Police and staff from the Canal & River Trust were called to the scene, after boaters on the canal spotted the 80 year old motorist heading down the narrow path.
The car had to be craned back on to the road from a nearby bridge.
Kevin Phillips, supervisor at the Canal & River Trust, said: "We were very sorry to see that the driver had got in a bit of a muddle, and glad we could help get them back on the right track. It's a very good thing the boaters stopped her going any further, as she may well have got a bit wet if she'd tried to go around the bridge.
"We're always asking boaters, cyclists and walkers to share the towpath because it's such a narrow space, but they don't usually have a Ford Fiesta to contend with. It's definitely one of the more unusual things we've come across on the towpath."
