Marine Cruises canal holidays on the River Trent
Canal Holidays on the River Trent
From our Kings Bromley Marina base you head east to the southern end of the Trent & Mersey Canal where you meet the River Trent. En route you can visit Burton upon Trent with its Brewery Museum and the fascinating old canal town of Shardlow.
Lock down and head onto the wide River Trent downstream past the unusual waterways crossroad near Trent Lock. The interesting Erewash Canal is on the left, well worth exploring if you have time, and the River Soar which connects to the Grand Union Canal is on your right. However the Trent goes straight on to Nottingham, although you must soon leave the actual river and join the Cranfleet Cut and later enter more of the frequent canalised sections before you reach Nottingham.
Beyond Nottingham you rejoin the River Trent proper and pass the National Watersports Centre at Holme Pierreport. The river twists and turns though fine scenery around tree covered hills on the stretch up to Newark, with lots of large riverside pubs and pretty villages such as Fiskerton and Farndon, although some of the villages have no moorings and may be difficult to visit.
At Newark the river and the town is dominated by the ruined castle walls, destroyed by Oliver Cromwell. The valley of the Trent has had many battles fought upon it, including nearby Stoke Field in 1487. Newark is well worth exploring, an interesting market town with a cobbled market place which has seen much history, besieged three times by the Roundheads during the Civil War.
North of Newark you rejoin the main river for the short and twisting journey up to Cromwell Tidal Lock. The tidal section is much more difficult to navigate, with currents, hidden shoals and large commercial vessels, we advise you to turn at Newark and head home.
River Trent facts…
Runs Navigable from near Shardlow to Trent Falls where it meets the River Humber, tidal above Cromwell Tidal Lock.
Junctions Sawley with Trent & Mersey Canal, Trent Lock with Erewash Canal and River Soar, Torksey with the Fossdyke Navigation, West Stockwith with the Chesterfield Canal and River Idle, Keadby with the Stainforth & Keadby Canal and Trent Falls with the River Humber.
Length 67miles
Locks 13