It was planned as a feeder to carry water from springs near the town of Wendover in Buckinghamshire to the main line of the Grand Junction Canal at Bulbourne near Startops End in Hertfordshire, but when it opened in 1799 it was made navigable, as the extra cost of making it was so small.

Despite several attempts to rectify leakage, including one of the earliest uses of asphalt for this purpose, no satisfactory solution was found, and most of the 6.7-mile (11 km) canal ceased to be used for navigation in 1904.

Wendover is located on the north-facing escarpment of the Chiltern Hills, with a chalk aquifer feeding natural springs which could supply water all year round, and so the Wendover branch was conceived as a non-navigable feeder, to carry water from the springs and streams in the area to the Tringford reservoirs which fed the Tring summit.

[6] There is speculation that a section called The Narrows was lined with concrete and faced with bricks to prevent leakage into a large neighbouring property, Aston Clinton House, but this is unconfirmed.

Interest in the arm was revived in 1967, when the Inland Waterways Association held a public meeting in Watford to debate the future of the Grand Union Canal.

The initial plan failed due to a lack of local interest, and because the legal position was not sufficiently strong to mount a successful campaign.

[27] In 1979 the Grand Union Canal Society was worried that nature conservation lobbying might lead to the arm being closed to boats completely, so it organised a campaign cruise to Little Tringford Pumping Station, the head of navigation at the time.

They planned a two-stage project, involving first the section from Tringford Pumping Station to Aston Clinton, where the A41 road crossed, with a second stage covering the remainder of the route into Wendover.

[31] In 1990, their position was strengthened when the Department of Transport announced that the Aston Clinton bypass would include diverting the canal so that a navigable culvert could be built where the new road would cross the arm.

Major engineering work included the refurbishment of the stop lock, and the construction of a winding basin at the terminus, to allow boats to turn round.

[40] In 2003 the Association of Independent Navigation Authorities (AINA) published a report called Demonstrating the value of waterways, in which they outlined methods for assessing restoration projects, and their likely social and economic benefits.

The Wendover Canal appeared in the list, but the report was abandoned two years later, after other groups claimed that not being included undermined their ability to raise funds.

[42] Original plans drawn up in the late 1990s for converting the A41 to a dual carriageway and bypassing Aston Clinton included a low level crossing of the canal, which would have prevented restoration.

The Trust argued that an 18-inch (460 mm) pipe to carry away rain water from the road would be insufficient in storm conditions, and that excavating 630 yards (580 m) of new canal would be a better solution.

[44] British Waterways funded restoration of a further 120 yards (110 m) through Drayton Beauchamp bridge, where repairs to the feeder pipeline which runs along the bottom of the canal were needed to prevent flooding in the village.

[48] This successfully passed the first round of discussions[49] but the Trust and CRT pulled out of submitting the second stage documentation after it was discovered that the section near Tring bridge, which had been used for landfill, was filled with noxious waste, rather than domestic rubbish.

This section includes the 200 yards (180 m) of noxious infill, which is mainly ash, but contains traces of lead from paint and plumbing products.

The canal passes the site of Aston Clinton House,[54] owned by Sir Anthony de Rothschild and his descendants from 1853 to 1923, and subsequently used as a school and hotel.

The property and its grounds were acquired by Buckinghamshire County Council between 1959 and 1967, and the house was demolished, to be replaced by Green Park Training Centre.

[54] The water supply for the canal originates to the south of Wendover in surface springs and artesian wells near Wellhead Farm and the grade II* listed church of St Mary, which is constructed of flint rubble and blocks of stone.

[58] The canal runs in a northerly direction, with a towpath on the western bank, and is crossed by a footbridge at the site of the branch line to Halton Camp.

[59] The reservoir, which is a designated nature reserve, covers 70 acres (28 ha), and is used for fishing and by Aylesbury Boat Club for sailing.

As it reaches the edge of RAF Halton, there is a grade II listed bridge made of ornamental ironwork, with piers of ashlar stone and brick.

[63] The section beyond the bridge contained the culvert to maintain the flow to Tringford pumping station, some of which has now been rewatered, and is the location for the current restoration work by the Wendover Arm Trust.

Part of the canal was filled with rubbish in the early twentieth century by the local authority, and was excavated by bottle collectors before restoration began.

There is no towpath on a short section to Little Tring bridge, but walkers can follow a minor road to rejoin the canal, which is navigable at this point.

A permissive path runs along the left bank, passing the grade II listed Tring pumping station, Heygates flour mill, and the site of Bushell's Boat Yard.

[64] To the left of the final section is Tring Sewage Treatment Works, built in the late nineteenth century by the Urban District Council, assisted by funding from Nathan and Emma Rothschild.

However, between July 2012 and April 2013, the inlet screens failed to operate correctly on several occasions, and the canal became polluted with sewage sludge and debris.

[66] The Arm joins the main line of the Grand Union canal at a footbridge which carries the towpath, next to which is a toll house.