Braunston Marina

Today’s the day ........................ to look back

Nowadays, canalside Braunston is the very essence of the modern recreational resource that narrowboating has become.

The marina is packed with colourful boats, privately-owned, for sale or for hire – or in for repair in the drydock.  There is a well-stocked Boat Shop where you can buy all the equipment you could possibly need.  There is an all-pervading feeling that everyone is on holiday, enjoying themselves.  It’s easy to forget that not that long ago, Braunston would have been very different place.

In the 1960s, in the twilight days of cargo-carrying, narrowboats were still carrying coal to Colne Valley sewage works and Croxley paper mills.  They would have had timber for Tipton, aluminium ingots for Tyseley – and tamarinds for turning into HP sauce at Fazeley Street, Birmingham.  Willow Wren  and Blue Line  were the last regular carriers - but by the 1970s they had finished operating.

And the slow but sure transformation of Braunston into its present form began ......................