The Caldon Canal
Explore the Potteries, remote moorlands, tranquil water meadows, dense woodlands, fascinating industrial archaeology, cosy historic pubs and a restored steam railway.
The peaceful Caldon Canal is often described as ‘one of the finest canals in Britain’. It runs from the Trent & Mersey Canal at Etruria in Stoke-on-Trent, to Froghall Wharf in the Staffordshire Moorlands.
There are 17 locks along its length. The canal passes through moorlands close to Denford, water meadows at Cheddleton and the beautiful wooded Churnet Valley with a restored steam railway running alongside.
In the middle of the Caldon Canal, there’s a 2¼-mile arm towards the historic market town of Leek. And the now derelict 13-mile Uttoxeter extension connects at Froghall.
Opened in 1779, the Caldon Canal was built to carry Peak District limestone for the iron industry and flints for the pottery industry. Freight traffic ceased on the Caldon soon after the railway was constructed alongside. By the 1960s the canal was virtually unnavigable.
But enthusiasts bought the canal back into use by 1974 and the Caldon and Uttoxeter Canals Trust is now working to restore the Uttoxeter branch of the waterway.
