Skip the primary navigation if you do not want to read it as the next section.
Skip the main content if you do not want to read it as the next section.
The Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation runs through a largely unspoilt part of rural Essex and connects the county town of Chelmsford with the tidal estuary of the River Blackwater at Heybridge Basin. It has remained open and independently run throughout its history. Never having been nationalised, it continued to carry commercial freight till 1972, and an increasing number of leisure users since that time. It was designed by the renowned canal engineer John Rennie and most of his original structures are intact together with the entire length of the original waterway. It is a local treasure, which is well worth defending for present and future generations to enjoy.
