The Stratford-upon-Avon Canal - Lapworth Lock Flight.

The series of Locks which make up Lapworth Lock Flight on the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal are some of the most interesting to be found on the English Waterways.

The Canal's locks are very similar to those found on the beautiful old Oxford Canal i.e. they are narrow and only one barge at a time can go through. Transversing Lapworth Locks can therefore take some time - particularly the 6 to 14 sequence and shortly after that the 15 to 19 sequence of locks all of which are right on top of each other. Around halfway down the flight there is the canal junction at Kingswood (the Lapworth Link) where a connection to the Grand Union Canal exists - just to add to the fun!.

Where are Lapworth Locks and how to get there.

A good place to park in order to have a walk and look around at least some of the huge Lapworth Lock Flight is the small car park at Brome Hall Lane, just off Old Warwick Road (B4439) near Lapworth. If you put in B94 5QZ on your car navigation it will get you close. Usually busy on Summer weekends but quieter during weekdays - the car park is alongside a Canal Basin, near to Lapworth Lock 21 and also very close to the Lapworth Link which links the canal with the Grand Union Canal. Another option for parking could be at Lapworth railway station (Chiltern Railways) which is on Station Lane off the B4439 at B94 6JJ - however there are only 20 parking spaces and it's chargeable unless using a train. The area around the flight of locks at Lapworth is really well maintained with plenty of grass areas and quite a few bench seats available for people to use whilst perhaps watching the narrowboats navigating the many locks.

From Kings Norton Junction and the start of the Stratford-upon-Avon Canal the first lock which is in use is Lapworth Toplock 2. This is because the first lock on the canal is the Guillotine Lock (Lock 1) - always left open these days. Toplock seems quite compressed and narrow somehow - there is a bridge right next to the lock gates and the area surround the lock is itself very narrow and bordered by trees and foliage.
The Lapworth Lock Flight consists of 26 locks in all with locks 6 to 14 immediately next to each other - the locks themselves are single locks with double bottom gates. In between each lock there is a quite large pool / pound of water available for any transitting narrowboats needing to wait their turn - these mini-reservoirs are also very useful for providing an immediate water source to the locks. The whole area is very pictuesque, easy to wander around and also home to quite a lot of wildlife!.