Stoke Bruerne and Shutlanger

Stoke Bruerne is the kind of canal village that makes it easy to linger — a working flight of locks, a canal museum, and two pubs overlooking the water. The 8 km circuit earns its return to the Navigation Inn by taking in considerably more than just the towpath: north to the mouth of the Blisworth Tunnel, then across farmland and through the edge of Nun Wood before dropping into the quiet village of Shutlanger and looping back past the Old Brick Pit nature reserve.

The scent changes usefully through the sections: diesel and old timber on the canalside, leaf mould and bark in Nun Wood, the sweeter grassy smell of the open fields on the return. Off-lead through woodland and field sections with leads needed on the busy towpath and in livestock fields. The canal itself is easily accessible for dogs that want a swim on warm days. One stile on the route.