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Uttoxeter Basin, Caldon Canal

Accessible to all craft kept on the connected inland waterways

Silver Propeller Challenge

Location

Froghall, near Cheadle, Staffordshire

Visit Uttoxeter Basin, Froghall on the Caldon Canal by boat or canoe.

It has been chosen as a Silver Propeller Location because many visitors only navigate down as far as Consall Forge, leaving out the last 2 ½ miles of beautiful canal.  A picture of your boat in Uttoxeter Basin, at Froghall Tunnel or above Flint Mill Lock (for boats longer than 65ft) is a good proof of your visit to the end of the Caldon Canal.

Complete our challenge by visiting 20 locations from our list, you will receive our exclusive plaque and goody bag.

 

About the Caldon Canal

The Caldon Canal is a branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal that starts at Etruria Junction on the summit level in Stoke on Trent.  The main line was authorised by an Act in 1776 and the complete 18 mile canal with 16 locks through to Froghall was finished two years later.  The canal accessed the limestone quarries at Cauldon Lowe from Froghall.  The first ‘railed way’ proved unsuccessful and the canal was extended through a short tunnel to the present terminus which was a better site for the tramways.

In 1811 the Trent and Mersey Canal Company opened an extension of the Caldon to Uttoxeter. This canal was built to thwart the rival Commercial Canal proposal and had been authorised 14 years earlier.  It was never profitable and closed in 1849 with much of the line being used for the North Staffordshire Railway.  The first lock of the Uttoxeter Canal remained in use as part of the transhipment operation but now included a rail connection.  The Uttoxeter Basin remained in use into the mid 1920s but became derelict with the first lock being filled with dredgings in the 1970s.

[The photo shows the Uttoxeter Basin and restored first lock on the Uttoxeter Canal at Froghall]

In the early years of this century British Waterways put forward plans to restore the first lock and basin of the Uttoxeter Canal to provide extra moorings.  With financial support from the Single Regeneration Budget, the European Regional Development Fund, plus support from the Staffordshire County and Staffordshire Moorlands District Councils, IWA, with many hours of volunteer labour from Waterway Recovery Group and locals, the lock and basin were reopened with great ceremony in July 2005.

The section of the Caldon Canal at Consall Forge uses part of the River Churnet.  Famously, the Black Lion public house in the valley was, until recently, only accessible by foot, canal or by rail as there was no road access.

Parts of the Uttoxeter Canal are being restored by the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust.

[The photo  –  by Sue O’Hare  –  shows the trip boat Birdswood at the old warehouse at Froghall.  Since this photo was taken the boat has been sold to the Friends of the Cromford Canal, and boat now operates at Cromford.]

 

 

Notes for visitors

Location

Postcode: ST10 2HJ

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Boat Dimensions

The maximum size of boat that can navigate the Caldon Canal is:
Length: 71′ 6″ (21.8 m)
Beam: 7′ (2.1 m)
Height: 5′ 10”(1.7 m) (excluding Froghall Tunnel)
Draught: 3′ 6″ (1.05 m)

Froghall Tunnel is one of the lowest on the canal network and taller boats will not fit. There is a tunnel gauge under the tail bridge of Flint Mill lock.  This, however, is rather pessimistic and if your boat only just clears the gauge, you will have plenty of room in the tunnel.  Unfortunately, the winding hole just before the tunnel is not full length; boats over 65ft that don’t fit through the tunnel can turn above Flint Mill Lock.

Canoeing, hire boats and trip boats

Canoeing is encouraged on the Caldon Canal with a Canal & River Trust licence or British Canoeing membership.  The Heritage Canoe Trail covers the route from Stoke-on-Trent to Froghall.

You can explore the Caldon Canal with Joshua Day Boat Hire, based at Denford, near Hazlehurst Junction.

Stoke on Trent Boat Club has a slipway at Endon.  There are no trip boats in the immediate vicinity.

Also see…

The Churnet Valley Railway, preserved steam railway.

Hetty’s Tea Shop, in the original Froghall warehouse.

 

Challenge Location

Uttoxeter Basin

Caldon Canal

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