the-chesterfield-canal-trust-help-to-restore-the-last-nine-miles
Skip to content
Make a Donation
Become a Member
Volunteering
Downloads
E-Newsletters
Top Menu
News
Calendar
Membership
How to join the Chesterfield Canal Trust
E-Newsletters
Volunteering
Governance
Chesterfield Canal Society History
Off the water
Hollingwood Hub
Tapton Lock Visitor Centre
Tourist Information
Walking
General walking information
Audio Trails
How to get to the canal from Chesterfield Town Centre
Cycling
General cycling information
Cycling the full length of the Chesterfield Canal
Pubs and Cafés
Attractions close to the canal
Accommodation
Public Transport along the canal
Fishing Associations
History
A Brief History of the Chesterfield Canal
Christine Richardson’s Online Chesterfield Canal Archive
Old canal maps
An Analysis of the Physical and Economic Factors that Influenced the Building of the Chesterfield Canal and its Subsequent History
30 important Dates during the Construction of the Canal
Promotions and Publicity
Useful links
Trip Boats
John Varley ll – Chesterfield
Madeline – Hollingwood Hub
Hugh Henshall – Shireoaks
Seth Ellis – Ranby
On the water
Paddlesports hire at Hollingwood Hub
RYA Helm Training and Crew Certification
Hire Companies
Canoeing & Paddleboarding
Canal maps and guides
Boat licences
Stoppage list
Navigating the tidal River Trent
Moorings on the Chesterfield Canal
Slipways
Shopping and facilities
All you need to know for your Chesterfield Canal Cruise
Python
Python blogs
Python reports up to October 2009
Python update – July 2015
Python gets another grant – January 2015
IWA awards a grant to the Chesterfield Canal Trust for Python repairs – December 2014
Canal & River Trust gets help from Python – April 2013
Python sets off for its Summer Tour – April 2013
Python’s Grand Tour – May 2011
Python registered as National Historic Ship – January 2011
Information from British Waterways Archive
Python spotted in Kiveton Park – June 2010
CCT officially receives Python – October 2009
Python restoration update – May 2011
Dawn Rose
Dawn Rose negotiates Kilton Lock – September 2015
A narrowboat with a mast, sail and oars – July 2015
A video record of New Dawn’s construction
Dawn Rose named at Worksop Water Day – June 2015
Dawn Rose’s first cruise – May 2015
Cuckoo launched safely – April 2015
New Dawn update – December 2013
New Dawn update – September 2014
New Dawn Update – June 2007
New Dawn taking shape
Full steam ahead
Restoration
Tender and job opportunities
Staveley Town Deal project
Staveley Town Deal E-Newsletters
Staveley Town Deal Restoration Work – photographic record
Keith Ayling Lock Gates Appeal
Renishaw Restoration – photographic record
New restoration sections
2027 Restoration Appeal
Restoration past, present and future
Restoration to date in Nottinghamshire and Rotherham
Restoration to date in Derbyshire
Work Party
Future plans
A new tunnel at Norwood
What will happen at Kiveton?
Options for replacing the Norwood Tunnel
Getting through Killamarsh
Rother Valley Boat Lift Competition
Rother Valley Canal Boat Lift ideas
Will the Brindley Loops be restored?
Why not restore the Norbriggs Arm?
Who will run a fully restored Chesterfield Canal?
Gallery
Photos
Staveley Town Lock and Hartington Harbour
Staveley Town Basin and the Mill Green Link
Constitution Hill Bridge
Tony Clayton’s collection
Renishaw Restoration
Waterside in Chesterfield
West Stockwith Basin
Hollingwood Hub
Paul Brunt’s photographic journey down the canal
Wildlife spotting sheets
Staveley Puddlebank
Videos
Robbie Cumming videos
Walking the Chesterfield Canal from Worksop to Retford
“Where’er You Walk” being sung by Alison Trick in Drakeholes Tunnel on Seth Ellis
Thorpe treble locks
Boat Handling
Shop & Payments
Contacts
The Chesterfield Canal is one of the most beautiful and varied waterways in England. It runs for 46 miles from the River Trent to the middle of Chesterfield, linking Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and Derbyshire.
