Top of the locks
There are over 1,800 locks on Britain’s canal network
Locks enable canal boats to travel up and down hills. There’s no mystery to using locks – just a series of step-by-step tasks.
A lock is simply a chamber with gates at either end. By emptying or filling the chamber with water, boats can move up or down onto a new section of waterway.
There are many different kinds of locks, but they all on work on a similar principle. With the lock gates closed, boaters should open the sluices (paddles) to let the water in or out. When the water level under the boat is the same as the level it’s moving to, the boat can move in or out of the lock.
Some locks are operated by boaters, others by lock keepers. Some are staircase locks where one lock opens directly onto the next.
Tuition is included in all our canal boat holiday packages. During your boat handover, our boat yard staff will usually be able to take you through your first lock.
To celebrate these marvels of canal engineering, we’ve put together a guide to our top of the locks:
1. Caen Hill on the Kennet & Avon Canal
Caen Hill at Devizes in Wiltshire is one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’ and a scheduled monument. With 29 locks spread out over 2 miles, raising the canal by 72 metres, it takes around 6 hours to passage through. The 16-lock section clustered together up the hill is truly a magnificent site, and one of the most iconic on the waterway network. Our Devizes narrowboat hire base is at the base of the Flight at Foxhangers Marina.
2. Hatton on the Grand Union Canal
The Hatton Flight in Warwickshire was nicknamed ‘The Stairway to Heaven’ by the boaters who once carried cargos on the canals. This impressive flight of 21 locks raises boats up 45 metres over 2 miles, and takes around 4.5 hours to travel through. Just below the Top lock, you’ll find the Hatton Locks Café. Our nearest canal boat hire base is 8 hours away at Stockton. The journey travels 11 miles and passes through 22 locks.
3. Wolverhampton on the Birmingham Canal Navigations Main Line
This epic flight of 21 locks rises and lowers the canal by 40 metres. The locks stretch for one and three quarter miles between Broad Street Basin and Aldersley Junction. It takes around 4 hours to navigate through the flight. Our base at Autherley is just 15 minutes away from Wolverhampton Bottom Lock No.21.
4. Tardebigge on the Worcester & Birmingham Canal
With 30 locks spread out over two-and-a-quarter miles, this awesome flight of locks in Worcestershire is the longest on the inland waterways system. In total, the locks raise and lower boats 67 metres and it takes around 5.5 hours to travel through them. Our nearest canal boat hire base is an hour’s cruise away at Alvechurch.
5. Bingley Five Rise on the Leeds & Liverpool Canal
Another one of the ‘Seven Wonders of the Waterways’, this spectacular staircase of 5 locks is near Bradford. It raises (or lowers) boats 18 metres in 5 cavernous chambers. The locks open directly from one to another, with the top gate of one forming the bottom of the next. It takes around one-and-a-half hours to work through. The size of the chambers can be intimidating even for experienced boaters, but friendly lock-keepers are on hand to help. You can reach the Bingley Five Rise Locks on a short break from Silsden.
6. Foxton on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal
Surrounded by stunning views of the Leicestershire countryside, this set of 10 locks raises boats up 23 metres in just a quarter-of-a-mile. Foxton Locks is the longest set of staircase locks in the UK, and is a Grade II Listed structure. In staircases, the locks open directly one from another so that the top gate of one forms the bottom of the next. It takes around 45 minutes to pass through. There are lock keepers on hand to help. They offer key advice when it comes to opening the paddles: “Red before white, you’ll be alright. White before red, you’ll be dead.” Our nearest narrowboat boat hire base is around 14 hours away at Weedon. The journey to Foxton Top lock travels 27 miles and passes through 13 locks.
7. Marple on the Peak Forest Canal
One of the steepest flights on the system, the 16 locks at Marple in Cheshire raise boats by 64 metres over just one mile. The locks are built of local stone and are mostly tree-lined, giving the canal a lovely secluded feeling. The Peak Forest Canals is said to be one of Britain’s most scenic waterways, running through beautiful countryside on the edge of the Peak District National Park. From Stoke on Trent it takes around 19 hours to reach Marple Bottom Lock. The journey there travels 28 miles and passes through 14 locks.
