Chesterfield Canal (Retford to the Trent)

The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 71 feet and 4 inches long and 13 feet and 6 inches wide. The maximum headroom is 7 feet and 1 inch. The maximum draught is 2 feet and 6 inches.
Notable features of the waterway include Drakeholes Tunnel
Although all the locks from the Trent to Retford are broad locks, some of the bridgeholes are fairly narrow, so full-width broad boats can not get through.
The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River TrustRelevant publications — Waterway Maps:
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
Chesterfield Canal - River Trent Junction West Stockwith |
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West Stockwith Lock Lock between Chesterfield Canal and Tidal River Trent |
¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
West Stockwith Basin | ¾ furlongs | 1 lock | |
Stockwith Bridge No 85 | ¾ furlongs | 1 lock | |
Railway Bridge No 84 Site of the Packet Inn |
5 furlongs | 1 lock | |
Misterton Low Lock Bridge No 83 | 5¾ furlongs | 1 lock | |
Misterton Low Lock No 64 | 5¾ furlongs | 1 lock | |
Station Street Bridge No 82A (Misterton) | 6 furlongs | 2 locks | |
Misterton Top Lock No 63 | 6½ furlongs | 2 locks | |
Hillsyde Avenue Field Bridge No 82 | 7½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Misterton Shopping Moorings | 1 mile and 1 furlong | 3 locks | |
Grove Wood Road Bridge No 81 With Footbridge No 81A alongside |
1 mile and 1¼ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Cooper's Bridge No 80 Misterton |
1 mile and 5¾ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Manor Farm Field Bridge | 2 miles and 2 furlongs | 3 locks | |
Manor Farm Winding Hole | 2 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Fountain Hill Bridge No 78 | 2 miles and 5½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Smiths Bridge No 77 | 2 miles and 7¼ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Wooden Beck Visitor Moorings | 3 miles and 4½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Low Lock Bridge No 76 | 4 miles and ½ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Shaw Lock No 62 | 4 miles and ¾ furlongs | 3 locks | |
Middle Bridge Road Bridge No 75 | 4 miles and 4¼ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Wood Lane Road Bridge No 74 | 4 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Gringley Top Lock No 61 | 4 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 4 locks | |
Gainsborough Road Bridge No 73 (A631) | 6 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Drakeholes Tunnel (northern entrance) | 6 miles and 3¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Drakeholes Tunnel (southern entrance) | 6 miles and 4½ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Drakeholes Visitor Moorings | 6 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Lady's Bridge No 72 | 7 miles and 1¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Taylor's Bridge No 71 | 7 miles and 3½ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Wiseton Top Bridge No 70 | 7 miles and 6 furlongs | 5 locks | |
Gray's Bridge No 69 Clayworth half a mile southeast |
8 miles and 4¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Otter's Bridge Winding Hole | 9 miles | 5 locks | |
Otter's Bridge No 68 | 9 miles and ¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Clayworth Top Bridge Winding Hole | 9 miles and 5 furlongs | 5 locks | |
Clayworth Top Bridge No 67 Clayworth half a mile northwest |
9 miles and 5 furlongs | 5 locks | |
Retford and Worksop Boat Club | 9 miles and 5¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Clayworth CRT Boaters Facilities | 9 miles and 5½ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Wheatley Road Aqueduct | 10 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Main Street Winding Hole | 11 miles and 2¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Hayton Low Bridge No 66 | 11 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Scotter Lane Road Bridge No 65 | 11 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Main Street Field Bridge No 64 | 11 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Church Bridge No 63 | 12 miles and 2¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Clarborough Top Bridge No 62 | 12 miles and 4¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Gate Inn Visitor Moorings Pub Closed - 2025 |
12 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Bonemill Bridge No 61 | 13 miles and 2¼ furlongs | 5 locks | |
Whitsunday Pie Bridge No 60 | 13 miles and 6 furlongs | 5 locks | |
Whitsunday Pie Lock No 60 | 13 miles and 6 furlongs | 5 locks | |
