In late 2017 volunteers from the Waterway Recovery Group started clearing this densely overgrown section of canal and towpath. The spill weir was almost completely buried and not even noticed until a second work party when one stone was spotted sticking slightly out of the ground while tidying up at the end of the day.

The spill weir would have been used to control water levels in this area. This section of canal was particularly prone to flooding due to run off from the Alton estate.

Volunteers clearing vegetation in this area during the Waterway Recovery Group "Bonfire Bash" weekend in November 2017 discovered the site of this lock when one of them put a foot into a hole in the ground. We do not have a detailed map of the canal in this area so did not know where the lock was. Further explorations identified that this was where a ground paddle would have been. A stone piped by-wash typical of the Uttoxeter Canal was also found.

When the canal closed in 1849 the section from just east of Alton Lock through to the far end of Alton Station was completely remodelled to make way for the railway. The position of the lock is the first indication of the line of the canal to the east of the tunnel. It can be seen on the hillside, indicated by the change of ground levels.

Recent explorations have revealed that some of the stonework at the top end of the lock remains. No further exploration is planned at present 

The line of the Uttoxeter Canal has been completely lost in the village, but lay to the east of the railway by about 30 yards.

The railway and canal took slightly different lines through the village. After the canal closed this part of the route was not needed by the North Staffordshire Railway so was purchased by Sir Thomas Percival Heywood and the church was built on its line. The railway opened in 1849 but Denstone did not originally have a station. Denstone Crossing, as it was first called, opened on 1st August 1873 and was closed on 4th January 1965.

This unique structure allowed boats to cross the River Churnet

The weir and adjacent flood lock beyond were built in approximately 1810. The flood lock had double sets of gates that could be closed if the river level was lower or higher than the canal, but was normally left open.

It is the only structure of its type in the world and is Grade II listed. The listing was done in response to a proposal to blow the weir up as part of a process of naturalising the river in 2005. The listing reads as follows:

• The lock was built in approximately 1810
• Volunteers from Waterway Recovery Group Forestry Team removed the trees which were completely concealing the lock in October 2016
• Since the initial clearance our volunteers have continued to uncover remains of the lock
• The tail end of the lock was lost in 1973 when pipes for the new pumping station by Bridge 70 were laid through it.