Cycling the stunning Erewash Valley Trail

Cycling the Erewash Valley Trail | Bennerley Viaduct & Nottingham Canal Adventure

Join me on a scenic ride along the Erewash Valley Trail, a hidden gem for cyclists in the East Midlands. This leisurely yet rewarding route takes in the historic Bennerley Viaduct, one of the last remaining wrought iron viaducts in the UK, offering spectacular views and a glimpse into industrial heritage.

From there, we trace the peaceful, overgrown route of the disused Nottingham Canal, where nature has reclaimed the old towpath, creating a tranquil, wildlife-rich corridor perfect for slow-paced exploration.

Along the way:
✅ Discover the story behind Bennerley Viaduct
✅ Ride through green corridors, woodlands, and canal-side paths
✅ Explore local landmarks and hidden history
✅ Enjoy a mix of gravel, tarmac, and trail riding

Whether you’re a local cyclist or looking for your next day trip, this video gives you a taste of what the Erewash Valley has to offer. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share if you enjoy the ride!

📍 Route Info, GPX & Tips in Description
🎥 Shot in 4K for the full countryside experience

Route:
https://www.komoot.com/tour/2318352141?share_token=aeHxHfvOaOvkAif0C1syS9YnqeRvIXti6drtCJMkTcruLzrpDM&ref=wtd

Music:
just relax – les fm
Music by https://pixabay.com/users/music_for_video-22579021
https://pixabay.com/music/beautiful-plays-just-relax-11157/

