The following pictures are all taken along the line of the tramroad except for the last one which shows members enjoying lunch at The Chequers Inn, Woolsthorpe.
Grantham Canal and Belvoir Castle Tramroad
19th July 2007
The Grantham Canal opened in 1796 to bring coal from Nottingham to Grantham. As the line of the canal passed so close to Belvoir Castle, The Duke of Rutland asked that a branch of the canal be made to take coal and other goods up to the castle. The surveyor, the famous canal engineer William Jessop, pointed out that given the height of the castle above sea level, this would not be practical. However, a private horse-drawn tramroad or tramway was suggested instead and this opened in 1815. The horse-drawn trucks carried goods, mainly coal, up to the castle until 1918. After that the tramroad closed and gradually disappeared.
In 2007, members of the Leicestershire Industrial History Society obtained permission to walk the line of the old tramroad. Starting from Woolsthorpe, they walked along
the towpath of the canal to Muston Wharf and then
followed the tramroad almost to the former Peacock Inn.
A huge and impenetrable bed of nettles prevented them from following the last 100 yards of the track. Having made it to the main road, they followed the Viking Way down to the village of Woolsthorpe where all enjoyed a gourmet Sunday lunch at the Chequers Inn.
