WW GUIDE Chesterfield

Discover… Navigable for 32 miles west of the Trent, this cul-de-sac canal, known locally as the ‘Cuckoo dyke’, is one of the quietest on the system; even in peak season it’s seldom crowded. Other than its encounters with the towns of and , it is almost entirely rural, ofering mile after mile of varied WW guide to the… and countryside, some of which is truly delightful. Lightly locked for much of its length, west of Worksop there’s a stunning but CHESTERFIELD arduous climb to the summit through a series of three- and four-rise staircase locks, designed by CANAL and restored with careful detailing Only accessible from the tidal Trent, this cul- by the Chesterield Canal Trust. Navigating the canal requires a de-sac canal combines relaxed rural cruising degree of planning, as casual mooring is not easy on a good with magnificent sets of staircase locks. many sections, owing to shallow James Francis Fox explores… edges and high, overgrown banks. At present, boaters have to turn just short of the eastern portal of Norwood , but it is hoped that the entire route will one day be opened through to Chesterield. Taking the opportunity to explore this energetic restoration project on foot is highly recommended.

www.waterwaysworld.com March 2018 53 In brief WEST STOCKWITH TO RETFORD 14 miles, 5 locks Cruising time: 6½ hours Leaving the port-like environs of West Stockwith, 2 you’ll head gently into Nottinghamshire countryside, which is, by turns, both rugged and picturesque. The villages of Misterton and barely trouble the canal, but provide the opportunity to 1 replenish the larder or even enjoy a pub lunch.

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4 5 West Stockwith Basin.

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FOOD & DRINK STOPS The Waterfront Inn, West Stockwith 7 Providing good home cooked food and real ales (and now o ering an interesting sideline The canal’s only connection with the network is at its junction in ‘glamping pods’), this 1 with the at West Stockwith. After the drama of friendly pub is well placed negotiating the tidal waters and entering the (see right), you will to provide sustenance find yourself in an infinitely more tranquil and enclosed world at West before you embark on Stockwith Basin. Busy with a variety of craft, and overlooked by a pub, your Chesterfi eld cruise. lock-keeper’s cottage and yacht club premises, it almost has the feel The Brewers Arm, of a coastal port. A pleasant place to start your journey, it is possible to Clayworth moor overnight here by arrangement with the lock-keeper. Before you Just a short walk from set off, however, you may want to take advantage of the only refuelling Bridge 67 is this charming point and one of just two pump-out facilities on the entire canal. 18thcentury English country pub, o ering fi ne 2 After a Cruising through ales and a wide selection of straight Misterton. delicious, goodvalue meals. half-mile from If it’s not to your liking, the West Stockwith, nearby Blacksmith’s Arms a railway bridge is another great option. marks your arrival at the sprawling village of Misterton and the first of 8 five wide-beam locks through to Retford. From here to , all the locks require a CRT key. You’ll find a good mooring point just before Bridge 81, from where the village Co-op is actually in view.

