CanalPlanAC

Ashby Canal (Main Line)

 
 
Information about the waterway

The Ashby Canal (Main Line) is a narrow canal and is part of the Ashby Canal. It runs for 21 miles and 4½ furlongs from Ashby Canal Current Head of Navigation (where it joins the Ashby Canal (unrestored)) to Marston Junction (where it joins the Coventry Canal (Main Line - Hawkesbury to Fazeley)).

The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 72 feet long and 7 feet wide. The maximum headroom is 6 feet and 6 inches. The maximum draught is 2 feet and 11 inches.

Notable features of the waterway include Snarestone Tunnel

The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River Trust

Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:

Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:

Ashby Canal Current Head of Navigation
Just beyond Faulkes circular winding hole
Faulkes Circular Winding Hole a few yards 0 locks
Faulkes Bridge No 62 ¼ furlongs 0 locks
Quarry Lane Pumping Station
Now a private residence
1¼ furlongs 0 locks
Snarestone Slipway 1¼ furlongs 0 locks
Snarestone Wharf 1½ furlongs 0 locks
Footbridge No 61A
End of CRT waters
1½ furlongs 0 locks
Snarestone Services 1½ furlongs 0 locks
Ashby Canal Association Shop 1½ furlongs 0 locks
Turnover Bridge Winding Hole
Last winding hole on CRT waters!
1¾ furlongs 0 locks
Turnover Bridge No 61 2 furlongs 0 locks
Varnham's Bridge No 60 2¾ furlongs 0 locks
Snarestone Tunnel (northern entrance) 3¼ furlongs 0 locks
Snarestone Tunnel (southern entrance)
Snarestone village is over the top of the tunnel.
4½ furlongs 0 locks
Globe Inn
Pedestrian access (steps) to the pub which is 100yds north.
4½ furlongs 0 locks
Site of Midland Railway Bridge 6¾ furlongs 0 locks
Pare's Bridge No 59 7¼ furlongs 0 locks
Gopsall Wharf Bridge No 58 1 mile and 2 furlongs 0 locks
Gopsall Wharf 1 mile and 2 furlongs 0 locks
Green Lane Bridge No 57 1 mile and 3 furlongs 0 locks
Timms Bridge No 56 1 mile and 6¼ furlongs 0 locks
Hills Bridge No 54 2 miles and 3½ furlongs 0 locks
Shackerstone Winding Hole 3 miles 0 locks
Town Bridge No 53 3 miles 0 locks
Turn Bridge No 52 (Shackerstone) 3 miles and 2 furlongs 0 locks
The Rising Sun PH (Shackerstone) 3 miles and 2¼ furlongs 0 locks
River Sence Aqueduct 3 miles and 3 furlongs 0 locks
Bates Wharf Bridge No 51 3 miles and 6 furlongs 0 locks
Bates Bridge No 50 3 miles and 7¾ furlongs 0 locks
Terrace Bridge No 49 4 miles and 1¼ furlongs 0 locks
Dakins Bridge No 48 4 miles and 2¾ furlongs 0 locks
Congerstone Bridge No 47 4 miles and 3¾ furlongs 0 locks
Fairfield Bridge No 46 4 miles and 8 furlongs 0 locks
Lliffe Bridge No 45 5 miles and 2¼ furlongs 0 locks
Carlton Bridge Aqueduct
The canal crosses Sence Brook
5 miles and 4½ furlongs 0 locks
Carlton Bridge Winding Hole 5 miles and 5 furlongs 0 locks
Carlton Bridge No 44 5 miles and 5½ furlongs 0 locks
Kings Bridge No 43 6 miles and 1¾ furlongs 0 locks
Bosworth Marina & Wharf Winding Hole 6 miles and 4¾ furlongs 0 locks
Bosworth Wharf Bridge No 42
Market Bosworth one mile
6 miles and 5¼ furlongs 0 locks
Jackson's Bridge Winding Hole 6 miles and 7½ furlongs 0 locks
Jackson's Bridge No 41 6 miles and 7¾ furlongs 0 locks
Coton Bridge No 40 7 miles and 2 furlongs 0 locks
Deakins Bridge No 39 7 miles and 2¾ furlongs 0 locks
Milepost - 14 /16
Distances to Marston Junction / Bath Yard Basin
7 miles and 4¼ furlongs 0 locks
Fox Bridge No 38 7 miles and 4¼ furlongs 0 locks
Wellsborough Bridge No 37 7 miles and 6½ furlongs 0 locks
Hooks Bridge No 36 8 miles and 1¼ furlongs 0 locks
Shenton Aqueduct 8 miles and 4¾ furlongs 0 locks
