You should always check with the relevant authorities before taking your boat onto the Trent. At all times, follow the advice and instruction of the lock keepers.

To know where you are, buy the Tidal Trent Chart series – Chart No. 2.

For full information, buy John Lower’s book about navigating the Trent, click here.

For Try the Trent!, click here.

Click here for stoppages, notices etc.

 

Some tips upon arrival at West Stockwith.

When you arrive at West Stockwith you will have spent several days on wide deep rivers and it takes a while to get used to “canal speed” again. There is a stretch of canal between Misterton and Clayworth that is a bit shallower than many canals, but it can be navigated by deep draughted vessels. Many historic craft regularly visit and manage to get their 3’+ depth along the canal.

The trick is to slow right down and stick to the channel. Keep the revs off, as increasing them just sucks your boat onto the bottom, slowing you down. The scenery and wildlife along that section is fantastic so mentally prepare yourself for a lovely gentle tranquil cruise and enjoy it at leisure. It is very unlikely that you will meet another boat coming the other way, so it is very safe to stick to the centre of the canal where it is deeper and you have less chance of getting stuck.

The Chesterfield Canal is often shallow at the edge and so it is not a canal you can simply stop and tie up anywhere. It is often best to aim for designated visitor moorings.

If you are using the canal in the summer when it can suffer with blanket weed then it is good to let CRT know of any particularly bad areas of weed. They have a weedboat that operates on the canal during the season but they need some direction by boaters so they can deploy the boat to the right areas. The usual experience of boaters who report severe weed problems on the way up is that it has been dealt with by the time they return, so it is worth reporting issues by emailing enquiries.yorkshirenortheast@canalrivertrust.org.uk.

For full information for your trip, click here.

We hope that you enjoy your cruise on our fabulous canal.