A Towpath Walk Along the Chesterfield Canal - Worksop to Retford
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ย. 2024
- We continue our walk along the Chesterfield Canal, walking along the Cuckoo Way towpath between the Nottinghamshire towns of Worksop and Retford.
The Chesterfield Canal is 46 miles long and runs from Chesterfield to West Stockwith on the River Trent. All but 9 miles in the middle are active canal. The remaining 9 miles are planned for restoration in the coming years. You can walk the whole 46 miles of the canal towpath on a marked path called the Cuckoo Way.
Just over a year ago, we completed the section from Shireoaks to Worksop and we start this explore from the Worksop town lock and the former Pickfords warehouse (the straddle) and Cuckoo Wharf with it's great old crane.
Not long after leaving Worksop we are met with Bracebridge Lock and it's lovely bridge. The backdrop alongside of the canal is the former Bracebridge Pumping House. A former victorian sewerage and water treatment works majestic with it's Italian design, slender chimney and imposing windows. This was part of the Worksop Waterworks Company and Bracebridge pumping station pumped sewage to Kilton Forest Farm from 1881.
As we continue, very quickly the feel of the canal becomes very rural. We pass Kilton lock, it's aqueduct over the River Ryton and the canal feeder channel.
A selection of different design of bridges come and go as we pass under the railway line. The next lock us Osberton - a lovely setting by the canal.
The canal and towpath snakes it's way across the countryside before diving under the busy A1, trucks rushing past overhead seems a far contrast from the peace and leisurely canal.
We now enter the village of Ranby. A seemingly idilic canalside setting and on a hot day like today the welcome sight of a pub overlooking the canal. We stop for refreshment at the Chequers Inn.
Back on the move again and more beautiful rural settings, woods and bridges. We start the decent down the series of Forest Locks. Retford is now almost in sight as we can here the distant trains on the East Coast Main Line.
A few more snakes in the canal and more ornamental bridges and we pass under the main railway line to London. Next up is Retford Cemetry and the final few miles into the centre of Retford.
Retford has a lot of history invested in the canal, especially around the Retford Town Lock. An important intersection with the former route of the A1 Great North Road. Retford saw an upturn in trade with the canal. We can also see a series of aqueducts carrying the canal into the town, one over the River Idle. This was the scene of the famouse story of when workmen in the 1960s managed to pull the plug and empty the canal by accident.
Previous videos
Shireoaks to Worksop - • Chesterfield Canal Exp...
Kiveton Park to Shireoaks - • Cuckoo Way Walk - Ches...
Chesterfield to Staveley - • Cuckoo Way Walk - Ches...
Also see more Chesterfield Canal videos on my channel including the disused section and videos on the restoration updates.
Probably my favourite length of the canal, and probably one of the first long canal walks I did. Always a magical place to be.
👍 what strikes me about some of the sections of the Chestefield Canal, it can look massively different in sping/summer/autumn. I bet it's nice in spring.
Just wow!!! Beautiful. Some of that reminded me of the canal-du-midi in the south of France. I have actually walked that but don’t remember a lot of it. I think it was a hot day and I ended up in the Wetherspoons in Retford for refreshment afterwards. 🤪🤣😀
Haha you must have had heat stroke.
Enjoyed your video. The walk between the two towns does seem long. Agree with you about the lack of seating along this stretch and not many further on. The section between Retford & West Stockwith has some interesting points. I like Grinley with its wharf history {nice seats here}. Drakeholes is lovely and West Stockwiths history as a Trent port is worth exploring. Also bus connections back to Retford from here. I am sure that when you get around to doing it you will enjoy it.
Cheers Paul.
Really looking forward to the next sections :)
Cheers for the pointers about the bus connections. Sounds like a winner.
Aah, the memories, it was at lock 57 on one of our walks that Theo fell in and I had to climb down and get him out. What a job that was as he thought it was a game and kept swimming away from me!! I also have a cracking photo of him at the next bridge, the odd shaped, weak one with the build up of bricks on one side. As for the up and over bridge @9:00 I seem to remember there being a couple of them on the Grantham Canal, another one I'm trying to traverse!!! That was a really relaxing video with some wonderful scenery, thanks for taking us along👍.
👍🙂 Great memories of Theo there.
It really is a cracking stretch of canal isn't it.
@@WobblyRunner Definitely, I loved walking that section, it was quite breath-taking to be honest. Mind you, the sale of earplugs in Ranby must be high🤣😂!!!!
@@seamusmcevoy2011 😄. I did think that. I suppose you'd get used to it over time.
Wonderful.
This looks lovely in the sunshine. Bit hot though for the long walk!
Inspiring me to get out to this one.
Cheers.
It's a great day out 👍. I tackled this on a "cooler" day where it was forecast 19 degrees 😄. It turned out at 23 degrees, which is still a bit too warm for me to be out in it all day.
@@WobblyRunner I'm glad it wasn't the 40°C day!
@@petedemaio168 haha I don't think I'd have made it past the pub if that was the case 😄
Sailed from Retford and Worksop boat club to The Chequers at Ranby on Seth Ellis…..beautiful part of the canal….
It sure is beautiful. I think I'd enjoy it more on a boat with a bar 😀
Ha ha me too….but I live in Mablethorpe and I can’t 😢
@@michaelhibbert4393 ah yes that's a fair drive home
Awesome stuff, good going in the new British summer weather, not surprised you were shattered by the end of it. I've not really been east of Manton that much, just little bits here and there. The lack of locks shows just how much the land flattens out.
I was thinking as I was walking along, it's so much flatter but why doesn't it just go straight to Retford? So much deviation
Ps. I wouldn't say it was great for cycling up there. It looked tough going.
@@WobblyRunner yeah I've gone from Ranby to Osberton before but was advised by someone not to go further as it's not fit. Also been told there's no plans to improve the towpath due to the nature of the area. I guess if the route was more direct then they'd need more locks, and with it being a working canal back in the day the least stop starts the better.
Nice 1 Paul only ever done Kiveton-worksop remember me saying in October when you run out of day light it's a hole new ball game walking next to the locks.
Have another coke you need one after that walk 👍
😄 I could murder a coke right now.
Great video as always, but disappointed that you didn't mention the plaque on milestone 26 and wondered why it's dedicated to a boxer dog
Ahhh I completely missed that. I'm just trying to remember where 26 was now....
I'll have to look out for that on my next time.
@@WobblyRunner At Ranby, after you'd been to the Chequer's, you filmed the milestone
@@pipmcscot7078 👍. I completely missed the plaque
Hi - What is the story behind the boxer dog? Do you know? Thanks
@@ianmurdoch6243 do you know @Pip McScot?