Locks Galore

August 11


Today we have a flight of 21 locks to pass through and it will take most of our cruising day. The morning is beautiful. Our overnight location was quite quiet. There were a few canal boats moored here. We know it will be our last rural mooring for a couple of days. 

The flight of locks was completed in 1772 and boats raise up 121 feet by the end. 

Many of the locks are near a bridge--some are quite high, some are low.


The routine on each lock is for the locks workers to trot ahead and see if other boats are using the locks and how we prioritize who goes first, etc. We were going "up," so we need the lock to be empty. If someone happens to be coming down ahead of us, the lock will be empty. Mostly today we were following someone up, so we had to empty the lock and then fill it up again when our boat was in it. 


The boat in front of us had a solo skipper, so Diana ran ahead and served as his crew. It helped him and it helped us move through more quickly. 

While Mark was in the boat, he noticed these grooves in the side of the lock. Those are from the ropes that tied the horses to the boats. Before the days of engines, the horses moved the canal boats. 


We had a beautiful day to transition from rural to an urban location surrounded by all kinds of industry. 

We averaged about 5 locks an hour with a couple quick ones at the end since the guy Diana helped came back to help us wrap up. 

Satisfying and productive day! 


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