West Stockwith

Formal hotel accommodation in West Stockwith itself is very limited, with a small amount of accommodation available above the village's pubs for those wanting to stay right by the lock and marina. Most visitors looking for a proper hotel choose to base themselves a short drive away in Gainsborough, which has a range of hotels and guest houses on the Lincolnshire side of the Trent, or in Retford or Bawtry, both of which offer a wider choice of places to stay along with easy road links back to West Stockwith.

Wherever you choose to stay, West Stockwith works well as a short stop or a half-day trip rather than a base for a longer holiday, given how small it is. Combine a night in Gainsborough or Retford with an afternoon spent watching boats work through West Stockwith Lock, walking the Chesterfield Canal towpath, or exploring the wider Trent Valley, and you get the best of both: a proper choice of comfortable places to stay, and easy access to one of this stretch of river's quietest and most characterful spots.

West Stockwith is a small village, so its attractions are modest and mostly free — but they are real and distinctive, built around the meeting of canal and river.

• West Stockwith Lock and Basin — the reason the village exists. This is one of only a handful of double locks on the Chesterfield Canal, built deep and strong to link the calm canal with the tidal Trent. Watching boats work through, timed around the tide, is the village's main spectacle.
• West Stockwith Marina — a working marina packed with narrowboats and yachts, run by the local yacht club, right beside the lock. A good spot to watch river traffic and see just how many boaters use this junction.
• Chesterfield Canal towpath — head west out of the village and you can walk (or cycle) the flat towpath alongside the canal towards Misterton and beyond, part of the wider Chesterfield Canal, which the Chesterfield Canal Trust has spent decades restoring.
• River Trent riverside walk — the Trent Valley Way passes through, and the flood bank gives open views across the wide, tidal river towards Lincolnshire on the opposite bank.
• St Mary the Virgin's Church — a Grade II* listed Georgian church of 1722, paid for by local shipyard owner William Huntington, who also funded ten almshouses in the village for the widows of mariners and ship carpenters. A plain, dignified building that tells you a lot about the village's maritime past.
• Idle Valley Nature Reserve — a large Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust reserve of former gravel pits a short drive south, with lakes, reedbeds and hides, good for a few hours of birdwatching.
• Gainsborough Old Hall — a well-preserved medieval manor house a short drive over the Trent in Lincolnshire, worth combining with a day around West Stockwith.

For such a small village, West Stockwith has a decent choice of pubs, reflecting its long history as a stopping point for river and canal traffic. The Waterfront Inn sits right by the marina and basin, popular with boaters and walkers for its riverside position and regularly changing real ales. The White Hart is the other village pub, a short walk away. Beyond that, options are limited within the village itself, and most visitors head into Gainsborough for a wider choice of cafes, restaurants and takeaways.

Camping around West Stockwith means pitching close to the point where the Chesterfield Canal meets the tidal River Trent, in flat, open Trent Valley countryside on the borders of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire. Waterfront Country Park, a touring caravan and camping site right by the marina, is the obvious base, with pitches on level grassland a short walk from the lock, the pubs and the towpath. It is a popular stop for boaters, anglers and towpath cyclists rather than a destination in its own right, so expect a quiet, practical site rather than a resort feel.

As with anywhere in England, wild camping is not legal here without the landowner's permission, so stick to established sites. The flat, low-lying Trent Valley terrain suits touring caravans, motorhomes and tents equally well, and coarse fishing permits for the canal are usually available on site, which suits anglers wanting to combine a pitch with some fishing. The riverside and towpath setting also makes it a sensible stop for anyone cycling or walking longer stretches of the Chesterfield Canal or the Trent Valley Way.

Spring through early autumn is the best camping season, when the towpath paths are driest, the marina is busiest and evenings by the water are at their best. Because the site sits on the flood plain of a working tidal river, conditions can turn wet and exposed outside the main season, so it's worth checking ahead if visiting in autumn or winter. Nearby villages and Gainsborough offer more formal glamping and self-catering options for those who want a roof over their head while still exploring this stretch of the Trent.