Branches
The Grand Union Canal has several branches, usually termed 'arms'. Five miles (8 km) from Brentford, the Paddington Arm leads to Paddington Basin and, just north-west of the Basin at 'Little Venice', it connects to the Regent's Canal. At Cowley Peachey, the Slough Arm runs 5 miles (8 km) to the west. At Marsworth, about 35 miles (56 km) from Brentford, two arms leave the main line, one to Wendover (not currently navigable for its full length but being restored by the Wendover Arm Trust) and the other descends through sixteen narrow locks for 4 miles (6 km) to Aylesbury. From Gayton Junction, about 60 miles (97 km) from Brentford, the Northampton Arm links with the River Nene.
At Warwick the last remaining branch of the GU, the Saltisford Canal Arm is encountered. The restored arm is close to the centre of Warwick, and is now a short branch of the Grand Union Canal, but was originally the mainline line of the Warwick and Birmingham Canal, 1799, leading to the terminus and a basin complex built to originally handle timber. When the Warwick and Napton Canal opened, this section was bypassed but served as the town's wharf area. The Saltisford Canal Trust have restored most of the surviving canal over the last 25 years, including major piling works and restoration of a warehouse in 2007. The last 160 yards (150 m) were lost in the 1970s and are now built on except for a bridge now isolated in a car park. The restored section is now the mooring for narrowboats and a waterside park open to the public. Over 800 visiting narrowboats come by water to Warwick each year and moor on the arm.
On the Leicester Line there are two arms. One is a mile (1.6 km) long and leads to the village of Welford. The other leaves the main canal at the bottom of Foxton Locks and runs 5 miles (8 km) to Market Harborough.
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