Brindley Loops. The Original Chesterfield Canal.

Disused Chesterfield Canal - Brindley Loops

***Links to other videos on Chesterfield Canal - Disused Sections
Staveley to Killamarsh -    • Cuckoo Way Walk Part 1 - Disused Cana...  
Killamarsh to Kiveton Park -    • Disused Canals - Cuckoo Way Walk Part...  
Norbrigg Cutting -    • Disused Canal - Norbriggs Cutting Aba...  
Lady Lee Canal Arm -    • Chesterfield Canal - Lady Lee Disused...  

We take a walk along the disused abandoned Brindley Loops on the Chesterfield Canal.

The Brindley Loops between Renishaw and Killamarsh were cut off out by the building of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway’s Derbyshire Lines in the 1890s.

James Brindley was once of the most noted canal engineers of the 18th century. He died in 1772, before the Chesterfield Canal opened.

Originally opened in around 1777, the original route of the canal snakes it's way along the contours of the Rother Valley. When the railways arrived in the 1890s, the canal was re-aligned alonside the railway line, cutting out most of what we see in this video.

Many of the canal cutting is still visible. Including stone work, sluice gates, supporting walls and some of the towpath.

We start in Renishaw alongside the former Renishaw Ironworks and make our way down towards the former Spinkhill Wharf. This part of the canal is planned for restoration in the future, up to the point where the canal meets the (now Trans-Pennine Trail) former railway line.

For a short distance, we can walk along the bottom of the canal cut until we reach a sharp right turn. The site of a former gauging lock and toll house.
From here we see the obvious curves as the canal follows the contours around the Chapelwheel Dam.

After a few miles, the canal rejoins it's current day alignment - also now disused.

The cuckoo way is the name given to the towpath that follows the full 46 miles of the Chesterfield Canal from Chesterfield to the River Trent. You can walk the entire length of the Cuckoo Way, including the missing sections of the canal.


**Wobbly Runner**
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My channel was set up in 2020 mainly to feature my running adventures. I planned to film and showcase the days out and destinations my running travels took me. Mainly the Peak District and the sights and marvels of Sheffield and the surrounding regions.

However due to Covid restrictions, I found a new interest in researching and exploring old abandoned places - railway lines, canal, woodland, parks to name a few.
So the videos you'll find will be mainly be of those things. Of course, where possible I'll be running to my destination.

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