Shenton Bend
Site of the former Bosworth Battlefield Moorings
8 miles and 6½ furlongs 0 locks
Bradfield's Bridge No 35 9 miles and ½ furlongs 0 locks
Former Railway Bridge No 34A 9 miles and 4 furlongs 0 locks
Sutton Cheney Visitor Moorings 10 miles and 1 furlong 0 locks
Sutton Cheney Wharf 10 miles and 1¾ furlongs 0 locks
Sutton Wharf Bridge No 34
Home of the Ashby Trip Boat Company.
10 miles and 2 furlongs 0 locks
Geary's Bridge No 33 10 miles and 6½ furlongs 0 locks
Sutton Lane Bridge No 32 11 miles and ¾ furlongs 0 locks
Wooden Top Bridge No 31 11 miles and 2½ furlongs 0 locks
Dadlington Wharf Bridge No 30 11 miles and 5 furlongs 0 locks
Dadlington Wharf 11 miles and 5 furlongs 0 locks
Allotments Bridge No 29 11 miles and 6¼ furlongs 0 locks
Dadlington Bridge No 28 11 miles and 7¼ furlongs 0 locks
Stoke Golding Moorings
Beside the Dadlington to Stoke Golding road
12 miles and ¾ furlongs 0 locks
Foster's Bridge No 27 12 miles and 1¾ furlongs 0 locks
Willow Park Marina 12 miles and 4¼ furlongs 0 locks
Foxwell's Bridge No 26 12 miles and 4½ furlongs 0 locks
Wharf Bridge No 25 12 miles and 5½ furlongs 0 locks
Stoke Golding Wharf
Home of the Ashby Canal Company hire boat fleet
12 miles and 6 furlongs 0 locks
Higham Bridge No 23 13 miles and 1 furlong 0 locks
Basin Bridge Winding Hole 13 miles and 3½ furlongs 0 locks
Basin Bridge No 22 13 miles and 3½ furlongs 0 locks
Basin Bridge Wharf 13 miles and 7½ furlongs 0 locks
Higham-on-the-Hill Bridge No 21
Higham-on-the-Hill village a mile to the west
13 miles and 7¾ furlongs 0 locks
Frieston's Bridge No 20 14 miles and 2¼ furlongs 0 locks
Barn Lane Bridge No 19 14 miles and 5½ furlongs 0 locks
Site of Former Bridge No 18 14 miles and 7¼ furlongs 0 locks
Dodwell's Bridge No 17A 15 miles and 1¼ furlongs 0 locks
Trinity Marina 15 miles and 3¾ furlongs 0 locks
Coventry Road Bridge No 17 15 miles and 5 furlongs 0 locks
Nutts Bridge No 16 15 miles and 7½ furlongs 0 locks
Hinckley Wharf Arm Junction 15 miles and 7½ furlongs 0 locks
Railway Bridge No 15B 16 miles and ½ furlongs 0 locks
Former Railway Bridge No 15 16 miles and ½ furlongs 0 locks
Sewage Works Pipe Bridge No 15A 16 miles and 2¼ furlongs 0 locks
Lime Kilns Inn
Canalside
16 miles and 3¾ furlongs 0 locks
Limekiln Bridge No 15
Warwickshire and Leicestershire border
16 miles and 3¾ furlongs 0 locks
Mill's Bridge No 14 16 miles and 7 furlongs 0 locks
Mills Bridge Pipe Bridge 16 miles and 7 furlongs 0 locks
Goodacres Bridge No 13
Between bridge 13 and the pipe bridge is good mooring, chains or pins can be used.
17 miles and 1¾ furlongs 0 locks
Colley's Bridge No 12 17 miles and 4½ furlongs 0 locks
Dratley's Bridge No 11 18 miles and ½ furlongs 0 locks
Pearson's Bridge No 10 18 miles and 1¼ furlongs 0 locks
James Bridge No 9 18 miles and 3 furlongs 0 locks
Mill Bridge No 8
Burton Hastings
18 miles and 4½ furlongs 0 locks
River Anker Aqueduct 18 miles and 5¼ furlongs 0 locks
Bramcote Road Bridge No 6
With pipe bridge alongside
19 miles and 2 furlongs 0 locks
Bulkington Road Bridge No 5 20 miles and 2 furlongs 0 locks
Lloyd's Bridge No 4 20 miles and 5 furlongs 0 locks
Trent Valley Line Railway Bridge No 3A 20 miles and 5¼ furlongs 0 locks
Lloyds Farm Bridge No 3 20 miles and 6¾ furlongs 0 locks
Quarry Bridge No 2 21 miles and 1 furlong 0 locks
Orton's Bridge No 1 21 miles and 3¼ furlongs 0 locks
Marston Junction Stop Lock
ungated
21 miles and 4¼ furlongs 0 locks
Marston Junction Bridge 21 miles and 4¼ furlongs 0 locks
Marston Junction
Junction of Ashby and Coventry Canals
21 miles and 4½ furlongs 0 locks
 
