Derwent Mouth

Derwent Mouth is a location on the River Trent, which at that point forms the border between the English counties of Derbyshire and Leicestershire. It is both the confluence of the River Derwent with the River Trent, and the point at which the Trent and Mersey Canal joins the natural River Trent.

Derwent Mouth is situated closest to Sawley, Derbyshire and is 1 mile (1.6 km) to the east of Shardlow, 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Trent Lock, where the navigable River Soar and Erewash Canal join the River Trent. It is about 9 miles (14 km) south-west of the centre of the city of Nottingham, and 7 miles (11 km) south-east of central Derby.

The River Trent is navigable, with the aid of locks, 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 and the canal networks of the West Midlands region. 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.