Watford Locks

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The 4-lock staircase, part of Watford Locks on the Grand Union Canal

Watford Locks (grid reference SP592688) is a group of seven locks on the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal, close to the village of Watford in Northamptonshire, England, famous for the Watford Gap service area.

The locks are formed (looking from the south), of two single locks, a staircase of four, and a final single lock. Together they lift the canal 16m (52ft 6in) to the "Leicester Summit", which it maintains all the way to Foxton Locks.

The locks were built to carry narrowboats, and the system was opened in 1814. In the early 20th century there were plans to build an inclined plane similar to that at Foxton as part of a scheme to allow the passage of barges, but the plan was abandoned when the inclined plane at Foxton proved uneconomic.

When the Grand Union Canal was formed in 1929, there were further proposals to widen the flight as part of the modernisation going on elsewhere on the Grand Union's network, but these plans did not develop further.

The locks are hemmed in by the Roman Watling Street (now the A5 road), the M1 motorway, and the West Coast Main Line railway, which all fit through the narrow gap in the hills.

The locks are usually manned during the summer to prevent water shortages in the ponds between the locks. The keeper also ensures the locks run smoothly and quickly. It should take approximately 45 minutes to complete this flight; it is made quicker by the fact that the locks are single beam and the gates are light.

[edit] Access

Access from the A5 Watling Street is difficult and not suitable for wheelchairs or prams.

Going northbound, park on the hard standing outside the very large Caravan sales-shop (this is public land) between the two turnings signposted for Watford (as in Watford Gap). Walk across the frontage to the signpost for the Jurassic Way footpath, cross over a stile and the locks are less than 50 metres.

Coordinates: 52°18′50″N 1°07′55″W / 52.3140, -1.1318