The Canal Museum
The Canal Museum
4
About
Visit the Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne to follow the story of Britain's canals, from the great engineers and navvies who created them to the boat families, leggers and lock keepers who lived and worked on them. You'll find models of working boats, traditional clothing, canal crafts, a boat-builder's workshop, beautiful historical signs and much more. You will also receive a warm welcome in the museums waterside cafe and gift shop. The museum cafe and gift shop is open 10am - 17.00pm seven days a week.
Duration: 2-3 hours
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  • jasowl
    Sheffield, United Kingdom756 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    A lovely stop off from the M1
    My wife and I stopped off in this small village on our way back up the M1 from a weekend in London. It was only about 7 miles from the motorway, near Northampton, and we found a canal with several locks, two lovely pubs (one thatched), and a small interesting museum , with a cafe serving hot drinks and cake. We wandered up and down the tow path, and watched a few travelers navigate through the locks. A lovely diversion from the joys of motorway driving.
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 25 March 2023
  • Felicia J
    1 contribution
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Brilliant canal cafe
    This is such a beautiful and unique venue on the edge of the canal. Inside the cafe has exposed beams and historical artefacts lining the walls, in addition to a used book library with books starting from £1 and local maps and some nice things for gifts. The seating is comfortable and well spaced out and the room light and airy. It's a great place to meet up with friends. We had drinks, but there were also snacks available. The staff were all really friendly, one introducing the museum upstairs. Despite the toilets being outside and downstairs, they were clean and well set. I'd definitely visit the cafe again.
    Visited March 2023
    Written 26 March 2023
  • Friarygirl1974
    Bedford, United Kingdom38 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Pleasant stopover at canal museum and cafe
    We stopped off here on a rainy day, only people there so very quiet. The young man in the cafe was really friendly and helpful and allowed us to wander round the museum in our own time even though officially we only had ten minutes to closing. The cafe is clean and choice of snacks. Interesting museum, had been before with school trips. Lovely walks and used to take the primary aged children on boat trips
    Visited March 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 30 March 2023
  • 51plus
    Northampton, United Kingdom142 contributions
    3.0 of 5 bubbles
    Limited information at this museum
    We decided to visit this after seeing it advertised in a leaflet about Northamptonshire museums. On arrival we were told the museum is a ‘work in progress’ and there was actually very little to see, with limited information on boards. The largest item is a model of the previous inclined plane boat lift at Foxton Locks. The shop and cafe occupy the whole ground floor area, and I saw no lift (or signs to one) to access the museum itself which is on the two upper floors. If you are interested in canal history you would be better going to The Boiler House museum at Foxton in Leicestershire - but maybe this museum will be better when it’s finished. The cafe and cake are good though.
    Visited April 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 10 April 2023
  • Geoffrey E
    St. Catharines, Canada616 contributions
    4.0 of 5 bubbles
    Informative Museum
    This is a very proscriptive experience. You must start at the beginning and you go through the rooms according to the audio tour. This has advantages as you move through with a cohort but it also means that there’s nothing to look at aside from that and you can’t linger. For me, it wasn’t worth the €16.50 but it was good to learn about the history of the city and the role that the canals have played
    Visited April 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 22 April 2023
  • JenAnnie
    Nottingham, United Kingdom703 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Intetestinf
    Great place to visit. A great setting too on the canal side. Lots to see in the Museum about the history on the canal & all about the people who worked on & by the canal. Stories of how people lived & traded on & from boats along there, we really enjoyed our visit.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 13 October 2023
  • MileeScalf
    Milton Keynes, United Kingdom157 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Waterside Cafe
    A group of 7 muddy runners and two muddy dogs called in for coffee today! The welcome was very warm and friendly. It’s fabulous that we could sit inside with the dogs. The service was lovely and the coffee was beautifully hot!! I love a hot cappuccino and that’s exactly what I got! My pals were very happy with their pots of tea too! Lovely place to stop off!
    Visited November 2023
    Travelled with friends
    Written 5 November 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles234 reviews
Excellent
94
Very good
99
Average
25
Poor
7
Terrible
9

