Walk this way
Lee Senior takes a walk along the Grantham Canal.
THE Grantham Canal encompasses three counties on its 33-mile journey from Nottingham to the Lincolnshire town of Grantham. Built in 1797, it was closed to boats in 1929.
The canal is in the process of being restored by a partnership made up of the Grantham Canal Society (GCS), Canal & River Trust, Waterway Recovery Group and relevant local authorities. The GCS has a 10-year restoration plan running until 2030. This aims to build on the tremendous work already accomplished.
Before Covid-19 entered our lives, I walked the full length of the canal with a friend. Our plan was to reach Nottingham by train and arrive at Grantham the following day!
We began our walk close to the Nottingham Forest football ground, a mile from the city centre.
The canal initially skirts through the fringes of West Bridgford and at times has a semi-urban feel until Gamston. There are a number of roads to cross at the western end of the canal but this doesn’t detract from its charm, with plenty of flora and fauna to enjoy.
Just over four miles from the start, the 200-acre Cotgrave Country Park – a former colliery – is a fine recreational spot for a picnic, easily accessed from the towpath.
Afterwards, Lock 11 near Fosse Bridge marks the start of the 20-mile pound almost as far as Muston.
Soon after Cotgrave, the canal runs ‘dry’ despite occasional pools of water being visible for the next few miles, as it passes close to Cropwell Bishop. The society has made a tentative start on the ‘dry section project’ to replace the rampant vegetation with water once again.
A long straight stretch is followed by the attractive Devil’s Elbow en route to Kinoulton. The ‘ elbow’ has the sharpest curve on the canal. Just beyond Kinoulton is the attractive and tranquil Hickling Basin.
We pushed on a further four miles to Harby, to give us a total of 17 miles for the day, as we aimed for equidistant mileage. It was then back to Cropwell Bishop for an enjoyable overnight stay, made possible by our host who came to collect us.
Day two really came into its own as we meandered deeper into the beautiful Vale of Belvoir.
Beyond the village of Redmile, with its fine view of the church, the towpath heads close to the small town of Bottesford, just over one mile to the north and reachable from the canal. This is a handy option for taking the train.
There are far-reaching views of the restored Belvoir Castle that cannot fail to be admired, and this section is surely the undoubted highlight of the walk.
Close to Longore Bridge, the canal is bordered by the southern edge of the wonderful Muston Meadows Nature
Reserve, just south of Muston village. Still the ‘wow’ moments continue as we head into Lincolnshire and reach the Woolsthorpe Flight, consisting of seven locks over the next 1.5 miles. Only the first two locks, numbers 12 and 13, are currently unusable. They are now the subject of a funding bid for restoration.
Of the 18 locks on the canal, seven have been restored. Excitingly, from lock 15 (bottom of Half Mile Pound) the canal is navigable to the current terminus near the busy A1 trunk road.
At lock 15 there is a commemorative seat; a great spot to rest and read the engraved bricks, the culmination of the Buy A Brick fundraising scheme. At the nearby former Woolsthorpe Wharf is the Dirty Duck pub, where we enjoyed some well-earned liquid refreshment!
The attractive village of Woolsthorpeby-Belvoir is less than a mile away. This area is one of the most visited sections of the canal. From Woolsthorpe Top Lock, it is now only four miles to the A1.
From there, purists can walk the last mile to Grantham town centre, east of the A1 to the infilled end of the canal. There is some residential housing to walk through, but the route is simple enough.
Overall, much of the canal has surfaced pathways and is generally easy to walk on. Some of the towpath is grass, which can be muddy after prolonged rain.
The entire route is a wildlife-rich haven with peace and tranquillity in abundance. There are two SSSIs along the way and hedgerows aplenty as the canal travels through a largely arable landscape. The water may be well be green in parts but this simply serves to add interest and variety to the walk for both humans and wildlife.
I thoroughly enjoyed walking the Grantham Canal, which truly is a compelling, rural delight and I look forward to returning.
Grantham Canal Society has an updated online guide well worth a look: https://gcsguide.org/
My thanks to Tony Jackson, of the Grantham Canal Society.