Hop Pole Bridge No 59 | 14 miles and ¼ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Leverton Road Bridge No 58 | 14 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Grove Mill Bridge Winding Hole | 14 miles and 6½ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Grove Mill Bridge No 57 | 14 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Arlington Way Bridge No 56 | 15 miles | 6 locks | |
Retford Winding Hole | 15 miles and ¼ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Carolgate Bridge No 56A | 15 miles and ¾ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Carolgate Wharf | 15 miles and 1 furlong | 6 locks | |
Retford Lock No 59 | 15 miles and 1½ furlongs | 6 locks | |
Retford Wharf Road | 15 miles and 2 furlongs | 7 locks | |
Retford Top Aqueduct | 15 miles and 2¼ furlongs | 7 locks | |
River Idle Aqueduct | 15 miles and 2¾ furlongs | 7 locks | |
Retford Bottom Aqueduct | 15 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 7 locks | |
Pelham Road Footbridge | 15 miles and 4 furlongs | 7 locks | |
West Retford Lock No 58 Wharf Bridge |
15 miles and 5 furlongs | 7 locks |
- Retford and worksop boat club | Chesterfield Canal | Clayworth, Retford DN22 9AJ, UK — associated with Retford and Worksop Boat Club
- The Retford & Worksop Boat Club was formed in 1961 by a group of like-minded enthusiasts, with the aim of frustrating British Waterways’ plan to prohibit all navigation on the 26 mile stretch between West Stockwith and Worksop.
Wikipedia has a page about Chesterfield Canal
The Chesterfield Canal is a narrow canal in the East Midlands of England and it is known locally as 'Cuckoo Dyke'. It was one of the last of the canals designed by James Brindley, who died while it was being constructed. It was opened in 1777 and ran for 46 miles (74 km) from the River Trent at West Stockwith, Nottinghamshire to Chesterfield, Derbyshire, passing through the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park, at the time one of the longest tunnels on the British canal system. The canal was built to export coal, limestone, and lead from Derbyshire, iron from Chesterfield, and corn, deals, timber, groceries and general merchandise into Derbyshire. The stone for the Palace of Westminster was quarried in North Anston, Rotherham, and transported via the canal.
It was reasonably profitable, paying dividends from 1789, and with the coming of the railways, some of the proprietors formed a railway company. It became part of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway company, and although there were intermittent plans to convert parts of it to a railway, it continued to thrive as a canal. In 1907, subsidence from local coal mines caused the collapse of the Norwood Tunnel, and the canal was effectively split in two. Subsequently, the main use of the Chesterfield end was the supply of water to the iron industry, while commercial carrying continued on the Worksop to West Stockwith section until the late 1950s.
It was formally closed in 1961, but campaigners fought for it to be retained, and the Worksop to Stockwith section was designated as a "cruiseway" under the Transport Act 1968, meaning that it would be retained for leisure use. The rest was designated as a remainder waterway, and parts were sold off, with housing being built over the route through Killamarsh. The Chesterfield Canal Society was formed in 1978 to spearhead restoration, becoming the Chesterfield Canal Trust in 1997. They initially sought to extend the navigable section beyond Worksop, but when progress was slow, moved to working on the Chesterfield end. Over 5 miles (8 km) of canal, including five original locks and a brand new lock at Staveley Basin were navigable by 2017. The eastern end was restored from Worksop to the mouth of the Norwood Tunnel at Kiveton Park near Rotherham, South Yorkshire, between 1995 and 2003, funded by Derelict Land Grants, English Partnerships and the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Less than 9 miles (14 km) of the original route remain to be restored to link the two navigable sections, but this will require some new lengths of canal to be built, to bypass the housing development at Killamarsh, and to replace most of the Norwood Tunnel, which cannot be restored. The eastern section is managed by the Canal and River Trust, while the western section is managed by Derbyshire County Council. It includes Tapton Lock Visitor Centre, located to the north of Tapton Park, and the Hollingwood Hub, which provides offices for the Trust, together with meeting rooms and a cafe. It is located by Hollingwood Lock, and consists of a large new extension on the back of the refurbished lock house.