Things To Do, Places to Eat and Shopping

Based in the centre of the country, Nelson's Wharf is an ideal base to visit many Midlands destinations to suit all ages including historic houses, castles, cinemas, tenpin bowling, kart tracks, museums, nature reserves, water sports park, shops and literally hundreds of places to eat out:

  • Historic Warwick
  • Shakespeare’s Stratford-upon-Avon.
  • Royal Leamington Spa
  • Rugby
  • Coventry
  • Banbury
  • Birmingham

There are cooking facilities in each pod, stands for disposable barbecues and a fire pit for true alfresco dining. However, Nelson's Wharf is situated on the non-public side of the Grand Union Canal within walking distance of the village of Stockton which has a shop, public house and Chinese takeaway.

THINGS TO DO ON SITE

Walking: Our 40 acres of land has some lovely countryside walks including a SSSI, (Site of Special Scientific Interest), and it is open to you to enjoy. If you are into wildlife then we have plenty to see especially butterflies, for which we won a conservation award a few years ago. Depending on the time of year, there are lots of wildflowers to spot along with orchids such as the Bee and Pyramidal Orchids. There are lots more walks open to the public directly connecting with our land. Also see Walks and Cycling

Fishing: Also on site is complimentary, private course fishing in our canal arm. To enhance the enjoyment, we limit this to two anglers with a maximum of two rods each. Naturally, we insist on you having an EA rod licence.

If you prefer to fish the main canal which our arm is connected to then we have an agreement with the local angling club and you need a day ticket. See lureanglerscanalclub.co.uk and click on Day Tickets for more details. Please avoid any match days.

Cycling: There is plenty of room for cycling on our land and going slightly off our land there are also some great cycle routes with minimal main road contact. If you feel adventurous, you can cycle via the canal towpath all the way to Leamington Spa and only have to cross one main road on our boundary to get to the canal. (Please note that the canal towpath can get a little muddy in the winter and after heavy rain). Also see Walks and Cycling

Water Sports: There is access to launching a kayak, canoe or paddleboard at various places on our canal bank and in our arm. Note: The main canal is owned by Canal and River Trust and you must have a Small Craft Licence obtainable through their website or through British Canoeing. The latter is probably easier to get and, if you are already a member, then you should already be covered.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

If you prefer to go further afield, there are major rail stations at Rugby and Leamington Spa with lines to Birmingham and London plus stations in between. Leamington Spa also links with Stratford upon Avon. Both Rugby and Leamington Spa stations are slightly out of the town centre but there is a regular bus service between Rugby and Leamington Spa that runs past our main entrance.

DINING

There is plenty of choice for local dining including pubs like The Boat Inn, just across the Rugby Road from Nelson's Wharf and a short walk across the field, Kings Head Napton, The Folly Napton, Crown Inn Stockton, Blue Lias Long Itchington, Dun Cow Dunchurch and others in Southam. The nearest takeaway is Rice and Spice Chinese in Stockton with more takeaways in Southam and Dunchurch.

SHOPPING, (nearest first).

Southam
Southam is the local market town just 3 miles from Nelson's Wharf with interesting small shops and food suppliers. There is a Co-op supermarket in the centre of town and a Tesco supermarket on the southern outskirts. Tesco is well hidden so see the local map included in your welcome pack. There are also two garages that sell limited groceries along with fuel.

Rugby.
Rugby is a small town less than 10 miles away. The centre has a number of local trader shops with a small number of chain stores but there is more extensive out of town shopping on the Leicester Road north of the centre at Elliott's Field. Shops include: Tesco, Nike, M&S, TK Max, Halfords, Starbucks, Superdrug, Next, Clarks, Fatface, River Island, Outfit and a number of household shops. There are also eateries to accompany your shopping.

There is another retail park on the other side of Leicester Road called Junction One Retail Park which has shops including Boots, Laura Ashley, Sports Direct, Costa, Currys PC World, Matalan, Range and eateries such as McDonalds, KFC, Domino's Pizza, Nandos and Subway. The park also has a Cineworld cinema.

If you just need a supermarket, then there is a large Sainsburys on the road to Rugby before you get to the town centre. The store also has a cafe and fuel station.

Leamington Spa.
Leamington Spa is 11 miles away and has a large town centre shopping facility with many chain stores, local traders and eateries. Some of it is undercover.
There is an out of town facility close to the canal south of the town centre with a large Sainsburys and other stores including Boots. There is also a bowling alley. It is all easily reachable from the canal if you choose to go to Leamington by cycle or on foot using the canal towpath.

Southam, Rugby and Leamington Spa are all reachable by the No 63 bus from the bus stop near the Boat Inn which is walk-able from Nelson's Wharf.

Warwick.
Warwick is 13 miles away and the other side of Leamington Spa. The town centre shopping has lots of local trader outlets rather than chain stores but it has the attraction of an historic town and the castle is within walking distance. There are plenty of places to eat.

Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford is some 25 miles away but well worth a visit for shopping combined with tourism. The river adds another dimension to the town and boat trips are a must. Shops include the usual town centre chain stores plus lots of tourist outlets and eateries.

Coventry, Birmingham, Leicester Northampton and Oxford are all larger city centre shopping areas within reasonable driving distance, train or bus travel.