“I think I might have discovered one of the most beautiful canals in the whole of the system.”
(Robbie Cumming, BBC “Canal Boat Diaries”.)
Tripboats,
click here
Keith Ayling Lock Gates Appeal,
click here
Paddlesports hire,
click here
Staveley Town Deal works photos,
click here
To join the Trust,
click here
Every yard of the canal can be walked on the towpath known as
The Cuckoo Way
It goes through tranquil countryside where scarcely a house can be seen; has some of the earliest staircase locks ever built (250 years ago); is hugely popular with walkers; features an
underground canal
at Hollingwood and ends up at what will be the £310 million
Waterside
development in Chesterfield.
Since 1989, 12 miles of the canal have been restored along with 37 locks and 12 bridges; 2 new marinas have been built. The latest section,
Hartington Harbour
, was opened at our
Festival
in 2018.
There are less than nine miles left to restore. In 2018 the Chesterfield Canal Trust set itself an ambitious target of
2027
for the completion of the restoration because this is the 250th Anniversary of the opening of the canal, though that target is now extremely unlikely.
The Chesterfield Canal Trust is a charitable company run entirely by volunteers, incorporated in July 1997. In 1998 it took over the assets of the former Chesterfield Canal Society, which had been formed in 1976.
In 2017, the Trust received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service,
click here
The aims of the Chesterfield Canal Trust are to promote the full restoration and appropriate development of the Chesterfield Canal, and to campaign for the construction of the
Rother Valley Link
, a navigable waterway to join the Chesterfield Canal to the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation.
Amongst other activities we run four trip boats (one in
Ranby
, one in
Shireoaks
, one in
Hollingwood
and the fourth in
Chesterfield
); we run
Work Parties
on the canal on Thursdays and Sundays; we have a Maintenance Team that helps Derbyshire County Council look after the canal in Derbyshire; we have a 95-year old ex BW working boat,
Python
, that we use for maintenance work in support of the Canal & River Trust; we have a promotional trailer, the James Brindley, that attends events and town centres throughout the year and we have built Dawn Rose, the first new
Cuckoo
boat (unique to the canal) for over 80 years. Our base is in the restored and extended Hollingwood Lock House, now called
Hollingwood Hub
, in Chesterfield which includes Katey’s Coffee Shop and our own Information Centre & Shop.
The Trust has over 2000 members, who, for a small membership fee, receive regular copies of the Trust’s award-winning magazine Cuckoo and monthly E-Newsletters. To join the Trust,
click here
For information about Donations, Legacies, Sponsorship and Corporate Social Responsibility opportunities,
click here
To see our Chesterfield Canal Online Archive site,
click here
You are welcome to download any unattributed photographs from this website. If you need a larger version, or for permission to use attributed photos, email
publicity@chesterfield-canal-trust.org.uk
To see our Cookie Policy, please
click here
Latest News
Kath Auton
19th March 2026
Keith Ayling Lock Gates Appeal
20th February 2026
Video Podcasts
19th February 2026
Fund Britain’s Waterways Press Release
7th February 2026
UPDATE – Big Give Renishaw Appeal
9th December 2025
Canal trust gets boost from two grants
27th November 2025
Staveley Town Deal survey
7th November 2025
Desilting in Chesterfield
28th October 2025
B&Q aids Canal Trust
14th October 2025
HS2 Safeguarding scrapped
4th October 2025
Mansfield Building Society helps Canal Trust
30th September 2025
“The last couple of miles uphill from Shireoaks, up the Turnerwood and Thorpe canal flights are, to my mind, the most exquisite passage in Britain.” (Andrew Denny, Assistant Editor Waterways World)
“… taken as a whole, the flights at Turnerwood and Thorpe rival anything the inland waterway network has to offer …” (Pearson Canal Companion, East Midlands, 2014 © Michael Pearson)
Share this page
Share on Facebook
Share on Facebook
Tweet
Share on Twitter
Go to Top
WordPress Download Manager - Best Download Management Plugin