 
Maps
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Navigational Notes

Gopsall visitor moorings ( just south of Bridge 58 ) Very shallow, probably unusable for most narrowboats , grp cruisers and smaller narrowboats may be OK. Reported to CRT Aug. 2023.

 
External websites
 
Wikipedia

Wikipedia has a page about Ashby Canal

The Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal is a 31-mile (50 km) long canal in England which connected the mining district around Moira, just outside the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, with the Coventry Canal at Bedworth in Warwickshire. It was opened in 1804, and a number of tramways were constructed at its northern end, to service collieries. The canal was taken over by the Midland Railway in 1846, but remained profitable until the 1890s, after which it steadily declined. Around 9 miles (14 km) passed through the Leicestershire coal field, and was heavily affected by subsidence, with the result that this section from Moira, southwards to Snarestone, was progressively closed in 1944, 1957 and 1966, leaving 22 miles (35 km) of navigable canal.

The abandoned section is the subject of a restoration project and was the first canal where a new section had been authorised under the Transport and Works Act 1992. The Transport and Works Order was obtained by Leicestershire County Council, as some of the original route had been infilled and built over, and restoration therefore involved construction on a new route through the centre of Measham. It is hoped that all but the final 1-mile (1.6 km) section of the canal can be re-opened. An isolated section near Moira Furnace and the National Forest visitor centre was opened between 1999 and 2005, and is the location for an annual trailboat festival.

Other Wikipedia pages that might relate to Ashby Canal
[Ashby Canal Trust] of the Ashby Canal, also known as the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal. The restoration project is funded by: Leicestershire County Council Ashby Canal Association [Ashby Canal Association] The Ashby Canal Association (ACA) is a waterway society and a registered charity No. 1063566, in Leicestershire and Staffordshire, England, concerned [Snarestone] topographical features include the River Mease and the terminus for the Ashby Canal. Both of these waterways are sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) [Ashby-de-la-Zouch] Ashby-de-la-Zouch or Ashby de la Zouch (/ˈæʃbi də lə ˈzuːʃ/) is a market town and civil parish in North West Leicestershire, England, near the Derbyshire [Coventry Canal] and Mersey Canal. It also has connections with the Ashby Canal, the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal and the Oxford Canal. Some maps show the canal as a northern [Moira Furnace] furnace located in Moira, Leicestershire, on the banks of the Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal. Built by the Earl of Moira in 1804, the building has been preserved [Hinckley] now been planted with trees to make a nature reserve. The Ashby Canal, the longest contour canal in England, passes through the town Hinckley has two former [Measham] 20th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, Ashby Canal was built through the village. The Ashby and Nuneaton Joint Railway followed, opening towards [Ticknall Tramway] connected the brickyards, lime quarries and lime yards of Ticknall to the Ashby Canal. It had branches to the quarries and lime works at Cloud Hill and to
 
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