This year our annual walk was held on the 25th June 2013 and was entitled “From the Moon to the City Centre” which was a walk of approximately 4 miles starting from outside the Moon Hotel Station Road Spondon and finishing at the Alexandra Hotel Siddals Road Derby.
The walk attracted 97 participants the majority of which were not Society members. Prior to the walk participants assembled in the evening sunshine outside the Moon Hotel Spondon where walk leaders Derek Hathaway and David Hayes outlined the route and what we were likely to see.
Assembling to start the walk
The walk took us on to the route of the canal where we saw the remains of the Spondon winding hole which in the Autumn of last year was the site of a number of Society work parties to tackle to heavily overgrown vegetation. Further work is planned here during the summer.
For a short distance we were able to follow the route of the to be restored canal before having to deviate to cross Raynesway. Once safely across Raynesway we followed the route of the former Sandiacre arm that was lost to the Nottingham bound carriageway of the A52 Brian Clough Way.
Having deviated again around the Pentagon traffic island (the canal originally cut through the middle) we assembled a short way from the junction of stores road above where the Little Eaton Arm of the canal would have passed under the old Nottingham Road. The iron buttresses of the bridge can be seen as the curb on the left of the road in the picture below (this can also be seen on the other side of the road when there are no people there!).
We then walked to the norther bank of the river Derwent to the site of the former canal and river connection and the famous long bridge. A historic picture is shown below:
The canal crossed the Derwent on the level at this point the bridge is for the horses.
From there we crossed the river and skirted the Bass recreation ground to get a view of the nine arch railway bridge; under the first arch we clearly saw the coping stones of the canal towpath with the current walkway in the bed of the canal.
And finally into the Alexandra for well earned refreshment.
Thank you to Derek and David, and all the participants. If only we had asked for donations!