Canal Boat — November 2017

canalboat.co.uk Canal Boat November 2017 63

RESTORATION

The junction bridge still exists, and Canal

Trust volunteers have been at work

removing vegetation from the brickwork,

and re-setting coping stones knocked off

by vandals.

There are plans for more in this area,

where following an unsuccessful Heritage

Lottery Fund bid some years ago, the

advice was to ‘do a small project first’.

So the plan is to dig out and restore the

filled-in first lock: matters have been

delayed complicated by asbestos in the

infill, but investigations have shown that

it is relatively low level contamination.

There are then no major problems with

the first mile (which survives as a path,

and passes under the fine 1930s concrete

Cockayne’s Bridge). The local authorities

are supportive, and the Canal Trust could

take over ownership from the council.

Crossing the M1 (which blocks the

original line) looks tricky, but the Trust

believes that a nearby road bridge is wide

enough to squeeze a canal in as well.

Beyond the motorway there is less to

see, but the course is unobstructed, and

(as with much of the route) possible

marina and development sites have been

identified which could support canal

reinstatement. A footpath follows the

route west past Breaston – where former

canal pub the Navigation survives, and

may one day have a liftbridge alongside it.

A cycleway follows the canal line to

Draycott, site of the next length that’s

looking likely to see work soon. By a

dilapidated old brick building is the start

of what the Trust has dubbed the ‘first

kilometre’. Already partially re-excavated

for drainage purposes, it’s proposed for

reinstatement to navigable dimensions as

the first completed length of the restored

canal. As a major earth-moving exercise

(plus waterproof lining) it’s likely to be a

job for contractors rather than volunteers,

costing around £400,000. The Trust has

already secured £40,000 in pledges

towards a target of £100,000, which it feels

will demonstrate the necessary levels of

support when going for grant funding for

the remainder. If the money can be raised,

DSCT hopes that the work could take

place in either summer 2018 or 2019.

But it’s more than just digging 1km of

ditch. The plan is to include a slipway and

parking, use it to hold trip-boat events,

encourage fishing, and make a community

asset for Draycott. And that’s where the

‘dilapidated old brick building’ mentioned

above comes in...

Built as six canal workers’ cottages,

later used as a silk mill, the building was

vacated in 1985 and fell derelict. It has

now been bought by the Trust, which has

begun renovation with the aim that it will

combine housing for rent (to bring an

income for the Trust) with community

functions including a café and farm shop.

The First Kilometre ends where the

canal passes under the A6005 via another

concrete bridge. A footpath continues to

follow the line of the canal as it passes

through farmland to reach Borrowash,

where we find the next restoration site.

Borrowash Bottom Lock was partially

restored by volunteers some years ago.

The completion of the lock including

repairs to wing walls and reinstatement of

coping stones (plus a length of hedgerow

work) is seen as very much a volunteer

project – although there will be other

work needed including a water supply

from a nearby brook and moving a drain.

Following a well-preserved length

above the lock, the partly infilled canal

route forms a linear park around the

south side of Borrowash, leading to

Spondon, where two surviving bridges

• a traditional brick arch and a steel beam
  bridge – have already been restored.
  Beyond there, however, things get more
  difficult as the canal approaches Derby.
  Originally it continued west into the city,
  crossing the River Derwent on the level
  before heading south to Swarkestone. But
  with parts of the route on both sides of
  the river having been built on, the Trust
  has gone for a more radical approach.
  A new route is proposed which will cut
  across southwest from west of Spondon,
  bridging the Derwent on a new aqueduct
  alongside an existing railway bridge,
  before continuing south of the river
  (where a new culvert has already been
  built to carry it under Pacific Way) and
  rejoining the southern length of the canal.
  (Until it’s built, those following the route
  on foot will need to take the footpath
  alongside the A5111, then take the
  riverside path westwards before turning
  left following the signs to Swarkestone.)
  Having rejoined the original route south
  of the Derwent, there is a footpath and
  cycleway following the line all the way to
  the Trent & Mersey at Swarkestone –
  including three surviving bridges and

The ‘First Kilometre’ length at Draycott

Volunteer project: the part-restored Borrowash Lock

Surviving bridge and lock south of Derby