THE KENNET AND AVON CANAL in an amazing example of engineering. The 16 of 29 in total locks that form the steepest part of the flight at Caen Hill (pronounced like “cane”).
The locks were the final link to connect London and Bristol near Wiltshire, England, finishing the 87-mile canal. Originally constructed in the early 1800s, the locks were closed down in 1948. But by the late 1980s refurbished locks were back in operation. A modern pump allows for the movement of seven million gallons of water per day to help keep the locks flooded.
Not only are these locks an ancient monument, they are a challenge every serious canal boater must do. The Caen Hill Locks are iconic for many reasons. They are a massive feat of engineering from the heyday of the canals and one of the country’s longest continuous runs of lock flights. It takes a little over five hours to traverse the locks by boat—many canal boaters consider it the ultimate challenge.
Those locks are super cool. Our Dad has taken many a boat though many locks and that one looks most interesting.
ReplyDeleteOnly once have i had the fun/privilege of going through a lock, it was enjoyable. These look much bigger and more interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe images with water are very nice now, on this heat wave! I imagine how good it was in that pub. :)
ReplyDeleteHave a fine day, Jackie!
What fab photos I remember going through a lock when I was young it was fascinating, I often go for walks over the road from the Paddington Basin to Little Venice along the Regents Canal love it :-)
ReplyDeleteHave a locktastic week 👍
They look so tiny. We are used to seeing locks for massive ships. What a special place that is for boating and history.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful images! I'd love to experience boating through a lock.
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday, Jackie!
Great photos. Very interesting, I had never heard of this. XO
ReplyDeleteThank you a lot for all the details from your post. I like these kind of places with much engineering. They must be preserved if they are still functional and useful!
ReplyDeleteHappy WW!
I would love going through the locks. Beautiful. Thank you for the history of the locks too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Wordless Wednesday. ♥
Such lovely photos! Happy Wednesday! :) <3
ReplyDeleteprobably my pc; are there passengers INSIDE the boats ??? {tried to bigafy } or are they used to transport goods ? ☺☺♥♥
ReplyDeleteSome are hired for holidays but a lot are privately owned. Some people moor up and rarely move. It looks like one in the last photo is carrying some kind of cargo. The privately owned ones are more likely to have intricate painting on the exterior and also container gardens on top.
DeleteI think I need to go on a holiday on a canal....
ReplyDeleteElza Reads
I've never been on a canal boat but there are canals a couple of hours from where I live and it's been my dream to be able to travel on a boat through some of those locks. I have watched them in operation.
ReplyDeleteI think I understand why boaters call them the "last challenge." 😊
ReplyDeleteI like this kind of boats.
The pictures are excellent. I think it's a kind of meditation to watch the boats slide. 😊
Absolutely beautiful.....I think we used one of these as a Teaser a while ago. David and I always wanted to do a canal boat vacation but in the end decided to do the larger river boat cruises.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Pam
It would be a wonderful experience to go boating through the lock. Or watch the boats go by from the pub.
ReplyDeleteAnother awesome place and photos ~ great canal ~ Xo
ReplyDeleteLiving in the moment,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
Locks are definitely an amazing feat of engineering and a test of patience if it takes five hours!
ReplyDeleteHow enchanting. Would love to cruise around a canal some day.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week dear Jackie!
the locks made some old memories pop up. Good ones :) Beautiful place.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely set of images. I'd have to have Mrs H do all the work on the locks for me. Natually she says she'll cycle the towpath and hire some strong lads to the gats and whatnot.
ReplyDeletePurrs
ERin