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3 After the bridge, the Shaw Lock. canal shakes off the last of the village’s outlying buildings as it weaves its way through pleasant farmland. Look out for Smith’s Bridge (77), the lowest on the canal, after which you’ll see the former Walkeringham Brickworks on the left. On the right, behind the farm buildings, is the site of the former Haworth Colliery. 4 Heading south-west of Gringley-on-the- Hill, the canal climbs through two locks before reaching that takes you almost to feel of the canal continues the start of a 9-mile pound Retford. The pleasant, rural for some miles yet, however. Former Walkeringham Brickworks. Around a mile from Gringley Top Lock, 5 an abrupt left-hand turn brings you to Drakeholes Tunnel, a 154-yard structure Entering West through a sandstone hill. As you’re heading Stockwith Lock west, you have priority over craft coming from the opposite direction. Another sharp left is ■ West Stockwith Lock is a tidal required as you exit the tunnel, which is likely to lock, controlled and operated necessitate a dead-stop in order to swing your by a Canal & River Trust lock- around. Take care, as this 48-hour mooring keeper. S/he will have been area is popular with both boaters and local informed that you are on your anglers. Sadly, the elegant building that was way, but when you are a few formerly the Swan Inn, which looks down on the Drakeholes Tunnel. minutes from the lock you should scene, has been closed for a number of years. make contact by phone (01427 890204) or VHF (channel 16/74). Now heading east for a ■ It is assumed that visiting 6 short spell, the canal seems the Chesterfi eld Canal will be determined to avoid modern ‘going with the fl ow’ on the infrastructure. Even the village River Trent – coming north from of Wiseton, which is virtually Torksey on an ebb tide, or south within touching distance of from Keadby on a fl ood tide. The the canal, remains hidden by river fl ows straight past the lock the undergrowth. As too is the entrance, often at quite a lick. nearby Wiseton Estate, only ■ A popular technique is to start evidenced by the ornate Bridge a 180° turn as you pass the lock, 72, which carries the main drive then return under power to turn to the hall. This is known as both in. Another is to perform a 180° ‘Lady’s Bridge’ and ‘Old Man Ornate Bridge’; the latter referencing the turn before the lock and drift Bridge 72. backwards until level with the eroded face on the keystone. lock, then put on full power and turn into it. As you turn across Heading through 7 Approaching the village of Clayworth, the fl ow you start to go sideways, Clayworth. the scenery becomes more open and and you have to keep the power expansive. A sharp right-hand bend brings you on as you head into the lock, to Bridge 67 and the home of the Retford & otherwise you are due for a close Worksop Boat Club, with its CRT water point encounter with the wing-wall. and sanitary station. Although there are no ■ Whatever technique you official visitor moorings here, members of the employ, it is a matter of judging club can usually find you an overnight berth. the speed of the river across the After passing a stretch of moored boats, lock entrance and keeping the you are soon back in the open, - power on long enough to maintain like landscape. Look out for the piled your course as you turn across section a little way beyond the village, which the current to enter the lock. Do serves as a pleasant overnight stop. For not attempt to enter the lock, or landmarks, you now have to rely on pubs: come alongside the wall, without the Boat Inn at the tiny village of Hayton, turning to face the current. Whitsunday Pie Lock. followed by the Gate Inn at , ■ Nervous boaters can ask both of which have dedicated moorings. the lock-keeper (in advance) for assisted entry. 8 The strangely named Whitsunday ■ Once in the lock, the lock-keeper Pie Lock marks the end of the will lower a hook for the bow and long spell of lock-free cruising. The popular stern ropes to be taken up and myth is that it was so named after a farmer’s passed around, or tied to, a bollard. wife baked a vast pie at Whit Sunday, either for the navvies or the boatmen. www.waterwaysworld.com March 2018 55 In brief 1 Shortly after Whitsunday Pie Lock the Hop Pole Hotel RETFORD TO WORKSHOP looms up ahead as you approach Bridge 59, which 11 miles, 9 locks marks your passage into Retford. As well as 24-hour moorings and a water point, this is also the home of Seth Ellis, one of Cruising time: 7 hours four trip-boats operated by the Trust. Retford is the most interesting settlement along the Trip-boat and canal, and deserves a few hours of any boater’s time. 24-hour moorings Beyond the town is pleasant, peaceful countryside beside Bridge 59. that – unwelcome A- notwithstanding – continues all the way to Worksop. The remote feel of Forest Locks makes it an ideal spot for overnight mooring.

2 After spending so long in peace and solitude, the canalsides of Retford feel particularly vibrant. Old industrial warehouses, two supermarkets, a building supplies yard, a pleasant café and a wide variety of houses all compete for space beside the water, while the towpath bustles with walkers, cyclists and runners. Near Bridge 59, the celebrated marketplace is only a short stroll away, and you’ll certainly want to explore this pleasant Georgian town (see below). Just after Retford Basin, Town Lock marks the first of the narrow locks. Immediately afterwards, the canal crosses the flood plain of the on three narrow but short aqueducts, before coming to Retford West Lock.

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Retford’s market square. 3 Beyond Bridge 55 the bustling scene grows suddenly peaceful, which is perhaps to be expected given that you are passing through the town cemetery. After the next bridge, you are back out among birdsong and rich greenery, wondering if you have imagined the lively scenes you’ve just encountered.

One of many willow trees alongside the canal, west of Retford.

RETFORD Good for shopping, and with a number of pleasant food and drink outlets, Retford is easily able to occupy an afternoon of your time. In his book Notes from a Small Island, popular American author Bill Bryson describes the town’s “exceptionally large and handsome market square lined with a picturesque jumble of Georgian buildings”. Nearby, you’ll also find St Swithun’s Church and the celebrated cannon that was captured from the Russians at the end of the Crimean War in 1856. The town is also home to the award-winning Bassetlaw Museum, which not only provides an insight into the history of the area but regularly holds a number of special events and exhibitions. For evening entertainment, the Majestic Theatre provides a broad range of music, drama and comedy, while the canalside Little Retford Theatre hosts some very well-reviewed shows performed by its resident, long-established amateur dramatics society.

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FOOD & DRINK STOPS such oferings as game, lobster, crab, spring lamb and wild mushrooms. No 5 Restaurant, Retford Galway Arms, Retford Deinitely the place to go for A warm welcome and consistently posh nosh during your cruise. good food and drink are The a la carte menu changes guaranteed at this town centre four times a year to pub. You can even call in for relect the English seasons, with breakfast at weekends.

