The Historic Abandoned Leawood Arm of the Cromford Canal

Welcome to the Derwent Valley in Derbyshire, a UNESCO designated world heritage site. We're here to look at a long abandoned and derelict branch of the historic Cromford Canel - the Leawood Arm or Nightingale Branch as it was also known.

This short branch was built in 1802 by Peter Nightingale, great uncle of the famous Florence. It runs from near the Derwent Aqueduct to the village of Lea Wood.

We start our video today at the former workshops of the Cromford & High Peak Railway, or High Peak Junction as it is known as these days. We walk down the restored Cromford Canal past the Leawood Pump House. It opened in 1850 as a way of topping the canal up from the River Derwent below it. Still in working orders today thanks to a dedicated team of voluenteers who have restored the steam workings.

We cross the impressive aqueduct over the Derwent and pass a swing bridge before coming to the little cottage on the far banking. Aqueduct Cottage was originally built for the lock keeper at the entrance to the Leawood Arm. It fell into ruin after the 1960s before being restored in the last few years. this is the start of our disused canal arm today, which opened in 1802. The first short section is still in water, although un-navigable until we reach a missing former iron-trough aqueduct that carried the canal over the Midland Railway just by the entrance to Leawood Tunnel.

From here the canal cutting is abandoned and dry, so we can see the construction on the embankment in clings to before we reach the wharf where the canal terminated from 1819, There are remains of the foundation for the old crane on the wharf side. Originally the Lea Wood Canal extended as far as the village of Lea Wood, but this only lasted 17 years.

Leawood Arm - https://www.cromfordcanal.org/leawood...
Leawood Pump House - https://www.cromfordcanal.org/leawood...
Aqueduct Cottage -vhttps://www.cromfordcanal.org/aqueduc...

#aquaduct