Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The covered dry dock at Hartshill Wharf .
The tall chimney just beyond the junction is on an 1837 steam pumphouse that raised water
35m from a well with one engine and from a stream underneath into the canal with another.
A series of lakes precedes a spur on the left before Bedworth that is the Newdigate Colliery
arm, which includes a unique three-way lock.
The nearby Griff Hollows are said to be the original of the Red Deeps that featured in Ge-
orge Eliot's The Mill on the Floss , while the 18th century Gothic mansion of Arbury Hall
became Cheveral Manor.
The Boot Inn stands at Boot Wharf. Nearby places of worship include a 1946 church built
by German prisoners of war at Chilvers Coton, the village appearing as Shepperton in George
Eliot's Scenes of Clerical Life with Nuneaton being Milby.
Nuneaton had a priory and the 'nun ea tun' was the nun's river estate. With its redbrick
houses it has been a mining town for 500 years, and a textile producer since the 1800s. The
library has a collection of photographs and memorabilia relating to George Eliot, who was
born at Arbury Hall in 1819.
The canal follows the River Anker to Tamworth. Hartshill Hayes Country Park stands on
55ha of wooded hillside, offering extensive views across the river valley.
The well-preserved Oldbury Camp Iron Age hill fort is the reported site of Boudicca's de-
feat by the Romans in 60 AD. The Romans were heavily outnumbered but killed 80,000 Bri-
tons. Boudicca poisoned herself to avoid capture.
One of the gems of the canal system is the 1840s Hartshill Wharf with a covered dry
dock, restored blacksmith's shop in a waterways maintenance yard, refined clocktower with
weathervane and a derrick crane. There is an air of Victorian Gothic with rounded windows,
arches and curved walls to allow horses to pass with loads of wood for narrowboats. The
wharf is an oasis in the countryside.
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