MERCIA MARINA

Mercia Marina
Mercia Marina

MERCIA MARINA

Enjoy the views, take a boat trip, go shopping and relax at one of the food and drink outlets. 
Mercia Marina is located alongside the road from Willington to Findern and was formerly farmland. In the 1980s it was purchased by John and Michael Thornton who rented it out to a local farmer to grow cereals. Until the mid-1990s, when the building of the A50 started. Then, the land was used for gravel extraction for use in the construction of the carriageway.

Later it was converted into a fishing lake, before the Thorntons commenced a multi-million-pound project to build Europe’s largest inland marina, with 600 berths. Holiday lodges and lodges for sale were built alongside the marina. Also, a cafe, sales office and facilities for boaters were erected.

It was the opening of The Boardwalk, in 2014, that set up the marina as one of the most important tourist attractions in Derbyshire. A promenade of six boutique retailers, with offices above, centred around a two-storey bar and restaurant. The development fronts onto a raised wooden walkway offering terrific views of the water, boats and wildlife. This was followed three years later by the opening of the Piazza with an independent gallery, contemporary homeware, hair salon, lady’s fashions and Indian Restaurant.

Mecia Marina Road Tunnell
Mecia Marina Road Tunnell