The Melton Mowbray Navigation was formed when the River Wreake in Leicestershire was made navigable upstream to Melton Mowbray, opening in 1897. Largely river navigation, there were numerous lock cuts.
The navigation enjoyed some prosperity after the opening of the connecting Oakham Canal in 1802. There were busy wharves at Melton Basin and at Rearsby. Agricultural products and coal were the principal cargoes, benefiting from the connection at Syston to the very successful Leicester Navigation.
The coming of the Syston and Peterborough Railway, which followed the Wreake valley, and the associated closure of the Oakham Canal took away most of the navigation's trade. It struggled on until closure in 1877.
Restoration is proposed by a local group, the Melton &Oakham Waterways Society. Very few bridges have been lowered (the principle ones being Lewin Bridge, which carries the Fosse Way at Syston), and most lock chambers are still extant though in need of repair. A slipway has been built in Melton Mowbray by Waterway Recovery Group volunteers, some dredging and towpath repairs undertaken, and the society is working with the Sustrans Connect2 project to replace the entrance footbridge at Syston with one offering navigable headroom.
