Bridge Inn & Canal Loop - Part 03
w/e 06 April 2025
All of this week's pictures were taken with a Nikon D3300
Reaching the approximate halfway
point in Cotmanhay of the Walking For Health route, we now head
towards the Erewash Canal down Stratford Street.
Almost at the end of Stratford Street, the route takes a left
turn into Trueman Street (above) to reach Bridge Street but I've
always wondered why the route didn't continue to the end of Cotmanhay
Road to access Bridge Street directly. I suppose when the route
was devised, there must have been a reason but it's always escaped
me.
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Anyway, on reaching Bridge Street it's a right turn and straight
ahead to the canal.
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The canal towpath is on the far side of the canal and is reached
by crossing the bridge. The former Bridge Inn adjacent to the
canal bridge closed some time ago and sadly, is now falling into
a state of disrepair.
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From the bridge, the start of the walk back along the towpath
to the Victoria Leisure Centre stretches out before us. For much
of the route, with a few exceptions, the canal is flanked on
both sides by trees and bushes.
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As we started the walk along the towpath, there were quite a
few ducks that made their way into the water as we approached
but one creature that at first we thought was another duck, was
actually a squirrel which disappeared the other way into the
trees.
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Some of the trees on the other side of the canal have been "pruned"
and reveal the Bennerley Fields School (at the bottom of Stratford
Street) beyond the railings.
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But the views soon resume the tree-lined vistas with the peace
only disturbed by the sound of a train passing by on the line
to the left in the Erewash Valley.
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A footpath leads to that railway line and a bridge over it which
is also, as the sign says, a viewing point to see the Bennerley
Viaduct.
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Another gap in the trees on the other side on the canal reveals
a rather impressive looking building. This is the Bennerley Fields
Centre, a Derbyshire County Council residential care home without
nursing for up to 20 residents. Client groups include dementia,
older adults, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.
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A slight deviation in the towpath marks the point where that
former railway line we followed earlier in the route crossed
the canal on its way to the viaduct. When we walked along the
towpath (in the opposite direction) back in 2009 for the "Lock
to Lock" series, I actually scrambled up the bank seen here
on the left, to view the deck of the viaduct - see here. Things have changed since then
.....
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