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4 The four Forest Locks are located within a mile of 2 particularly pleasant countryside, with a sanitary station, water point and visitor moorings beside the third.

Forest Locks.

Osberton Lock.

5 Huge willow 6 The village estate of Osberton comes next, with its limestone trees hang church tower marking your approach. After Osberton Lock, sleepily over the the canal passes a series of outbuildings that served Osberton Hall, water, until an including a stable block with clock tower adjacent to footbridge 48. increase in traffic noise6 marks A trio of Bracebridge your approach 7 structures – Pumping Station. to Ranby, a a new road bridge, small village you followed immediately negotiate on a by Manton railway series of tight viaduct and an bends. At Bridge accommodation 50A, you’ll cross bridge – signal paths with the your advance into cause of your Worksop. After disturbance, the Kilton Lock, look busy A1 road, out for the 1881 before immersing Bracebridge Pumping yourself back Station, which once into quiet housed twin engines countryside, with to pump sewage a wind turbine from the town. Alas, waving at you in this fine structure still Ranby. the distance. appears to be derelict.

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6 In brief WORKSOP TO 7 miles, 33 locks Cruising time: 8½ hours 4 Worksop provides some fascinating reminders of the canal’s working past, beyond After Bracebridge Lock, Albion Flour 1 which you have the opportunity Mills at the huge 1906 Albion Flour to appreciate the huge efforts Worksop. Mills dominate the landscape in an that enable you to cruise all the industrial scene that’s reminiscent of the early 20th century. There way to Norwood Tunnel. The are good moorings opposite heavily locked section beyond for a short visit to the town, but Shireoaks is undoubtedly hard they are not recommended for overnighting. The distinctive, but work, but the two fl ights are sadly unused, Pickford’s warehouse among the most beautifully spans the canal a little further along, located on the network. followed by Town Lock and the canalside Priory shopping centre.

2 After the canal has weaved its way beyond central Worksop, you come to Morse Lock and its attractive footbridge which leads to the adjacent Sandhill Lake. Until the early years of the millennium, this was the limit of navigation for those heading westwards.

Deep Lock.

Street Lock comes 3 next, widened FOOD & DRINK STOPS in January 2013 after several boats became Piccolo Espresso Bar, Worksop trapped in its narrow If you’re after delicious co ee, pastries and cakes, confines, followed by look no further than this town centre café. Deep Lock which Heaven is Homemade Tea Room, Todwick offers pleasant overnight Just a short way from the terminus at Kiveton moorings with a Morse Lock and is this vintagethemed café providing delicious supermarket and the its distinctive sandwiches, scones, cakes and, of course, afternoon Lock Keeper pub just a footbridge. tea. The quirky decor is pretty special too. short distance away.

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Beginning the three-lock approach to Shireoaks.

4 The next settlement is the former mining village of Shireoaks, which is preceded by three locks in quick succession. The first of these is charmingly WORKSOP incorporated into the garden of an adjoining bungalow. After The home of Oxo, Worksop is a passing through the top lock, Shireoaks Marina can be seen downtoearth place that serves as a on the right, under a narrow towpath bridge. A short convenient stoppingo point for boaters, way beyond are 48-hour moorings, ideally placed particularly those looking to pick up to access the nearby convenience store, supplies. It also has the odd pleasant butchers, railway station, chip shop surprise in store for curious visitors. and Laura’s Coffee Shop. Mr Straw’s House, an Edwardian semi that is virtually unchanged since the 1920s, is a mustvisit as is nearby Creswell Crags, a limestone gorge and caves on the border 3 between and Nottinghamshire. Closer at hand, the Priory shopping centre has just about every chain store you care to think of, while the Savoy Cinemas show the latest Hollywood blockbusters, art house 2 fi lms and even host live performances.

5 Once beyond the low and narrow Bridge 39, 1 you are at the foot of 23 locks, crammed into a little over a mile, which lift the canal to its summit level. The seven locks of the Turnerwood flight come first, which take you to the settlement from which it takes its name. One of the most attractive spots on the canal, the two-hour moorings here are an ideal place to pause for a breather. Beyond Turnerwood are the 15 locks of the Thorpe flight, which include two treble and two double staircases.

A trip-boat A moored tackling the boat near Turnerwood . fl ight.

