Your floating hotel on the Canals and Rivers of the UK

Our guide to the waterways of the UK in detail.

Pictures of the Trent & Mersey Canal.

Fradley to Shardlow.

This was the first true canal to be built in the UK. Previously rivers had been made navigable, then the Bridgewater canal was built as the first water route which did not follow the course of a river. The Trent & Mersey had locks, a summit and a tunnel to enable it to travel from the watershed of the Mersey over to the watershed of the Trent this was an important innovation.

It is ninety-five miles long from Derwent mouth to the Bridgewater canal at the north end of Preston Brook tunnel. In has seventy-six locks four great tunnels. Eight other navigations join it so sections of it are included in many of our cruises. .

Although the canal starts at Derwent mouth lock on the River Trent. Its real terminus is one mile upstream of the lock at Shardlow. Here a canal port developed when the Trent and Mersey canal arrived.

For the first twenty-one miles from Shardlow up to Burton the canal runs parallel to the River Trent. All the five locks on this section are broad, fourteen feet wide. They were built to take the broad barges which used the River Trent up to Burton. It is a rural canal, both the main road and the railway follow the same route but do not stay close to the canal.

Burton provides four miles of suburban canal, with the strong smell of hops from the brewing industry, and the first narrow lock.

The main feature of the last seven miles to Fradley Junction with the Coventry canal apart from the ten locks is the crossing of the River Trent on the level which when the water level is high can either provide some stimulating navigation or even close the canal for a while.

Burton	Broad locks.
Shardlow		The last lock on the Trent & Mersey canal.

More pictures of this canal?

Preston Brook to Middlewich / Middlewich to Hardings Wood Junction / Hardings Wood Junction to Eturia

Eturia to Great Haywood

A history of this canal. / General information on the canal.

Find our information about other canals and rivers on the canal index page.

If you have any questions then do ring us on 07977 229103
or email us at martinreed@reedboats.co.uk