Erewash Canal

History

The walk follows the towpath of the Erewash Canal, which runs for 11.5 miles along the Erewash valley from Trent Lock, where it joins the River Trent, to Langley Mill. Supporters were anxious to get at the coal and other goods of the valley; its Act was passed in 1777 and, under the engineer John Varley, it opened in 1779. Varley miscalculated the water levels and was dismissed, and the top lock had to be rebuilt a year later. The canal made large profits carrying coal, quarry stone, bricks and metal goods until the railways began to cut into its trade in the middle of the 19th century; the traffic that remained was mostly iron goods from the Stanton works and coal.

The Grand Union bought the canal in 1932 and it had a brief revival carrying coal; during the Second World War it also carried bomb shells, and its last major commercial use was by boats serving Stanton. In 1962 the British Transport Commission declared it unnavigable above Gallows Inn, north of the junction with the abandoned Nutbrook Canal. The Erewash Canal Preservation and Development Association was created in 1968, and restoration work led to the canal being upgraded in the 1980s from 'remainder' to 'cruiseway' status under the Transport Act 1968. The Canal & River Trust, which counts it among its Green Flag waterways, now promotes it for walking and cycling.