6 At the summit, the The last 7 A short canal enters a final, distance secretive phase, disappearing on the canal beyond Kiveton behind dense woodlands and at Kiveton. Bridge, you’ll find hillsides as it creeps towards the last winding the village of Kiveton Park. hole and moorings Close to Bridge 33 you will before the canal find the railway station and fizzles out rather Station Hotel, while further unceremoniously amenities can be accessed at the bricked-up, at the centre of the village, overgrown entrance around a mile away. to Norwood Tunnel. www.waterwaysworld.com March 2018 59 Planning This 1890s postcard shows Pride loaded with limestone at the site of your trip today’s Boundary Lock 41a, a new structure built to counteract mining subsidence.

DIMENSIONS Length 72ft Beam 16ft (entrance to West Stockwith Basin only); 8ft 6in (West Stockwith to Retford); 7ft (Retford to Norwood Tunnel) Draught 2ft 6in Headroom 7ft The canal from the Trent to Retford was built to wide-beam dimensions (15ft), but the narrow Manor Farm Bridge at Walkeringham limits cruising for wide-boats. Above Worksop, several locks were restored to a beam of 6ft 10in. They have now been enlarged to 7ft, but owners of full-beam working boats should exercise extra care. HISTORY Opened in 1777, the Chesterfi eld Canal has not only built a replica of this type has the distinction of being the last of craft, called New Dawn, launched WALKING waterway to be engineered by James in 2015, but in August 2017, unearthed Brindley, though much of the work the remains of one near Staveley. It is possible to walk the entire 46mile actually fell to his assistant John Varley, In 1849 competition came in the route of the Chesterfi eld Canal on the particularly after Brindley died in 1772. form of the , She eld & dedicated footpath/towpath known as A contour canal, it originally followed Lincolnshire Railway which was built Cuckoo Way. Furthermore, convenient a roaming 46mile route from the River parallel to the canal. At the end of 1907 railway stations at Kiveton Park, Trent through Retford and Worksop to the 20mile stretch between Worksop Shireoaks and Chesterfi eld allow for its terminus at Chesterfi eld. Interestingly, and Chesterfi eld had ceased to serve oneway exploration. Walking boots it was built as a narrow canal from the commercial tra c following the partial are advised, however, as the towpath latter to Retford, but as a wider waterway collapse and closure of Norwood is only surfaced in certain areas. from there to West Stockwith in order to Tunnel. By the 1950s, only a very For more information about Cuckoo accommodate widebeam river tra c. small number of working boats were Way, and some of the pleasant circular However, the presence of several pinch using the section east of Worksop. walks you can enjoy along the route, points and narrow bridgeholes along the In 1961, it was proposed that the visit the Chesterfi eld Canal Trust’s way meant this vision was never realised. canal be o cially abandoned, but website chesterfi eld-canal-trust.org.uk. Nevertheless, for threequarters protests, led by the Retford & Worksop of a century trade was brisk. Large Boat Club, proved successful. Under amounts of coal, agricultural produce, the the canal was iron, pottery and ale were carried, but classifi ed as a ‘cruiseway’ between its most celebrated cargo was the the Trent and Worksop, while the rest magnesian limestone conveyed from was designated ‘remainder’. In 1976, a quarry near Kiveton Park and used the Chesterfi eld Canal Society (now to rebuild the Houses of Parliament the Chesterfi eld Canal Trust) was following their destruction by fi re in 1834. formed with the aim of restoring the As an outlying waterway, with no remaining 20 miles west of Worksop. external canal infl uence, the Chesterfi eld In 2002, an isolated 5mile section Canal had its own distinctive type of craft from Chesterfi eld to Staveley was known as ‘Cuckoo’ boats. Horsedrawn returned to navigable condition, and and of narrowbeam construction, they the following year the Worksop to looked rather like traditional Norwood Tunnel stretch was reopened but omitted cabin accommodation to boats. Restoring the missing 8mile as the boatmen always had a home length of waterway between these two CHESTERFIELD AND BEYOND ashore. (The Chesterfi eld Canal Trust sections remains a primary aim of CCT. Under the ownership and management of Derbyshire County Council, 5 miles of canal between Chesterfi eld and Staveley were reopened to navigation in 2002. Beyond here, there remains a further 8 or so miles to restore to the current limit of navigation at Kiveton Park. The restoration, led by the Chesterfi eld Canal Trust, is one of the most active in the country and, with fears of HS2’s impact largely abated, the project is continuing apace. Having now rebuilt Staveley Lock, the channel is being reinstated east of here, with current work focussing on bypassing an old railway bridge at Hartington. Meanwhile, in August 2017 CCT uncovered A Shireoaks Colliery Company narrowboat at the company’s sales a signifi cant link with the canal’s past when wharf above Worksop Town Lock. an original Cuckoo boat was unearthed Wardle Lock.

during an archaeological dig near Staveley. JOHN LOWER

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