duncan unsworth photography

The River Gade flows along this section of the Grand Union Canal through the grounds of The Grove, the home of the Earl of Clarendon until 1920. Although he permitted the building of the canal through his estate he later refused to countenance a railway on his grounds and so the line north from Watford passes through a tunnel to the north. Ironically during the war The Grove became the headquarters for the London Midland & Scottish Railway and later a management training centre for British Rail. The Grove is now a major hotel complex with championship golf courses.