Mercia Marina

I've had Mercia Marina on my 'must visit' list for quite a while. It's relatively on my doorstep, friends are always surprised that I haven't been, but somehow I've never got round to it. 

So in the spirit of trying something new I thought it would be a good place for looking at boats and a short walk along the Trent and Mersey canal. Unfortunately it wasn't as interesting as I'd hoped.

Unlike Shardlow, which was once a busy inland port, or Cromford with its industrial heritage, it has no history. The marina is relatively new and purpose-built for boat storage. It's huge but the public can't really wander round it - just long a small section with boats for sale and some housing businesses. I suppose it makes sense from a boat-owners point of view - you don't want anybody and everybody coming poking round the outside of your boat when you're not around - but I had expected to see more than glimpses in the distance. 

There are shops if you're in the mood for spending, and cafes and restaurants for eating. But as for the marina itself, that seemed to be it.

There are various bits of sculpture dotted about here and there - from a stylised swan to a willow troll - but they seem rather randomly picked and sited, and some could easily be missed competely.

Anyway, not having found anything to really interest me so far, I decided to go in search of the nearby canal for a short walk (after which I might have had tea and cake at one of the cafes)

The route didn't appear to be clearly marked so we wandered through a carpark, alongside a short stretch of canal which led into the marina, and across a field. Then I discovered that to reach the canal towpath I needed to cross over to the other side, which entailed going up and down some quite steep open-tread steps. Fine, maybe, if I were as fit as I once was, but since the whole falling down the stairs episode I'm neither as agile nor as confident about steps. And so I decided to give up. 

Overall, I'd mark it as a disappointing destination. Good for eating or shopping but not that's about all.

Something that struck me was that whereas it's quite easy to take, and post, photos that make the marina look attractive you only need to turn around to see that the location is dominated by Willington power station. It's disused now but 1950s cooling towers are still an eyesore, without the visual/industrial heritage appeal of Cromford's old mills