Camden Lock

Camden Lock is the top lock on the Regent's Canal in London (it is 19 miles before the next lock, at Cowley). Situated next to Camden High Street, not far from Camden Market. Waterbus trips to Regents Park Zoo and Little Venice start above the lock.

Camden Lock is actually two locks, side by side.

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Manchester

"Duke's 92" Lock at Castlefield in Manchester - the final lock on the Rochdale Canal's journey from Yorkshire to the Bridgewater Canal (i.e. lock number 92).

It was called "Duke's Lock" as it was built for the Duke of Bridgewater, who owned the Bridgewater Canal and wanted to control access to it.

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Ellesmere Port

The northern end of the Shropshire Union Canal at Ellesmere Port. The buildings now house the National Waterways Museum (formerly The Boat Museum).

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Ely

On the River Great Ouse approaching the Fenland city of Ely. Its octagonal cathedral tower can be seen for many miles across the flat landscape surrounding Ely.

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Lincoln

The "Glory Hole" links the Fossdyke and Brayford Pool with the River Witham, passing below the main shopping street in Lincoln.

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Gongoozlers

Have you ever had the feeling you are being watched?

There you are, enjoying the peace and solitude of the canal when suddenly you get the feeling there are eyes on you...

This picture shows gongoozling youngsters enjoy the diversion of watching a narrowboat pass through Fairfield Lock on the Ashton Canal in Droylsden.

The graceful stone arch enabled boat horses to cross the canal to reach the towing path of the Hollinwood Branch Canal which began just above this lock.

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Stourbridge

The locks at Stourbridge, a few miles west of Birmingham. There are 16 locks dropping from Leys Junction to Wordsley Junction.

The large structure is the 90 ft high Redhouse Cone, part of a former glass works, now part of a museum site. It is one of only 4 such cones remaining in the UK.

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Braunston

The Admiral Nelson pub, alongside Lock 3 at Braunston on the Grand Union Canal in Northamptonshire. The village itself is on the hill in the background, although only a few of the more modern houses are visible in the photo.

Braunston is sometimes described as the centre of the canal network, with routes radiating out in various directions. At the bottom of the six locks is Braunston Marina.

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River Avon, Bath

The River Avon below Pulteney Weir and Pulteney Bridge in Bath. Not quite a canal, I know, but it is just upstream from the entrance to the Kennet and Avon Canal. There are good moorings at the side of the river here, just a few minutes walk from the city centre.

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Barnby Dun Lift Bridge

This electrically powered lift bridge is at Barnby Dun, on the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation four miles north-east of Doncaster. There are several similar bridges in the area. In the background are the cooling towers of Thorpe Marsh power station.

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Llangollen

A narrow section of the Llangollen Canal winding round the hillside above the town of Llangollen (North Wales) is the location of the first photo on this blog to be outside England.

This section of canal was built as a water supply feeder from the River Dee at Horseshoe Falls to the former Ellesmere Canal at Trevor. It is one of several sections where the canal is too narrow for boats to pass. These narrows create bottlenecks at the height of the boating season!

Caen Hill Locks

Caen Hill Locks are on the Kennet and Avon Canal just west of Devizes in Wiltshire. There are 29 locks altogether at Caen Hill, spread over about 2 miles. However, the middle 16 locks are the most impressive, being in a straight line up the steep hillside. There is just a short pound between locks, but each pound extends sideways to store an adequate volume of water.

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Diggle Locks

Looking down the Diggle lock flight on the Huddersfield Narrow Canal.
High on the hillside behind, a train heads for Huddersfield.

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Stourport

This is the point where the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal runs into Stourport Basin.

York Street Lock on the canal is just behind the bridge. On the opposite side of the basin (behind the camera) locks lead down into the River Severn.

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal was one of the earliest canals in the country, being opened in 1772. Stourport was a real inland port, with narrowboats coming in from the canal and barges coming in from the River Severn. These barges ("Trows") would be capable of going down the Severn estuary to Bristol. All sorts of cargoes would have been transferred between boats here. The basins and wharves would have been extremely busy.

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Hall Green

The first photo in this series is of Hall Green Stop Lock.

This shallow lock is historically the junction between the Macclesfield Canal (this side) and the Trent and Mersey beyond. There is a difference in level of just a few inches between the two canals.

When the lock was first built it had four sets of gates, with each canal company having its own lock to guard against loss of water on either canal. The Hall Green branch of the Trent and Mersey Canal is a short spur from Hardings Wood Junction, Kidsgrove, to meet the Macclesfield Canal here at Hall Green. The Macclesfield was built in 1831 and was one of the last narrow canals to be built in Britain.

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