Erewash Canal - The Canal Today

The Canal Today

• 53°1′13″N 1°19′30″W / 53.02028°N 1.325°W / 53.02028; -1.325 (Erewash Canal (Beginning))
• 52°52′30″N 1°16′20″W / 52.875°N 1.27222°W / 52.875; -1.27222 (Erewash Canal (End))

It starts from the River Trent at Trentlock, then goes through Long Eaton. After Long Eaton it runs roughly parallel to the River Erewash, past Sandiacre and Ilkeston, crossing the Erewash near Eastwood. The canal finally ends at the Langley Mill (Great Northern) basin, where it joins the Nottingham Canal and the Cromford Canal (both currently in a state of abandonment).

In 1968 the Erewash Canal Preservation & Development Association (ECP&DA) was formed in response to a threat by the British Waterways Board to close the canal. One of the ECP&DA's achievements was the re-opening of the Great Northern Basin at Langley Mill. This canal basin was the point at which the Cromford, Erewash and Nottingham Canals met. The Langley Mill Boat Company formed in 1974 and based at the Great Northern Basin has cleared and put back into water a short section of the Cromford Canal connected to the basin. Today the Erewash Canal is fully open and is actively used by pleasure cruisers. At present the section of canal running through Long Eaton is oft frequented by pleasure craft; the factories which follow the canal along the Northern march of the town are no longer associated with the waterway, and fencing separates them from it.

However, these factories only block the western bank of the canal. The towpath, which follows the eastern bank, carries Route 67 of the National Cycle Network between the Lawrence Street access and Stanton Lock where the cycle route diverges to follow the Nutbrook Valley.

The canal is also regularly restocked with fish for anglers, and along the eastern tow path dozens of anglers are often seen.