Nutbrook Valley & Canal

This week were to meet a friend of Geoff's at the car park near Straws Bridge on the A609 just going into Ilkeston. We got there about 08:20 and parked up next to the pond. Geoff's friend David turned up a couple of minutes later and after introductions we set off on the trail of the Northern end of the Nutbrook Canal. This walk included the whats left of the Nutbrook canal and the disused railway that used to ferry coal from the local mines.
All the following information is credited to Wikipedia.

David & Geoff checking the old maps.

The part of Derbyshire through which the Nutbrook Canal was built is remote, and although there were collieries at West Hallam and Shipley, it was poorly served by transport links. The construction of the Ilkeston to Nottingham Turnpike road in 1764 brought some improvement, but the road surface was unable to cope with regular heavy loads, and so traffic in the winter was sporadic. Improvements to the River Soar, authorised in 1776, and the construction of the Erewash Canalbetween 1777 and 1779 resulted in further improvements. A short spur from the Erewash Canal had been built to connect with a wagonway to Lord Stanhope's estates at Stanton and Dale. Coal from the Shipley Colliery reached the canal by a wooden tramway, and tolls were limited to 1s 6d (£8.05 as of 2013),^[1] per ton on the canal, but the canal company promised a 50 per cent reduction if the mine owners were to build a branch canal from the main line along the Nutbrook Valley.^[2]

The first moves to build a canal were made in 1791, when Edward Miller Mundy, the owner of Shipley Hall, and Sir Henry Hunloke of Wingerworth, owner of the West Hallam collieries, investigated the possibility of building a canal without an Act of Parliament. However, an Act was sought in 1792, but it was defeated in March, by objections from landowners who wanted it to be owned by a public company, rather than the mine owners.^[3] The canal engineer William Jessop was asked to produce a detailed design for the canal, which he estimated would cost £12,542 (£1,255,150 as of 2013),^[1], and John Nuttall surveyed the route and produced detailed plans.^[4] The Act of Parliament authorising construction was obtained on 3 June 1793, and allowed the owners to raise £13,000, with a further £6,500 if required.^[5] Shares were given to investors by a formal agreement, as the canal was not a public company; public status would have prevented the colliery owners from obtaining their 50 per cent reduction of tolls on the Erewash Canal.

The canal was initially profitable, but from 1846 faced competition from the railways, and more seriously, subsidence caused by the coal mines that it was built to serve. With the mines failing to pay tolls for goods carried on the canal, and in some cases refusing to accept responsibility for the subsidence, most of it was closed in 1895, although the final 1.5 miles (2.4 km) remained in use until 1949.

A section of the canal above lock 3 remains in water, although the lock gates have been removed and replaced by weirs. Beyond this section, footpaths follow the course of the canal as far as Hallam wharf. Below lock 3, most of the canal has been filled in as the ironworks have expanded, but a pipe in the bed of the canal still delivers water to the works. The four-storey toll house at the Ladywood Road bridge ^[32] remained until 1965 when it was demolished by the local council. Mapperley reservoir and Hawley's Pond are still there, but Shipley reservoir has been transformed as its site was occupied by the lake at the centre of The American Adventure Theme Park, until its closure in 2007. Two original bridges connected with the reservoir are located at its southern end. Colliery Road Bridge is a single-arched grade II listed structure built of sandstone and red brick,^[33] while Paul's Arm Bridge is of a similar construction but has two arches.^[34]

The Great Northern Railway Branch through Stanton Ironworks crossed the canal within the works. The bridge over which the railway crossed is notable for having been damaged during a bombing raid by German airships in 1916 during World War One

Just the two of us

The track goes past the Pewit golf course

Me & Rob

Part of the Pewit Carr Nature Reserve

Section of the Nutbrook Canal

Ike, Rob, Geoff & David

Fishermen camped out all night

Need your hard hat around here

Remains of one of the locks with the brick construction showing under the water.

David, Geoff & Rob

It looks as though there is some sort of clearing program in operation

Settling tanks just outside Ilkeston

Pic of the settling tanks from the opposite end

The track got a bit muddy around this area.

Rob, Geoff, David & Ike

This ditch is a HA-HA for keeping out grazing cattle from your stately  garden

Breakfast stop in the grounds of Shipley Hall. This seat is in memory of Davids parents.

The Water Tower of Shipley Hall

Roadway through Mapperley Reservoir

Not sure what this sculpture is supposed to be

David, Ike, Rob & me

Nice letter box

There were a couple of dozen of these concrete structures lying about, no idea what they are.

A dad and his kids having a bit of fun 

Rob, David, Ike & Geoff

Pic by F.G. Carrier

Pic by F.G. Carrier

Geoff on an old section of track

Back to the car park.

 This walk was just over 6 miles with a lot of varied scenery and many interesting features of the Nutbrook industrial area. Thoroughly enjoyed it usual with great company.
See you next week
Cheers