MileeScalf
Milton Keynes, UK157 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Friends
A group of 7 muddy runners and two muddy dogs called in for coffee today! The welcome was very warm and friendly. It’s fabulous that we could sit inside with the dogs. The service was lovely and the coffee was beautifully hot!! I love a hot cappuccino and that’s exactly what I got! My pals were very happy with their pots of tea too! Lovely place to stop off!
Written 5 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

JenAnnie
Nottingham, UK703 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sept 2023 • Couples
Great place to visit. A great setting too on the canal side. Lots to see in the Museum about the history on the canal & all about the people who worked on & by the canal. Stories of how people lived & traded on & from boats along there, we really enjoyed our visit.
Written 13 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Callum T
12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2023 • Couples
Really interesting information over two floors about canal life and Stoke Bruerne history.
Relatively small but can spend 30-45 minutes in there easily.
Definitely worth a look
Written 18 August 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Anne S
Leeds, UK570 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2023 • Couples
Moored nearby while on a canal boat holiday specifically to visit this museum. However it was closed as it was a training day. We could find no mention of this on the website, but it did say it would open at 10am the following day. We returned at 10am the following day to find a new sign on the door saying opening at noon. At this point we gave up, so we cannot comment on the contents.
Written 22 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

grumpynorfolkbloke
Great Bircham, UK60 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2023 • Couples
Good day out. Interesting. Boat trip available if wanted. Nice little cafe and museum, food was good, nice cuppa. Pub on opposite side of canal.
Written 11 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Geoffrey E
St. Catharines, Canada616 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Solo
This is a very proscriptive experience. You must start at the beginning and you go through the rooms according to the audio tour. This has advantages as you move through with a cohort but it also means that there’s nothing to look at aside from that and you can’t linger. For me, it wasn’t worth the €16.50 but it was good to learn about the history of the city and the role that the canals have played
Written 22 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

51plus
Northampton, UK142 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Friends
We decided to visit this after seeing it advertised in a leaflet about Northamptonshire museums. On
arrival we were told the museum is a ‘work in progress’ and there was actually very little to see, with limited information on boards. The largest item is a model of the previous inclined plane boat lift at Foxton Locks. The shop and cafe occupy the whole ground floor area, and I saw no lift (or signs to one) to access the museum itself which is on the two upper floors. If you are interested in canal history you would be better going to The Boiler House museum at Foxton in Leicestershire - but maybe this museum will be better when it’s finished. The cafe and cake are good though.
Written 10 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Friarygirl1974
Bedford, UK38 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Friends
We stopped off here on a rainy day, only people there so very quiet. The young man in the cafe was really friendly and helpful and allowed us to wander round the museum in our own time even though officially we only had ten minutes to closing. The cafe is clean and choice of snacks. Interesting museum, had been before with school trips. Lovely walks and used to take the primary aged children on boat trips
Written 30 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Felicia J
1 contribution
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023
This is such a beautiful and unique venue on the edge of the canal. Inside the cafe has exposed beams and historical artefacts lining the walls, in addition to a used book library with books starting from £1 and local maps and some nice things for gifts.

The seating is comfortable and well spaced out and the room light and airy. It's a great place to meet up with friends. We had drinks, but there were also snacks available. The staff were all really friendly, one introducing the museum upstairs.

Despite the toilets being outside and downstairs, they were clean and well set.

I'd definitely visit the cafe again.
Written 26 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jasowl
Sheffield, UK756 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2023 • Couples
My wife and I stopped off in this small village on our way back up the M1 from a weekend in London. It was only about 7 miles from the motorway, near Northampton, and we found a canal with several locks, two lovely pubs (one thatched), and a small interesting museum , with a cafe serving hot drinks and cake. We wandered up and down the tow path, and watched a few travelers navigate through the locks. A lovely diversion from the joys of motorway driving.
Written 25 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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THE CANAL MUSEUM: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about The Canal Museum