The Ashby-de-la-Zouch Canal is 30 miles long, and connected the mining district around Moira, just outside the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire, with the Coventry Canal at Bedworth in Warwickshire. It was opened in 1804, and a number of tramways were constructed at its northern end, to service collieries. The canal was taken over by the Midland Railway in 1846, but remained profitable until the 1890s, after which it steadily declined. Around 9 miles passed through the Leicestershire coalfield, and was heavily affected by subsidence, resulting in the section from Moira, southwards to Snarestone, being progressively closed in 1944, 1957 and 1966, leaving 22 miles of navigable canal.