Langley Mill Basin

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Coming up the GU (Soar Section) I was a little overwhelmed when I got to that huge junction with the Trent & Mersey. (Strongly suggest NOT navigating across there on a windy day My large Buckby Can, with a brick in the bottom, was bowled the entire length of my roof [40’] from the bow straight at me! I had time to think I had really liked that painted can before it was due to disappear into the Trent! Then with one desperate bound it hit the front edge of my sliding hatch roof and.... disappeared straight down the hatch itself! But I did lose my favourite hat!!)

I hesitated for 5 mins just inside the Soar... Should I go right into Nottingham (done that!), left up the T&M (was going to do that anyway) or straight across up the Erewash? I had heard mixed stories about the Erewash and the ones about the floating and underwater debris are ALL TRUE!! The next 12 miles up to Langley Mill took me 1½ days and NINE stops to clear the prop including 4 hours to remove a carpet big enough to cover the Millennium Dome! The problem lies in that there is no natural flow down the Erewash except when someone opens a lock above you! But I was determined not to give up and finally arrived at Langley Mill Basin!

I should explain that the canal is supported by the Erewash Canal Preservation & Development Association who have their headquarters half way up the canal at the pretty Sandiacre Lock. But there is no-one to talk to there and certainly no moorings. But their second ‘office’ is a very lovely ramshackle building next to the top lock that leads to the Basin. I had phoned ahead and now called to say I had arrived. Two minutes later a large ‘bluff’ gentleman who gave me the ‘low down’ over a cup of coffee! There are three parts to the basin a) The workshops including a great dry dock! b) Chargeable moorings c) Private basin for committee members (?) and visitors! Talk about ‘Royalty’?? People came and opened the private lock for me, hauled my boat in, helped tie up, hooked me up to (free) power, showed me where to connect to the TV booster system and gave me a list of Club facilities, places to shop and eat, public transport.... just about everything a man might need... oh and yes... their ‘local’ office was right next to the pub with.... wait for it... their own private back door used by boatmen since the 18th century! If you want to eat there you really must like chips!

As for the people....? The canal was built and was an amazing success from 1778 up to 1952 when it transported coal from the huge Nottinghamshire fields. Indeed the Basin sits between the last two fields that were closed in the 1970’s! So I give you one guess who make up the almost total membership of the ECP&DA? Yup... miners and I mean the real guys from underground not the management! Don’t even THINK of trying to tell them how to look after a canal, basin or any engineering project!! In fact when the mines closed 30 of them took some of their redundancy money and bought the massive basin!! [Over ½ mile long and 50 yards wide in part with extensive machine shops and warehouses!! Now that is REAL enterprise! Mind you do not go there if your name is ‘Thatcher’!] These people have ‘been there’, ’seen it’ ,’done it’ and ‘back again’!! The Salt of the Earth! Nothing is too much for them! Even when I sprang a leak I had 5 really skilled guys going over my boat, finding the problem and in the dry dock in 2 hours!! And tell me where YOU would find a ‘free’ water pump that can shift 50 gallons a minute!! Finally.... pump out and water was free, and every Sunday they had a ‘bring your own food’ BBQ that was great! Even when my grandchildren visited they told me where to see ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’ light railway... also run by ex-miners! The cost of my 5-weeks stay? NOT A PENNY but they did appreciate the wine!!

Oh BTW... they are now restoring the Northern sections of the Erewash to join the Cromford Canal some at future time using equipment that had ‘wandered’ from the abandoned mines! At the rate they do things around there it should be finished next week!

This memory donated by Tony Newey MWYC