvious bridge over the Grand Union Canal.

(5) Before reaching the bridge, take the signed footpath to the left, slightly uphill. The path soon levels out and follows the line of the canal, which is down in the ‘Tring Cutting’ to your right. Eventually, this path descends to the canal towpath, where you turn left and proceed under the road bridge at the Grand Junction Arms. The former British Waterways yard is on your right (this place used to be busy with working boats, and the manufacture of the huge lock gates for the entire waterways network).

(6) Cross the next bridge, over the Wendover Arm of the canal, to ‘Marsworth Top’ lock - this marks the start of a flight of 7 locks, taking the canal downhill to Marsworth. Observe the former Toll House to your left, and the (still) working boatyard on the other side.

Continue down the flight towards Marsworth Reservoir, passing the picturesque Lock 42 Cottage - below which views of the reservoirs start to open up to the left. Keep on the main, higher level, path to reach Startops Reservoir (separated from ‘Marsworth’ by a causeway).

(7) At the causeway, take the path to the right (again, at the higher level), and follow the rim of the reservoir. (If you need a break at this point, you can descend to the car park, the Bluebells Tea Room, or the Anglers Retreat pub!). Walk all the way round ‘Startops’, and eventually cross a little footbridge to the road.

(8) Take the path to the right, crossing the busy road to another footpath, this time around Tringford reservoir, at the end of which you enter a copse. Ignoring a path to the right, continue on the main path
to a bird hide.

(9) Emerge from the woodland to cross a stile and turn right onto a drive (note the still-working pumping station above the track – this feeds the Wendover Arm of the canal). Passing the old Manor House on your left, turn left onto the road and walk up to another (Little Tring) bridge over the Wendover Arm.

(10) Just before the bridge, take a sharp left, and descend to the towpath. Turn right onto the towpath and follow this all the way round the ‘winding hole’ (a boating term for a place where you can turn a boat around!). This is currently (2018) the limit of navigation on the Wendover Arm. Just before a farm gate, the footpath turns left.

(11) Shortly you take a signed footpath to the right, away from the canal – follow this path (fenced on the left) to a gated junction.

(12) Here, take the footpath uphill to the left. Continue straight up over the hill. At the far end of the field, take the obvious footpath to the left, and follow this to Little Tring Road.

(13) Turn right onto the road, and follow it down to its junction with Icknield Way (there’s a pedestrian path adjacent to the roadway).

(14) Cross this busy main road, and continue into Dundale Road opposite. Follow this all the way down into town. Towards the end, it becomes Frogmore Street. When you reach the Black Horse pub you’ve come full circle – turn left into the car park. (S/E)

Start : Frogmore Street East car park (behind Dolphin Square and the Church of St Peter & St Paul) Grid ref. SP 923 115

Terrain : This route follows definitive rights of way and quiet roads.

Conventions: Stiles are progressively being replaced by kissing gates, so beyond publication date (2018), you may find this has happened in places on this circuit.

Note : Please follow the Country Code.
• Leave gates in the position you find them
• Leave only your own footprints • Take away your litter
• Keep dogs under control
Do wear sensible clothing for your own comfort. Strong footwear is recommended, particularly after rain; you may encounter some muddy stretches on this route.

Find more information and walks at Tring Town Council here.