Cromford Canal Bridge Number 6 - Lea Wood, UK
Posted by: 
dtrebilc
N 53° 05.800 W 001° 31.750
30U E 598484 N 5884034
This swing bridge over the Cromford canal is close to a former arm of the canal and carries the towpath of the main canal arm from one side to the other.
Waymark Code: WM117XC
Location: East Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 09/02/2019
Views: 1
"The Cromford Canal ran 14.5 miles (23.3 kilometres) from Cromford to the Erewash Canal in Derbyshire, England with a branch to Pinxton. Built by William Jessop with the assistance of Benjamin Outram, its alignment included four tunnels and 14 locks.
From Cromford it ran south following the 275-foot (84 m) contour line along the east side of the valley of the Derwent to Ambergate, where it turned eastwards along the Amber valley. It turned sharply to cross the valley, crossing the river and the Ambergate to Nottingham road, by means of an aqueduct at Bullbridge, before turning towards Ripley. From there the Butterley Tunnel took it through to the Erewash Valley.
From the tunnel it continued to Ironville, the junction for the branch to Pinxton, and then descended through fourteen locks to meet the Erewash Canal at Langley Mill. The Pinxton Branch became important as a route for Nottinghamshire coal, via the Erewash, to the River Trent and Leicester and was a terminus of the Mansfield and Pinxton Railway.
A 6-mile (9.7 km) long section of the Cromford canal between Cromford and Ambergate is listed as a Biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Local Nature Reserve.
In addition to purely canal traffic, there was a lively freight interchange with the Cromford and High Peak Railway, which traversed the plateau of the Peak District from Whaley Bridge in the north west, and which descended to the canal at High Peak Junction by means of an inclined plane."
link
Much of the canal is no longer in water but this 6 mile section from Cromford still has water.
The Friends of the Cromford Canal has been formed as a charitable organisation whose aim is to see the restoration of the Cromford Canal for the benefit of the general public. They run a boat trip between Cromford and Leawood Pump House which requires this bridge to be opened.
The Bridge
The bridge is at the end of Lea Wood aqueduct that carries the canal over the river Derwent and the junction of the former Lea Wood arm of the canal.
According to the
moving bridge website "the bridge was reconstructed in 1988 by the Cromford Canal Society in 1988 and was based on old photographs of the original bridge. It is built on a metal frame."
The Cromford Canal Society have now been disbanded and the Friends of The Cromford Canal have now taken over.