It was a much more sensible temperature for walking, and I was excited to explore Shardlow, a small village which was once a bustling port at the end of the Trent and Mersey Canal. This walk would take me to the end of the Derwent and on to the River Trent.
I parked in the free car park off Wilne Lane and was soon crossing the Trent and Mersey. Shardlow must have been packed with pubs in its heyday, and a surprising number are still functioning. I passed the New Inn, the Malt Shovel, the Clock Warehouse, and the Dog and Duck.
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| Heritage Centre |
St James' Church had an enclosed space at the back which seemed to function as library, meeting room, kitchen, and chapel. It was cosy and carpeted - much warmer than the rest of the church in winter, I'm sure. I felt as if I was trespassing on somebody's living room. The main church had numbered pews and a tall pulpit. I liked the patterned altar cloth.
I was back on London Road - the old A6 into Derby - and it was a long straight stretch. The verges were overflowing with flowers.
I turned off down a bridleway leading to Bellington Farm. They seemed to have left their Hallowe'en decorations up. I wondered if this signified "Abandon hope, all ye who enter," but there were also nice clear signs for the path, so maybe they weren't anti-walker. I concluded that the farm owners just had unusual taste.
Behind the farm was the one piece of elevation on this walk: Bellington Hill, all of 44m high. From this lofty height I could see the control tower at East Midlands Airport.
The path continued through Tarmac quarry workings. There was a random bench halfway along, with what looked like a game controller hung in the tree behind it. I reached a lake and was warned not to swim every ten metres. Although there were life belts provided just in case I accidentally dived in.
I rejoined the Derwent Valley Heritage Way on Ambaston Lane and followed it back to Shardlow. The recently decommissioned Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station was visible across the fields, its huge cooling towers no longer belching steam.
Back in Shardlow, I walked through the village again and dropped onto the canal towpath. Derwent Mouth, read the sign. Not far now!
The patchwork of crumbling warehouses and colourful moored boats had a pleasantly dilapidated air - very different to the neat professionalism of Mercia Marina. Hard to imagine this place as the Victorian equivalent of an Amazon distribution centre.
Even though the Derwent Valley Heritage Way runs along the canal, not the River Derwent, there was a small thrill in seeing the end of the Trent & Mersey. The mile marker nearest my house reads Shardlow 9; here I had reached Shardlow 0!
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| Bridge number one |
As I continued, there were various warnings for boats to check the river levels before proceeding.
And finally I'd reached the end. Ahead was the River Trent. On the other side of the canal was Derwent Mouth, and here in front of me was a large sign showing the whole route of the Derwent Valley Heritage Way.
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| Trent ahead and to the right |
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| canal in front, Derwent beyond |
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| I am here! |
I sat on the old footings for Long Horse Bridge, now cheerfully graffitied. There is a new bridge over the Trent, a bit further along. I crossed over it into Leicestershire. There wasn't a sign, but you can tell by the helpful yellow-topped posts marking the footpath.
Crossing a field, I reached "The Ancient Hamlet of Cavendish Bridge". So said its sign. It can't be that ancient, though, because the bridge was only built in 1758. Before that you had to cross the river on Wilden Ferry. The old bridge was washed away by floods in 1947, and a new bridge was built in a slightly different place a decade later. I wandered down into Cavendish Bridge to see where the bridge used to be.
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| the 2 rails are where the old bridge was |
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| tolls for the old bridge |
Then I crossed the new one, back to Shardlow and Derbyshire.
I plan to return here soon, having walked along the Trent Valley Way from Repton, and thus completing the loop which I started over a year ago, when I set out one April morning to find the mouth of the River Dove.
7 July 2025
8.7 miles / 14 km
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