Discover Sandiacre

Sandiacre combines tangible industrial and canal history with a varied landscape. If you are planning a trip with culture, nature and outdoor activity, you will find a range of possibilities for your days here. When looking for a holiday apartment or holiday home in Sandiacre, you can therefore first consider whether museums and historic buildings, experiences in the landscape or walking trails should be the focus of your stay.

Museum and local history

A particularly tangible way to explore the history of the village is to visit the Sandiacre Lock Cottages and the Toll House. Together, they now form a museum run by volunteer members of the Erewash Canal Preservation & Development Association (ECP&DA). The Sandiacre Lock Cottages have been opened to the public. The museum contains artefacts, pictures and display boards about the history of the Erewash Canal. This means that the focus is not only on a single building, but also on the development of the canal as a historical subject.

Springfield Mill is part of the local economic history. Terah Hooley had the multi-storey lace factory built in 1888. The building is of architectural and historical interest and illustrates an important aspect of the local economic history. The Village Lock-up and Pound offers a different historical perspective. The Grade II listed building dates from 1660 and was rebuilt in the late 18th century.

The Church of St Giles is also noteworthy for visitors interested in culture. The Grade I listed parish church contains fabric dating from the 11th to the 15th century. This brings together different historical layers in Sandiacre: canal and industrial history, an early community building, and a building whose present form was shaped by a later reconstruction.

Stoney Clouds and trails through the landscape

Those who would like to spend time in nature between historical experiences can include Stoney Clouds in their travel plans. The area is a sandstone escarpment that reaches around 80 metres at its highest point. Mixed woodland grows on the slopes, including oaks, ash trees, hazel and silver birch. The land around Stoney Clouds is managed as a nature reserve, giving it a distinctly different focus from the museum and historic architecture.

The history of the Derby Canal is also connected with paths and the landscape. The canal was built by James Brindley in 1796 and ran from Swarkestone on the Trent and Mersey Canal to Sandiacre on the Erewash Canal. The former section of the Derby Canal near Sandiacre forms part of a multi-use route suitable for cycling, horse riding and walking. For a clearly described walk, there is also A Walk in the Clouds: the six-mile walking trail runs from Sandiacre via Stanton by Dale and Risley.

Which accommodation suits your plans?

The different themes allow for flexible day planning. You can focus your stay more strongly on industrial and canal history, combine historic buildings, or place nature and outdoor activity at the forefront. If you are travelling with different interests, it helps to choose your holiday apartment or holiday home according to your preferred daily rhythm: some days can centre on the museum and architecture, while others can focus on woodland, the nature reserve and one of the trails described above.

For your further travel planning, you can also look at the entries for Willington, Eyam, Earl Sterndale, Chinley, Cromford, Kirk Langley, Smalley and Shardlow.

For the wider travel overview: Derbyshire.