Daily archives: June 1, 2025

Many local people will remember the Erewash Princess as a pleasure cruiser on local waterways in the late1960s and early 1970s.  But where did she come from, and what happened to her? In 1966 four members of the Inland Waterways Association were fighting to keep the Erewash Canal open.  They bought a 2nd hand 36ft boat and named her ‘Erewash Princess’.  They formed their own company and planned to run boat trips at weekends and most evenings. The Erewash Princess was 36ft long and constructed from wood, with a diesel engine.  She could carry up to 55 passengers.  She was built in 1927, and it seems she was operated on the River Severn, and then on the River Dee at Chester.  But the details of her early history (and her original name) are currently unknown. In May 1966, one of the new owners – Derrick Alsop, who lived in Toton – started operating a service every Saturday and Sunday between Sandiacre and Trent Lock.  It left Sandiacre at 2pm every Saturday and Sunday, stopping at Long Eaton (at the old coal wharf near the fire station) and on to Trent Lock.  It then made 3 more runs from Long Eaton […]