Long-term moorings in Long Eaton

Long Eaton is a Derbyshire town just north of the River Trent, about six miles south west of Nottingham. The broad Erewash Canal runs through the town to meet the river at Trent Lock. Moorings in Long Eaton are mostly at that junction and at Sawley, a short way upstream on the Trent.

Moorings in Long Eaton

• Sawley Waterside & Marina: run by Aquavista on a navigational cut of the River Trent. More than 580 berths on 23 acres of water, with a chandlery, diesel, pump out and a slipway.
• Sawley Lock: Canal & River Trust leisure moorings on the same cut, about 260m of towpath for up to 12 boats, wide beam or narrow. Water points on site and a gated entrance.
• Trent Lock: Canal & River Trust residential moorings with planning consent, one linear berth above the lock and six berths for large static vessels.
• Trent Lock Wharf: two Canal & River Trust leisure moorings on the Erewash Canal, with a shared facilities block.
• Mills Dockyard: a family boatyard on the Erewash Canal about 400 yards above Trent Lock, dating from around 1895, which a local history society describes as offering dry dock repairs and moorings.

On the water

The Erewash Canal runs 11.5 miles and 14 locks from Trent Lock to Langley Mill and is run by the Canal & River Trust. Trent Lock, Long Eaton Lock and Dockholme Lock are the first three. The locks take boats up to 80ft 4in long and 13ft 5in wide, and need a handcuff key.

At Trent Lock the canal meets the River Trent opposite the mouth of the River Soar, which comes in from the south. Downstream, Cranfleet Cut carries boats past a weir towards Nottingham. The Trent and Mersey Canal does not start here: it joins the Trent further west at Derwent Mouth, upstream of Sawley.

Floods and closures

The Trent is a river navigation and can close in high water. Cranfleet flood gates were closed from 29 November to 27 December 2025, with boats told not to navigate. On the canal, low water closed the length between Stanton Lock and Hallam Fields Lock, north of Long Eaton, for at least a month from 29 June 2026.

Getting there and around

Long Eaton station is on the Midland Main Line, with East Midlands Railway and CrossCountry trains, and junction 25 of the M1 is on the edge of the town. There is a chandlery at the marina in Sawley.