Daventry Rural District

Ashby St Ledgers is a village in the West Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. The post town is Rugby in Warwickshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 173. The Manor House is famous for being a location for the planning of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605.

Welton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. The village is located 2.6 miles (4.2 km) north of the nearest town Daventry. It is 13 miles (21 km) west-north west of Northampton, 9 miles (14 km) south east of Rugby and 78 miles (126 km) north-west of London. The village is 1 mile (1.6 km) off the A361 that runs between Daventry and Crick where the A5 and the M1 junction 18 gives access to the national motorway network north and south. Welton formerly had its own railway station, but today, the nearest railway station is at Long Buckby for the West Midlands Trains services to Birmingham New Street, Northampton and London Euston stations, on the Northampton loop of the West Coast Main Line. For inter-city services (Avanti West Coast), passengers should change at Rugby, the next station westbound. The Village and parish of Welton had in the 2021 census, a population of 596. For the purposes of local government, the village falls within West Northamptonshire.

Everdon is a village in West Northamptonshire in England, some 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Daventry. The population of the civil parish (including Little Everdon) at the 2011 census was 356.Nearby, The Stubbs is a wood belonging to the Woodland Trust, a UK conservation charity. The village's former school is now an activities centre for conservation studies. To the north of Everdon is the hamlet of Little Everdon and to its south lies the shrunken village of Snorscombe.

Watford Locks (grid reference SP592688) is a group of seven locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, in Northamptonshire, England, famous for the Watford Gap service area. The locks are formed (looking from the south), of two single locks, a staircase of four, and a final single lock. Together they lift the canal 54 feet 1 inch (16.48 m) to the "Leicester Summit", which it maintains all the way to Foxton Locks. The four staircase locks are equipped with working side ponds which are used to save water. The locks were built to carry narrowboats, and the system was opened in 1814. In the early 20th century there were plans to build an inclined plane similar to that at Foxton as part of a scheme to allow the passage of barges, but the plan was abandoned when the inclined plane at Foxton proved uneconomic.When the Grand Union Canal was formed in 1929, there were further proposals to widen the flight as part of the modernisation going on elsewhere on the Grand Union's network, but these plans did not develop further. The locks are hemmed in by the Roman Watling Street (now the A5 road), the M1 motorway, and the West Coast Main Line railway, which all fit through the narrow Watford Gap, between two hill systems. The locks are usually supervised during the cruising season from Easter to October, with the locks padlocked outside permitted hours. This is done to prevent problems arising from misuse and to ensure that queues are kept to the minimum. Boaters operate the locks themselves under the lock keeper's supervision. On arrival at the top or bottom boaters should report to the lock keeper to register their arrival before attempting to operate the flight. At busy times there can often be a delay of two hours or more but transit of the flight takes approximately 45 minutes; it is made quicker by the fact that the locks are narrow beam and the gates are light.

Welton was a railway station on the West Coast Main Line serving the villages of Welton and Watford in Northamptonshire. The station was opened in 1838 as part of the London and Birmingham Railway. It was located closer to Watford than to Welton, however it was named after the latter in order to avoid confusion with the much larger town of Watford further south. The station had an unusual arrangement of staggered platforms, one platform on each side of the road bridge. This was because of the confined site, being hemmed in by the Grand Union Canal and A5 road. The station became part of the London and North Western Railway in 1846, which itself became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The line then passed on to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948. The station closed to passengers in 1958 and to goods in 1964. Today the site of the station is right next to the modern day Watford Gap service station on the M1 motorway. The only physical remains of the station today is a former goods shed alongside the tracks.

Watford Gap is a low-lying area between two hills, close to the village of Watford, Northamptonshire, England. Engineers from Roman times onwards have found it to be an ideal route for connecting the Midlands with South East England. The A5 road, the West Coast Main Line railway, the M1 motorway and a branch of the Grand Union Canal traverse in parallel a space about 400 metres (1,300 ft) wide. It has been written and spoken of as marking the divide between Northern England and Southern England.

