Derwent Mouth is a location on the

River Trent The Trent is the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, third-longest river in the United Kingdom. Its Source (river or stream), source is in Staffordshire, on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through and drains the North Midland ...

, which at that point forms the border between the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

. It is both the

confluence In geography, a confluence (also: ''conflux'') occurs where two or more flowing bodies of water join to form a single channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main stem); o ...

of the River Derwent with the River Trent, and the point at which the

Trent and Mersey Canal The Trent and Mersey Canal is a canal in Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire in north-central England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities to the east of Burton upon Trent and north of Middle ...

joins the natural River Trent. Derwent Mouth is situated closest to Sawley, Derbyshire and is to the east of

Shardlow Shardlow is a village in Derbyshire, England about southeast of Derby and southwest of Nottingham. Part of the civil parish of Shardlow and Great Wilne, and the district of South Derbyshire, it is also very close to the border with Leice ...

, west of Trent Lock, where the navigable

River Soar The River Soar () is a major tributary of the River Trent in the English East Midlands and is the principal river of Leicestershire. The source of the river is midway between Hinckley and Lutterworth. The river then flows north through Leicest ...

and

Erewash Canal The Erewash Canal is a broad canal in Derbyshire, England. It runs just under and has 14 canal lock, locks. The first lock at Langley Mill, Langley Bridge is part of the Cromford Canal. Origins The canal obtained its act of parliament in ...

join the River Trent. It is about south-west of the centre of the city of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, and south-east of central

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...

. The River Trent is navigable, with the aid of

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, downstream of Derwent Mouth as far as the Humber Estuary. The Trent itself is also navigable for a short distance upstream, but most river traffic enters the parallel Trent and Mersey Canal, which provides connections to the

River Mersey The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...

and the canal networks of the

West Midlands region The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists ...

. The River Derwent is not navigable.

Long Horse Bridge

Long Horse Bridge was originally a wooden bridge that crossed the Trent at Derwent mouth to take the tow path across the river so that horses hauling the barges down the Trent & Mersey could continue along the southern bank of the Trent navigation and vice versa for boats travelling up the river. Following a thaw in 1893, the bridge collapsed when blocks of ice carried down by the river shattered the supporting legs. Bargees who had been ensnared by the frozen conditions attempted to protect the bridge by adding heavy loads, and by fending off the ice floes. When the bridge finally gave way, James Thompson ended up afloat on the ice, and was washed downstream, but he later reached the riverbank unharmed. The wooden bridge was reconstructed after this incident. In 1932 the Trent Navigation company rebuilt the wooden crossing at the same location using reinforced concrete. After 70 years the bridge was suffering from severe

concrete degradation Concrete degradation may have many different causes. Concrete is mostly damaged by the corrosion of reinforcement bars due to the carbonatation of hardened cement paste or chloride attack under wet conditions. Chemical damages are caused by the ...

, and was subsequently closed in 2002 due to safety issues, and demolished a year later. Rather than reinstate a similar bridge, it was decided to construct a wider multi-user crossing at a location some 140m upstream from Derwent Mouth. The main section of the new bridge was hoisted into position in September 2011 using large cranes, with the bridge opening in November the same year. The project to build the 60 tonne bridge which has a span of 52 m (170 ft), cost £1.4 million. The crossing resolved a number of problems for walkers, cyclists and horse riders in that it allows the Midshires bridleway to cross the Trent and also restores the tow-path link between Shardlow and Sawley a route that previously required a detour via

Cavendish Bridge Cavendish Bridge is a bridge over the River Trent, connecting the counties of Leicestershire and Derbyshire; it is also the name of a hamlet on the Leicestershire side of the river within the Castle Donington parish. This bridge once carried th ...

. The diversion and loss of the bridge being one of the access issues identified as part of the study into the viability of the western extension of the

Trent Valley Way The Trent Valley Way is a waymarked long-distance footpath in England following the River Trent and its valley in the counties of Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. Originally created in 1998, to mark the centenary of the Nottinghamshire Coun ...

, which begins nearby at Trent Lock. The bridge also provides a connection between the Trent Valley footpath and the Derwent Valley Heritage Way, which ends at Derwent Mouth.

References

{{authority control River Derwent, Derbyshire Rivers of Leicestershire Transport in Derbyshire Transport in Leicestershire River Trent Trent and Mersey Canal