Ashby Canal

Ashby Canal

LaunchesPublic RoutesKnown HazardsParking
14
1
0
14
X

WATERWAYS LICENCES

Many waterways in England and Wales require a licence to paddle. Check the licence section below to see if this is one. Save money on your licence and secure paddling insurance by joining British Canoeing. Use our easy step RapidJoin process. Open the slider to join.

Welcome to PaddlePoints Waterways. These pages focus on individual bodies of water across the UK. On this page you'll find a map, launches, routes, licensing information, paddle trail downloads, services, and more about one particular river or canal. For the full PaddlePoints with search bar follow this link.

PaddlePoints can be accessed without creating a free account, but registering will allow you to map your own public and private routes on this waterway. You will also be able to comment on others' points, upload images, and create Personal Information Markers to receive updates about new routes and points.

You can use the buttons above to access map information on other waterways. Simply toggle the waterway to display it. If you do, note that the content surrounding the map area will remain the same. Use the green file icon next to the toggle if you want to open another dedicated river or canal page with relevant licensing information.

Use the icon above to access the legend. All map points, rivers, and canals information will appear in this section here. Click or tap a point on the map to display the information. Actual routes will appear on the map.

Canal Licensing Information

License Authority

Canal and River Trust

Further Information

Includes: Marston Junction to Snarestone

The Ashby Canal, (or Ashby-de-la-Zouch canal officially, despite never quite reaching the town) is a canal that keeps on giving in terms of flora, fauna and history! Along it’s 22 mile stretch there are no locks, which means no portages along this beautiful stretch either… another win. 

So what makes this canal so special? Well there are a number of reasons. The stretch between Snarestone and Carlton Bridge is listed as a site of special scientific interest. It’s home to many varieties of aquatic plants and animals that you wouldn’t see on many other stretches of the canal.

Wildlife on the Ashby Canal

Some of the more rare sightings along the canal you might spot are up to 9, yes 9, varieties of dragonfly, water shrews and the rare water beetle.

It’s generally a canal that is rich in lush green hedgerows and reed beds, supporting wildlife in abundance with kingfishers, herons and moorhens aplenty along the stretch. 

That’s not where the fun stops though… for the history lovers out there, read on! This canal opens up a wealth of history stretching right back to medieval times.

At certain points along the canal, you can see the ridge and furrow patterns created by medieval farmers when ploughing all the way back when!

Fast forward a few hundred years, and the canal line also touches the western edge of Bosworth field, where Richard III fell to the hands of Henry Tudor in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth. Now THAT’S some history right there!