A Walk Through Time: Rediscovering the Wendover Canal
There’s something quietly magical about places the world almost forgot.
The Wendover Canal is one of them, once abandoned and slowly reclaimed by nature, now coming back to life piece by piece. Some stretches shimmer with water, others lie dry and untouched, and in between you’ll find narrowboats, wildlife, and a landscape full of stories waiting to be noticed.
I recently spent a full day walking all 10 km, from the gentle streams that feed the canal to its connection with the main London–Birmingham route. Along the way, every turn offered something different, history, nature, and moments you wouldn’t expect.
This journey is just one part of a bigger story. After years of travel across more than 50 countries, from the Philippines to Moldova, I’m back out exploring again, with fresh energy and a desire to share what I see. Whether it’s a hidden local path or a far-off destination, the goal is simple, to bring you along.
If you enjoy discovering places that feel real, unpolished, and full of character, you’ll want to see this.
👉 Click here to watch the full video and walk the Wendover Canal with me.
Related walks
If you enjoyed this one, you might like these from elsewhere in Britain:
- Quayside to Seaside: Walking from North Shields to Whitley Bay — the coastal walk from the Fish Quay to Whitley Bay.
- My Personal Newcastle: Revisiting Places I’ll Never Forget — a slower walk through the city I keep coming back to.
- Walking Newcastle’s Iconic Bridges — every bridge over the Tyne in a single morning.
- I Followed a Song from Newcastle — letting a piece of music decide the route.
- I Filmed Two Separate Crimes in Newcastle — a short, surreal one from an ordinary day in the city.
- 11 Nostalgic Seaside Clichés: Hunting Them in Bournemouth — hunting eleven seaside clichés on the south coast.
Stay in touch
New walks land on the channel regularly — the easiest way to follow along is to subscribe on YouTube. The full set of written companions to every film lives in The Journal, and there’s a curated set of the longer pieces on the Featured Films page. If you’ve got an idea for somewhere I should walk next, send it through the Contact page — I read everything.
Patrick Ashton is a UK-based filmmaker walking the overlooked corners of Britain and Europe. More about Patrick →
