At the end of the line is the beautiful Froghall Basin, within the scenic Churnet Valley – Lock 1 gives entry. The Low Froghall tunnel which must be navigated to gain entry deters many boaters from coming here but the walk to it is only a couple of hundred yards – well worth a visit! The views shown are beautiful because they are natural without people and portray a sense of tranquility, nature and history. For more information on this wonderfully secluded place click here. Once you are there a good pub and the Churnet railway station are about 1.5 miles away to walk or easier by taxi.

The route of the Leek Arm is unusual. It branches off south of the main canal, runs parallel with it for about 1/2 mile then crosses over it on an aqueduct , the main canal having descended through three locks by then. The arm then heads directly east towards Leek town whilst the main canal continues south-east towards its terminus at Froghall Basin. The reason for this curious route is to supply water from the Rudyard reservoir two miles north-west of Leek to the main canal and onward west to the Trent and Mersey canal.

The route of the slideshow starts at Horse Bridge 6 on the Leek Arm of the canal and moves west crossing the main canal viaduct, and runs down to meet the main canal then turns through 360 degrees and off to Froghall.

The vicinity of the branch and viaduct is a glorious rural scene on a sunny day.

Here is the slideshow of photos I took along the canal and below a google map showing the vicinity of the photos.

View Leek area of Caldon canal in a larger map