Northgate Locks - under appreciated?

[The Bearwood Boster]

I'm originally from Chester & used to cross those locks every day during term time(aged 11 to 18).It felt really strange the first time I was actually in them on our boat-me on my own & Paul with a volocky up above.It felt an awfully long way down...

[Jim Riley]

4 hours ago, cuthound said:

I've always dropped through them to moor in the basin whenever I've visited Chester.

 

They are impressive locks.

 

I lurve approaching Chester by boat, going under the city wall it is the nearest you are likely to get to boating in the moat of a castle.

Skipton Springs Branch, once went right to the end in our first boat, 17.5ft cruiser. It goes under the castle walls.

[cuthound]

Just now, Jim Riley said:

Skipton Springs Branch, once went right to the end in our first boat, 17.5ft cruiser. It goes under the castle walls.

 

True, on the first occasion we went to Skipton we hadn't time to explore it and on the second the landslip had happened.

 

[springy]

They were certainly leaky in 2007

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwuAMOJmUic

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDuh9cCg1PY

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iYHuZI_wUE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA1RCy2NCvQ

 

springy

[roland elsdon]

I remember getting soaked on the back of 70 ft Thaxted going uphill. The boat was open except for a deck board and false cratch section that was clothed. The hold needed pumping out after. Part way up the lock I hid in the engine room the downpour was so bad.

[jpcdriver]

On 29/07/2022 at 17:51, Jim Riley said:

Skipton Springs Branch, once went right to the end in our first boat, 17.5ft cruiser. It goes under the castle walls.

Somewhere around 1980 or 1981 my brother and I took a 45ft hire boat to the end, not realising the basin at the end was so limited. We did manage to pole it around (just) with front and rear fenders raised. Got a load of rubbish on our prop coming back out to the junction. Glad we did it though as I don't think we ever going to be able to do it again, even in a much smaller boat.

[magpie patrick]

To go back to the beginning.... 

Northgate locks are interesting because: 

 

• They were once a five rise and are now a three rise, which I think makes them the only staircase to have been remodelled this way in the UK - others were bypassed or removed but Northgate were given a new lower level somewhat higher than they originally had (Note 1)
• They're cut through solid rock, I'm not sure there are ny other locks like this and certainly no other staircases in the UK (note 2)
• Possibly as a result of their construction, the ground paddles for the intermediate gates are on one side only (note 3)

Note 1 - Fonserranes in Beziers is similar in this regard, although they kept both routes open by having a lock with three entrances, whereas in Chester they tool the much more pragmatic route of building a new canal line for the original route to the Dee

 

Note 2 - The original Trollehatte locks, and some US ones, are also cut through solid rock

 

Note 3 - there are several staircases oversees that don't (or didn't) have ground paddles at all

59 minutes ago, jpcdriver said:

Somewhere around 1980 or 1981 my brother and I took a 45ft hire boat to the end, not realising the basin at the end was so limited. We did manage to pole it around (just) with front and rear fenders raised. Got a load of rubbish on our prop coming back out to the junction. Glad we did it though as I don't think we ever going to be able to do it again, even in a much smaller boat.

 

The Moss Family did the Springs Branch in Wirral Dawn in 1971, and possibly in Wirral Mist in 1972 - hire boats from Haskayne, I would have been 6 and 7 on each trip, I was saddened on a recent visit to see it was blocked and like you fear it will never reopen.

 

[kawaton]

There were volockies there on Thursday when I went down them.

they were there again on Friday when I went up them.

top lock leaking badly, second lock not much better.