Stoke BruerneCanal History & Museums,  in or near to Stoke Bruerne

The pretty village of Stoke Bruerne can be found less than half a mile from the southern end of Blisworth Tunnel which is 3,075 yards (2,812 m) long, the longest wide and freely navigable tunnel in Europe. Two narrow-boats can pass each other in this wide beam tunnel. A little over half an hour to travel from end to end.

Stoke Bruerne offers excellent mooring for a day or two whilst you might visit The Canal Museum, Stoke Bruerne and several hostelries and eateries which include The Boat Inn and The Navigation. We used The Boat Inn twice and would do so again.

The widest point of the basin will allow a 60 foot boat to turn with a whisker to spare. You might have to lift the back button to enable this. Our advise is to be sure before you try. Our boat at the last time we were there was 61 feet in length with a square stern. We were left with the choice to either go four locks down and back or backwards to the Winding Hole just this side of the tunnel. It's a long way to go backwards but that's what we did.

Lock 14 still has a second parallel lock which is no longer in use Lock 14 was duelled in 1804. The other locks below were also duelled and from 1835 to the 1850's were used extensively. Duelling the locks was a short lived enhancement as the canal carrying companies just couldn't keep up with the competition from the railways. 

A fondly remembered lady is Sister Mary Ward who looked after the health of boaters and their families from between 1834 to 1962. For her wonderful efforts, Sister Mary Ward was awarded the British Empire Medal.