Sunday 14 June 2015

Bennerley Viaduct and Nottingham Canal (unnavigable section)

Last Monday we explored by foot the land to the east of where we had been moored at Cotmanhay on the Erewash Canal. The unmissable edifice striding over the River Erewash and its flood plain is the Bennerley railway viaduct, now devoid of rails and ending almost in mid-air.

It is now a listed structure and there are plans for it to carry a cycle path. I believe a certain Gustav Eiffel had something to do with its creation, but I don't know which wrought iron lattice construction came first.

A little more walking brought us to the start (end?) of a watered section of the Nottingham Canal which used to run from Nottingham to the Great Northern Basin at Langley Mill where it joined the Cromford Canal and Erewash Canal.

The Nottingham Canal was known as the Top Cut as, for the last few miles, it ran more-or-less parallel to the Erewash Canal but at a higher level. The Erewash Canal was the Bottom Cut.

As we walked past this fisherman we saw him land a large fish (well, it looked large to us non-anglers!)

He told us the best fishing was to be had at night (see sign!)

Our route back to the boat took us the other side of the viaduct. The water in the foreground is the River Erewash.

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