Join us for a visit to the Canal & River Trust workshop at Stanley Ferry. We will tour the woodworking workshop where the gates are put together, visit the engineering rooms, as well as the dry dock, and then on to the canal side.

Lock gate making and fitting is an extremely skilled and traditional trade and one that remains essential to the waterways. Lock gates are constructed with tremendous strength as they have to control huge water pressures, take the hard usage they get from the thousands of boats which use them each year and survive for a long time underwater and at the mercy of the elements.

As different canals were originally built by individual pre-Victorian entrepreneurs, each one varies from the other and there is no standard design. Therefore, every individual lock gate is unique to its canal and has to be hand crafted to achieve a water-tight fit in its chamber.

How to book your place

If you are interested in joining us please contact Nigel Ward. Numbers are limited to 25 so early booking is essential.

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