Friday 7th
September 2018
Woke to a bright day but cold. We were between Cotmanhay and Eastwood.
There was a pub just beside the next bridge but it looked to be boarded up.
Apparently it is a night club run by one of the original Showaddywaddy music
group from the 1970’s. Unsurprisingly, the locals object to the club. It is
only serviced by very narrow country lanes and yet it is a popular venue and
has a lot of biker’s nights.
We did three locks today, all heavy, especially the second of the day,
Eastwood. At the first lock, Shipley, I realised our red duster flag was not
going to fit under the approach bridge so I took it down. Lucky call as a
number of bridges later were very low. One almost took the top of the tiller
mounted flagpole. That would have been upsetting.
The heavy and
troublesome lock paddles on the Erewash Canal
Beyond Shipley lock we passed over the River Erewash on a small
aqueduct. The canal now became very rural and isolated. We had even lost the
noise from the trains. At Eastwood Lock you could pick out the line of the
Nottingham Canal winding its way along the hillside.
The canal beyond Eastwood was beautiful so we slowed right down to
enjoy it. The cottages each side of Anchor Bridge were particularly nice, one
having an old stone plaque on an end wall with an anchor embossed on it.
We duly passed under a busy road bridge on the approach to Langley
Lock and the entrance to Langley Mill Basin, the terminus of the Erewash Canal.
Although right next to a busy road, the area is very nice and well kept.
Langley Mill Basin
At the lock there were a number of CRT personnel, both volunteers and
full time employees. Apparently, a new Area Manager had been appointed and this
was him being shown around. They welcomed us to Langley Mill, kind of assisted
with the lock and then virtually interviewed Brenda about the canals and CRT in
general and the Erewash in particular.
The mooring spaces in the basin are very limited but we were told we
could moor anywhere within it as apparently they don’t get many boats venturing
this far. We have only seen five boats moving since joining the canal although
another did enter the basin some few hours after us.
Ever since the kids were last with us and we had a discussion about
fast foods, we had been looking forward to our favourite, KFC. There is an
outlet just across the road so we went over and partook of a bucket of chicken
and chips. We both really enjoyed something we certainly don’t have very often.
Later we walked up the hill into Eastwood with stomachs feelings as
though they were full of lead. Eastwood was the birthplace of D. H. Lawrence,
author of Sons and Daughters and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. The house he
was born in is now a museum and the whole adjoining row of terraced houses are
well preserved. Brenda went into the museum but of course they wouldn’t let
Harvey in so I waited outside. To do a tour of the house would have cost £7
each.
Other than this Eastwood, another ex-mining town, had little to offer
or interest.
Back at the boat we had a visit from one of the CRT volunteers. It
turned out that Norman was the Chairman of the Cromford Canal Society and we
had asked for an Erewash Canal Head of Navigation plaque. He was full of
information about the area and the canals surrounding it. There is a renovated
pump house next to our mooring and he went for the keys to allow me to see it.
Fascinating.
The Erewash Canal had three other canals that used to join it, the
Nutbrook, Nottingham and Cromford Canals.
The Nutbrook Canal used to join at Stanton, just north of Sandiacre. This
canal was just 4½ miles long, had no less than 13 locks and served several
local collieries. Although most of the navigation closed in 1895, the final 1½
miles remained in use until 1949.
The other two canals both joined the Erewash at Langley Mill. The
basin must have been a very busy place.
The Nottingham Canal ran from Langley Mill, through Nottingham, to the
River Trent, it was almost 15 miles long and had 20 locks. It was completed in
1796. Commercial traffic on its upper reaches ceased in 1928 and the main line
was abandoned as early as 1937.
The Cromford Canal was opened in 1794, was 14½ miles long and had 4 tunnels
and 14 locks. It was a commercial success connecting Cromford in Derbyshire and
carried mainly coal, limestone and lead amongst other cargoes. Butterley Tunnel,
at 3,063 yards long, closed for four years in 1889 due to mining subsidence.
Further subsidence in 1900 closed the tunnel permanently. The remainder of the
canal was abandoned in 1944. However, there is a firm undertaking to restore
this canal.
I walked around the basin and it was interesting to explore the place and
follow the Cromford Canal as far as possible until the A610 was reached. The
restoration plan is some undertaking.
The restored Cromford Canal
Basin
above Langley Mill Basin
After our KFC lunch, we both decided that we couldn’t face dinner. I
hope I survive the night and not succumb to starvation. It became cold in the
evening and we put the heating on for the first time. It was unsettling as
neither of us trust Graeme Cunliffe’s workmanship, especially when it comes to
technical stuff. We need to study the manual but the heating did work and
heated the boat, but the lights were all flickering when the heater fan was
running.
Weather: a cold start becoming hot and sunny. Wind picked up in the
afternoon. Became cold in the evening.
Day Total: 3 lock; 1½ miles; 0 Tunnels; 0 Boat Lift; engine
running hours 1.8
Overall Total: 198 locks; 372½ miles; 15 tunnels; 2 Boat Lifts;
engine running hours 216.2
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