WILTS & BERKS CANAL TRUST

Locks 1 to 4 of the Seven Locks can be accessed via Bowds Lane on the road between Wootton Bassett and Lyneham. Please note, not all seven locks can be accessed as elements are within private land with no right of way. The Trust respects this position. Details on this page should not be taken as an invitation to walk the whole length of seven locks.As the name suggests, this flight of locks is one of the business places on the western half of the canal route. The following photographs take you through the locks in turn (photographs taken December 2005)

Lock 1

Lock 1 is the only lock of the flight on the Lyneham side of Bowds Lane. As can be seen from the picture, the area is largely hidden by overgrowth and trees at present.

Recent work has been felling some of the larger trees on the towpath. This had two aims, firstly to clear the path and allow access to the body of the lock.

As can be seen here, the pound and route towards lock 2 is still fairly obvious and takes very little to become waterlogged. The two yellow jackets at the rear of this photograph are far closer to the location of the lock itself.

Since the abandonment of the Canal, Bowds lane has been constructed between locks one and two running across the tail of Lock 2. Although a solution to this problem has not been finalised, it is possible that a lift bridge could be the solution.

Lock 2

During a recent working weekend (December 2005) saw some significant work take place within the body of lock 2.

A number of well established trees were removed from the lock invert and supporting banks. The underlying structure of this lock has been altered considerably following the building of Boyds Lane.

Much of the structure can still be seen but it is possible that the lock may need to be moved a little more towards the pound between lock 2 and 3. (The pound can still be seen in this picture immediately behind the back wall of the lock)

Until this repositioning has been agreed and the solution to the road cutting through the lock is agreed, much of the work is protection and maintenance rather than full restoration.

Lock 3

By far the further forward in terms of restoration and visible progress, lock 3 is even more advanced than this picture (taken in the autumn of 2005) would suggest.

Those in the know in Foxham branch believe there is about one weeks work to complete work on the lock (in terms of brickwork - gates will need to be made for each lock)

However, given that it is too cold to lay bricks during the winter, it's possible the lock walls may not be finished until the spring of 2006

The towpath between locks four and five has also received a great deal of attention over the past few months. Hedges have been layed (a scarce art across the country)

The Waterways Recovery Group (WRG) work camp took place at Seven Locks, Foxham during the last full week of October 2005. Work concentrated on locks 3 and 4 (the central locks and the most advanced in terms of restoration) with additional clean up work on the general site.

WRG members ranging from teachers and IT technicians to spice salesmen and postal workers met to work on seven locks over the week of the camp. Not surprisingly for the last meeting of the year, it was oversubscribed meaning many hands to occupy.

The most advanced of the locks (lock 3) was the focus for the bricklaying team.

Bad weather at the beginning of the week put the team behind schedule, however, by the middle of the week the lock chamber and wing walls were packed with team members making up for lost time. Several experienced bricklayers took the opportunity to pass on their skills as well as overseeing their progress.

As well as the wing walls, a WRG separate team were preparing the supporting wall with a constant flow of cement!

Two cement mixers were working overtime to keep up with the pace and needless to say they managed it with their usual expertise. As shown in this photograph, the terrain was quite difficult with a steep angle between the walls and working area.

Several of the WRG team are repeat visitors to the site and are already hoping to return to any camps held in 2006! Some of the group explained that they are particularly keen on the Wilts & Berks because it is one of the few Trusts offering such a wide range of tasks.Lock three was certainly keeping those who preferred the brickwork and concrete very happy.

It was only when you looked into the chamber of lock three (the work shown above is taking place at the far end) that you could see just how much has been achieved.

The purists will notice the vertical slit in the lock wall on the right hand side. Although not originally part of the lock, this houses the ladder required for modern health and safety regulations.

Although there is still plenty of work on the site, lock three is starting to show what can be expected once restoration moves onto the other locks in the flight.

The Towpath

Several people seeing the towpath stripped of its larger trees have commented that the work has been a little extreme. The picture on the right shows its current state, so you can make your own mind up. However, they can be reassured that the changes will result in a much stronger (and useful in terms of wildlife) hedge and towpath.

Some of the large trees had encroached onto the towpath itself. The "repaired" hedge will grow back over the spring as vigorously as ever, but with far better structure and room to grow further.

The pound between lock 3 and 4 is also very obvious at this point and is managing to handle the run-off water brought on by the downpours over the past few weeks.

As can be seen here, the restored towpath will be fairly sizeable and very attractive once its fully restored. At present, however, there is little point in doing much until the locks have been restored and the need for heavy machinery dies down.Lock 4 (Progress specific to Lock 4 can be found here)

Lock 4

The most recent Waterways Recovery Group week saw a great deal of progress on locks 3 and 4.

As can be seen in the photograph, the walls are something of an issue ! However, a recent inspection shows they are in a better state than was hoped (for the most part).

It's amazing to think the invert (base) of the lock hasn't been seen for the best part of 100 years yet it's still water-tight and in a remarkable condition.

Once the work has been completed on lock 3, this will be the next large-scale project to be undertaken on the flight. However, the scale of this task shouldn't be underestimated.

Between locks 3 and 4 the scrub-bashers were hard at work with their chain saws and loppers.

Large trees overgrowing the "towpath" were felled and the hedges layed providing a clear route between the two locks. This was the area that received most attention during the early week downpours when it was too wet to get into the body of the locks. The former lock pounds have reverted to reed beds and were left untouched in this camp providing a location to burn some of the smaller felled timber. However, despite the elapsed time the boundary of the pounds is still clear and will provide a challenge for a future workcamp.

This newly cleared pathway led further into the site and to lock 4 which was in a far earlier stage of restoration. After some initial attempts to clear the lock by hand, a staging platform was created for the large excavator to allow a deeper reach into the lock chamber. This moved progress on at a great rate, particularly with Rachel at the controls. So much so that by mid week, the base (invert) of the lock could be seen again for the first time in over ninety years.

Ironically, the remaining water in the lock was being held in place by the wooden sill. Despite nearly two hundred years of being submerged under water or latterly silt and mud, showed no signs at all of rotting.

The lock walls show the level the silt had reached and just how much was cleared. By mid-week of the camp, there were only a couple of feet remaining at the far end of the lock with huge coping stones being lifted out by the excavator.

It is hoped that we may be able to gain access to the lock walls in situ to allow a thorough examination to establish their real state. Judging on the amount of water running in from the lock walls during the clearing process, it may well be that we have a bigger task on our hands than was originally thought.

Locks 5, 6 and 7

Part of lock 5, and the entirety of locks 6 and 7 are on private land with no public right of way. Readers of this site are requested to respect this boundary and not to walk or access the towpath past this point. (The boundary is marked by a fence and gate across the path and shows no right of way.)

The Trust is aware of the recent state of locks 5 to 7. These are not fully exposed in the landscape. They were also badly damaged in places in post war demolition practice.