The Grand Union Canal runs through the centre of Stoke Bruerne and is very much at the heart of this picture-post-card village. Narrow boats come and go throughout the day. Many of them are traditional in style with rose and castle paint-work and handsome rope fenders.
There is a lock in the village, and beside it a massive weighing machine that was used to ensure correct taxes were being paid on goods being transported up and down the canal.
Both village pubs have a long heritage, The Boat Inn since 1807 and the Navigation Inn since 1822. Both were built to support the new trade bought by the canal.
Nearly all the homes and buildings in Stoke Bruerne have been there 200 years or more. Little has changed since the heyday of Britain's canals, between the early and mid 1800s.
If you want to get a feel for an English canal village of 200 years ago, there is no better place to go.