Braunston Tunnel is on the Grand Union Canal about 830 yards (760 m) east of Braunston, Northamptonshire, England top lock. It is in the northern outskirts of Daventry, about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) east of the village of Braunston. Braunston Tunnel is 2,042 yards (1,867 m) in length. Built by Jessop and Barnes, the tunnel has no towpath and is 4.8 metres (16 ft) wide by 3.76 metres (12.3 ft) high.It was opened in 1796. Its construction was delayed by soil movement and it was probably the resulting movement that led to the tunnel having a slight 'S' bend. There is room for two 7 feet (2.1 m) beam boats to pass. There are three air shafts along its length. The tunnel passes underground alongside another Grand Union Canal feature, Drayton Reservoir, from which the feeder enters the canal at the east end of the tunnel.

Watford Gap services are motorway services on the M1 motorway in Northamptonshire, England. They opened on 2 November 1959, the same day as the M1, making them one of the oldest motorway services in Britain. The facilities were originally managed by Blue Boar, a local company that had run a nearby petrol station before the M1 opened. Roadchef bought the services from Blue Boar in 1995. The main building was designed by Harry Weedon, the architect for Odeon Cinemas, while the layout and general buildings were designed by coordinating architect Owen Williams. The main building was not ready on opening, so food was served from temporary sheds. The restaurant opened in September 1960, but due to the site's reputation as a truck stop, was redesigned in 1964 to accommodate a waitress service. The services became a meeting place for rock bands in the 1960s, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix, as it provided a convenient place to sit down and eat a meal in the early hours of the morning. In the 1970s, the quality of the services declined and the food came in for harsh criticism from journalists and artists, such as Roy Harper. Since purchase in 1995, Roadchef have refurbished the premises. They have promoted its history, including the association with a north / south divide, and its regular use by 1960s rock musicians. A number of events took place to celebrate the 50th anniversary in November 2009, including a musical about the services. The services are named after the nearby Watford Gap, a crossing point of the limestone ridge just north of the village of Watford; the name is unrelated to that of the town of Watford in Hertfordshire.

Drayton Reservoir is a reservoir in Daventry, Northamptonshire, England. The reservoir is accessible from the A361 near the northern edge of Daventry. Drayton Reservoir is a feeder reservoir for the Grand Union Canal. When water is required for the canal the water level at Drayton can drop by 30 cm or more in a day. Drayton Reservoir was controlled by British Waterways until their responsibilities for waterways in England and Wales were transferred to the Canal & River Trust and is home to Rugby Sailing Club. It lies near another Grand Union Canal feature, Braunston Tunnel.

Daventry Country Park is a 66-hectare (160-acre) Local Nature Reserve and country park on the north-eastern outskirts of Daventry in Northamptonshire, England. It is owned and managed by West Northamptonshire Council.The park centres on Daventry Reservoir, which feeds the Grand Union Canal, and there are also meadows and crack willow woodland. Birds include yellowhammers, lesser whitethroats, dunnocks and song thrushes.Facilities include a bird hide, a nature trail, an adventure playground, and a cafe.

The Kilsby Tunnel is a railway tunnel on the West Coast Main Line in England, near the village of Kilsby in Northamptonshire, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Rugby. It is 2,423 yards (2,216 m) long. The Kilsby Tunnel was designed and engineered by Robert Stephenson for the London & Birmingham Railway (L&BR). It was constructed by contractors Joseph Nowell & Sons and later by the L&BR. It took much longer to construct and exceeded its estimated cost, attributed to a roof collapse and consequential flooding. At the time of its opening in 1838, it was the longest railway tunnel ever constructed.The tunnel had atypically large ventilation shafts, because of a lack of experience as to how much ventilation would be needed for steam locomotives to pass through. On opening in 1838, the tunnel was single track and in 1879, double-track was laid. In March 1987, Kilsby Tunnel portals and its two ventilation shafts were given listed status.

Watford is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 224 people, including Murcott and increasing to 320 at the 2011 Census. Watford is home to Watford Gap services, the UK's oldest motorway service station, located directly on the M1 motorway and alongside the West Coast Main Line.