how am I going to get past these Come on Come on I’m not there Yeah Just need you to move Come on In you go Morning him Welcome back to another bike ventures I’m in Darbish Not Darbish not border Today I’m at Langley Mill I’m going to do the Arowash Valley Trail So down the Arowash Valley Canal The Arowash Canal uh round through the Atma Nature Reserve and we’re going to come back up the now Dishu Nottingham Canal which is actually just there in those trees That’s the original path of it I’ve just parked up at Langley Mill where it used to join onto the Cromford Canal Um but yeah now totally gone There’s bits of it that are still in water and there’s bits of it that are empty So I’ll show you all those on the way back up later So uh yeah couple of canals today One in use one dish used and a lovely vioaduct part of an old railway which will very close to the canal So we’ll just nip off and we’ll show you that as well Yeah it’s beautiful day So hope you enjoy See you on the toe path We’re just about to get on the air canal now which let me just show you is an absolute stunner Look at that It’s beautiful Such a lovely little canal What 14 miles long I believe something like that Very similar to the Nottingham canal actually Hello are up there with the young So the reason I wanted to do this one today was seen a video recently of um the canal down in place like really like empty on a couple of sections between some locks So thought come down and have a look The CRT have said that they will be on with repairs I believe it was a paddle that was causing the problem Very clear this canal You can see the bottom and the shallow sides but it is lovely So we’re going to go down through Elkston down to Trent Lock and then cut across the Atra Nature Reserve and back up towards the Nottingham Canal or what was the path of it Some of it still there and a lot of it is gone I’ll show you that as we get to it It is cool You just get random bits that appear that look like a canal and then other bits where you’ve really got to look for it So that’s quite nice About it’s about 28 and a half 29 miles today As you can see from the footage it’s not that it’s a particularly narrow toe path but the actual bit between you and the canal is fairly narrow And I don’t know why I always get that feel of like the canal’s pulling me to the right as that sounds it’s like a that draws you over And I feel it only takes one twitch of the wheel and you’re in Don’t know how strange and weird to explain I have got a friend whose son actually fell in on here uh just further up where we started But I’ve ridden this in winter and it is very muddy So you see how like there look look there’s literally a foot between you and the canal just I don’t know just it’s narrow It’s got that feel of impending falling in at any one moment You just got to have your wits about you You know some rides you do you can ride one handed and have a good look around and others you really got to pay attention This is one I’d highly recommend you pay attention to These little lumps of concrete here and there and tree roots So just to our left is the Midland mainline which you’ll see in a bit more detail soon when we go on to what I’m going to show you which if you know this area you probably know what it’s going to be If you’re not in this area it’s uh that’s lovely It’s a lovely little 29 mile route this and it’s surprising how peaceful and quiet it can be despite you’re going through busy little towns as well difficult Here we are We’re on the fantastic Ben vioaduct built in 1877 and 1878 Opened 1878 to train traffic and it joined Derby Frigate and Nottingham I believe part of the Great Northern Railway was one of the forget it was a branch Yeah it’s a absolutely fantastic piece of Victorian architecture It closed in the 1960s when the line closed and it left derelik for years and then the friends of Benerly viup trust was put together and it’s since been restored and you can now access it from the Arowash canal Currently there’s some works being done to put a ramp in at that end and a visitor center Um they built the ramp and then unfortunately it started to slip So they’re doing some geological surveying geoengineering or something to make sure it’s safe before they proceed with the next stage But yeah all below it now is just a wildlife sanctuary And all this here you can see all the concrete This used to be factories I think it was possibly a brick works But uh yeah it’s fantastic So peaceful There’s the main line that was just mentioning as we’re coming down the canal That’s the current Midland mainline But yeah this is a hell of a piece of engineering It’s huge So yeah if you’re down this way definitely worth a little diversion A lovely ramp to ride up to it So it’s not like you’re going out your way to get up here It’s it’s easy It used to be steps so it was a bit harder but definitely worth coming to see It’s fantastic You got some stunning views I think that over there’s Ilkston There’s Cotton Power Station Look down at the Trent which is where we’re going That’s the way we’re heading And then we’re going to go across the bottom and back up the path of the old Nottingham Canal So let’s get back on the bike and we’ll crack on [Music] Just show you this Look how clear that is I think you can probably pick it up on the camera but just look how clear is You can see all down the center Look how shallow it is just not that steep at all I’m almost convinced this is the section that was was dry the other week So there’s a lock just down there Look where we’re going So let’s plot on and we’ll see what it brings [Music] Just riding up and I thought that’s weird What’s this Have they closed the canal or something There’s actually a boat in there I don’t know if you can see it Those two boys tied to a boat that’s sat in the middle of the canal So if any canal boats coming down here I’m going to have to squeeze down one side of it where it’s really shallow Yeah looks like it’s been there a long time but I was down here not that long ago and I didn’t see it then Lovely lovely old bridge coming up probably first real old bridge seen on it Like proper canal bridge Look at that Beautiful It’s good 200 years old this canal plus So yeah it’s lovely Look at the church in the background Illic Just heading down towards San for a long eating at the minute [Music] [Music] Right this will get tricky How am I going to get past these Come on Come on I’m not there Yeah Just need you to move Come on In you go There’s a lady at the other side as well Come on I know Come on You go in there and I’ll go that way Come on I don’t want to hurt you All right Let’s have a look I’m not going to hurt you You’re okay I’m not going to hurt you That’s okay It’s okay I’m not going to hurt you I’m not going to hurt you Bike as a defense mechanism I say to a bit bumpy Breathe in Come on Well there’s that power station we saw earlier Don’t think it is cotton I said cotton ear I don’t think it is It could be And here is a river Trent Yeah look at the size of that now Huge There you go River with a Trent There’s a power station we saw further back And we’re going up there to the left towards the Atamra Nature Reserve Yeah let’s crack on Let’s get going [Music] This is the Atmra Nature Reserve now So we’ve just come along the trend to get to this which is lovely and peaceful obviously all behind me If you went right you go to Beaston sorry Beaston Marina Yeah this where we’re going to head up Start picking up the path of the old Nottingham canal Come on in So we’re at Chillwell at the minute This is the part of the Nottingham tram system So we’ve just been following NCN6 out from the Atma Nature Reserve up through a couple of little villages quite low roads and we’re heading through Chillwell to pick up part of the old Nottingham Canal which you can pretty much follow down into Nottingham city center So we’ve just come into Stapleford now So couple little quiet roads You can see it’s not too busy on here Couple of little quiet roads through the estate And then as we come out of Staple we start to pick up the old Nottingham canal So show you that when we get there You wouldn’t think it This is a Nottingham Canal toe path from there Look There’s a canal There’s a bit of watering as you can see Overgrown Derel Lake Built believe it or not open Sorry 1796 which is mad 229 years ago It’s just mindblowing that it was that long ago closed in 1937 So it had a good innings What’s that 141 years and it’s been derel ever since There’s bits of it that have been built on So they’re gone Yeah There mega in it Little stuff like this So yeah I should show you as we move on So we’re still on the air wash valley trail The canal what’s left of it totally dry immediately to the right He still obviously was a canal And whilst it’s a shame he’s gone it’s pretty cool when you see stuff like this Appreciate what was there It was 14 miles along the canal from Nottingham up to Langley Mill and the Cromford Canal But what’s left of it isn’t We’ve got about Have a look Uh about 8 miles left back to the van Lovely old canal bridge Mad is it But yeah so you can still ride bits of it And there’s there’s a garden center in a bit that’s totally cut you know built on the sort of route of it It’s totally gone You got to deviate around but still plenty of it to see And you know what Lovely traffic free riding Love this is a lovely route this for young and old So much of our industrial heritage to see still there Look just to the right Looks like it would have been quite a wide canal as well in places There it is Look look at that Quite deep as well I imagine So yeah you can just still see in places the the edge of the canal Quite a lot of stones have gone in but yeah der it now for what 80 odd years 88 years Is it something like that Yeah Still nice see remnants of it and the you know the fact it was once there Cool So that’s the canal there Look into which is the canal toe path we’re on And that there is a garden center The canal’s literally been severed So we’re going to pick it up back on the other side of there I’m actually stood in the canal Now the canal is coming from that direction Look path’s just there Stood in the canal How cool is that I mean there’s not much left You can see a bit of rubble There’s not much left of the wall or anything here But yeah that’s crazy isn’t it Yeah If you’re riding along there’s a couple of these little walkthroughs where you can just drop down in there I’ll show you that Look there’s the actual that there’s the uh little canal trough that you used carry over this road Yeah we can’t get on that section We’ve been deviated away from it Now we are coming back up So we’ll get we’re going up there So hopefully we can get back on this We shall see So we lost the canal for a good few miles there And then here we are again L of nowhere It’s in water full of weed Yeah there it is M nothing for miles It’s just totally been decimated and then he is again Yeah it’s cool We’re not far from the finish now Actually right So there we go 29 miles done Two canals one in use one derelict still there Look bit of old railway infrastructure some rivers Awesome Lovely Really needed that today No Yeah Great So hope you enjoyed Please like and subscribe if you enjoy this kind of content and I’ll see you on the next video Thanks for watching guys See you soon