Canal Upper Belt

The Canal Upper Belt is a proper woodland walk that tracks alongside the old canal infrastructure near Northampton - proper industrial heritage stuff, but the trees have reclaimed most of it now, which is exactly what makes it worth doing. You're walking through beech and oak with the water channel running below, and honestly, it's the kind of place where you forget you're only a few miles from town.

The walk itself takes about an hour if you're not rushing, maybe ninety minutes if you stop to look at the engineering bits - old locks, towpath remnants, that sort of thing. Walkers will find it straightforward and undemanding, though the ground can be muddy after rain. Kids won't find it thrilling on its own, but pair it with a wider canal-side explore and it becomes more interesting. History types get something here: the canal was a proper working waterway once, and you can still read the landscape.

It's free - no gates, no facilities that I spotted, so come prepared. Best in spring and autumn when the woodland's actually visible between the leaves. Summer's thick but cool; winter reveals more of the old structures.

If you're staying at Northants Caravan Site or one of the nearby glamping spots like Steepleton Lodge or EWE, this makes a solid morning outing before heading elsewhere. It's not a destination on its own, but combined with Northampton's town walks or other local routes, it rounds out a proper woodland day without fanfare.