List of canal locks in the United Kingdom Facts for Kids

A canal lock is like a special water elevator for boats! It helps boats move up or down between different levels of water on a canal. Imagine a staircase, but for boats! The United Kingdom has many amazing canals, and some of their locks are truly unique. This article will tell you about some of the most famous and interesting canal locks in the UK.

Famous Canal Locks in the UK
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Famous Canal Locks in the UK

Canal locks are incredible pieces of engineering. They allow boats to travel across different landscapes, even up and down hills! Here are some of the most famous and special locks you can find in the UK.

Bath Locks

Found on the Kennet and Avon Canal, the Bath Locks are a beautiful set of six locks. They are in a very fancy setting, with old buildings around them. One of these locks is the second deepest in the whole UK! There are also special pumping stations that help keep the water levels just right. Many of the buildings here are very old and protected.

Bingley Five Rise Locks

The Bingley Five Rise Locks are on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. These locks are known as "staircase locks" because they look like steps. A boat goes directly from one lock chamber into the next without a long stretch of water in between. This set of five locks is the steepest flight of locks in the UK, meaning they go up or down very quickly!

Bow Locks

You can find the Bow Locks on the River Lee Navigation. What makes these locks special is that they are "bidirectional." This means they can work in two directions. They connect to a part of the river called Bow Creek, which has changing water levels because of the tides from the sea. So, these locks can handle boats moving both with and against the tide.

Caen Hill Locks

Also on the Kennet and Avon Canal, the Caen Hill Locks are a truly impressive sight. There are 29 locks in total! A big part of this flight, 16 of the locks, go straight up a hillside in a very dramatic line. It’s an amazing example of how engineers built canals to cross difficult land.

Fourteen Locks

The Fourteen Locks are located on the Monmouthshire Canal. These locks are narrow and very deep. They are special because they have a unique and complex system of "pounds." A pound is the section of water between two locks. Here, the pounds are very short and depend on each other in a clever way to manage the water.

Foxton Locks

On the Grand Union Canal (Leicester Line), you'll find the Foxton Locks. This site has two "staircases" of locks, each with five locks. Right next to these locks, there used to be a huge machine called the Foxton Inclined Plane. It was built in 1900 to lift boats up and down the hill faster than using the locks, especially when there was a lot of boat traffic.

King's Norton Stop Lock

The King's Norton Stop Lock is on the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal. This is a "stop lock," which is a single lock that helps manage water levels between two different canal sections. What's unique about this one is that it has two "guillotine gates." These are gates that lift straight up and down, like a guillotine, instead of swinging open.

Neptune's Staircase

Located on the Caledonian Canal, Neptune's Staircase is another famous staircase lock. It has eight locks in a row! This amazing structure was built by a famous engineer named Thomas Telford in 1811. It lifts boats a huge 64 feet (about 19.5 meters) up the hillside.

Tardebigge Locks

The Tardebigge Locks are on the Worcester and Birmingham Canal. This is the longest flight of locks in the entire UK! There are 30 locks in total, and they help boats climb a massive 67 meters (about 220 feet). It's a long journey for boats to go through all of them!

Tuel Lane Lock

You can find the Tuel Lane Lock on the Rochdale Canal. This lock holds the record for being the deepest lock in the United Kingdom. It has a fall of 19 feet 8½ inches (about 6 meters), which means the water level drops by that much when a boat goes through it!

Watford Locks

The Watford Locks are on the Grand Union Canal (Leicester Line). This is a staircase of four locks, which is part of a larger flight of seven locks. Like other staircase locks, it allows boats to move quickly between different water levels.

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Bingley Five Rise
Bow Locks
Watford Locks
Caen Hill flight

List of canal locks in the United Kingdom facts for kids

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