Buxworth Basin

Regular readers (are there any?) will know that I enjoy cycling on canal towpaths away from the noise and pollution of road traffic, seeing the beautiful English countryside and the industrial archaeology of a past age before motorways and even railways.
South of Derby we have the The Trent and Mersey Canal which takes us one way to join the River Trent at Shardlow and the other way towards Burton to Fradley Junction where it joins the Coventry Canal, and heads towards Stoke.
Hiding away in the North West corner of Derbyshire lies the Peak Forest Canal which is well worth a visit and there is an easy way to get there by taking your bike on the train to New Mills with a Derbyshire Wayfarer ticket which permits unlimited train and bus travel anywhere in Derbyshire.  The cost is £13.50 (only £6.50 for over 60's. Catch a train to Sheffield, changing there onto The Hope Valley Line for New Mills where lies the Peak Forest Canal.

Click to enlarge

Start point here looking towards Marple.  We are actually heading towards Whaley Bridge in the opposite direction.

This is the way.

Enjoy the scenery.

Arrival at Buxworth Basin

Plenty of nice quiet moorings for narrow boats

Crossing the canal here we find the Pennine Cycleway, Route 68 of the National Cycle Network, en route from Derby to Berwick-on -Tweed.

Here is the Navigation Inn where you can enjoy a pint before returning to New Mills.

The Buxworth Basin was a major transport interchange many years ago, connecting the Derbyshire Peak District to the Manchester area.
Large quantities of limestone, used in the manufacture of fertilizer were loaded into boats which returned with coal from the Lancashire mines.
Today it is a quiet haven for narrow boaters and the whole area is kept spick and span by a team of volunteer wardens.