On up the Erewash Canal.

Some people we’ve spoken to, mainly boaters, have called this canal the EARwash for some obscure reason. It never sounded right to me, so I made a point of asking a couple of locals. The conclusion is that the river that runs from near Mansfield, through the valley followed by the canal, and joins the Trent, is pronounced ERRYwash. So we’ll stick to that, then.

The fine weather continues, cool at night but warm and occasionally sunny through the day.

Radcliffe Power Station, on a clear moonlit night.

Yesterday morning we untied from the mooring pontoon and turned around to head for the junction and Trent Lock, Lock 1 of the Erewash Canal.

Below Trent Lock


We rose up the lock, filled our sorely depleted water tank, then tied up a little further along opposite the house-boats.


We stayed the night here, then this morning we set off passing the tediously long length of permanent offside moorings stretching all the way to Bridge 3.

Winding hole on the awkward S bend below Bridge 3.

The only other time we came up this canal we turned around here, I can’t remember why… But from here we’re on unfamiliar waters.

Approaching Long Eaton Lock

When the Erewash Canal opened in 1779 it was mainly rural, carrying coal from the Nottinghamshire Coalfields to consumers in Nottingham, Loughborough and Leicester. But industry grew along the banks to take advantage of water transport, and along with that came housing for the workers. Now the canal is squeezed between the suburbs of Nottingham on one side and Derby on the other. The River Erewash forms part of the boundary between the two counties.

Several lace mills were built along the canal through Long Eaton, now either gone or converted to other uses.


A lone chimney marks the site of one of the factories, now sporting an array of mobile phone aerials.


At Sandiacre there’s a lock house with a stable and toll house alongside the lock.
The lock house was built contemporary with the canal, and the toll house added when the Derby Canal opened in 1796.
The Derby Canal ran from here through the city then on to the Trent and Mersey at Swarkestone, and was relatively successful carrying coal until the railway companies started to compete. By the end of the 19th century the canal was no longer making a profit, and commercial carrying ceased in 1945. Since official closure in 1964 several sections have been filled and built on, the rest falling into dereliction. But there are interesting proposals for restoration…

We pulled in on the offside Padmore Moorings, once a coal wharf and now a handy if a little noisy mooring, away from the cyclists and dog walkers on the towpath.
The Co-op is just across the road, so I was able to get some fresh bread to replace the somewhat unsuccessful loaf I baked yesterday (I blame the age of the yeast) and some fresh veg. We’ll move on tomorrow, not sure how far though.

Locks 4, miles 4 (2 days)