Foxton Locks

6 January 2013

A little walk around Foxton Locks must first start with working out what the right fee is to pay for the car park. Do I get a fine if I pay for the full day but leave within 4 hours?

Walking along the summit level of the canal

The top lock

Looking down the upper staircase of five locks

The numbering seems odd but is correct - going down, the lock below these gates is number 9 on the canal, but going up the lock above these gates is number 8.

A boat on the move produces a lot of gongoozlers

The route to the base of the inclined plane is nowadays used for residential moorings, but perhaps one day might be in use again to access the caissons of water moving up and down the hill on rails.

The swing bridge is on the route of the original canal to Market Harborough, now a branch since the canal wasn't continued from there, instead heading up the hill here at Foxton.

On a little further exploration along the canal, a Grand Junction Canal Company milepost on what is now known as the Grand Union Canal and was originally the Leicestershire and Northamptonshire Union Canal

Pubs at the bottom of the Foxton locks

These tipper trucks were known as Jubilee trucks because they were made at the time of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887, and were used in the making of the inclined plane.

The inclined plane was conceived by Gordon Cale Thomas

The remains of the inclined plane. The upper canal was immediately to the right of the brick structure, from where caissons filled with water were winched down or up the slope on iron rails.

Looking down the slope

A boat peeks out of a dry bit of canal to show how the inclined plane worked

From on top of the museum, another look at the staircase locks that the inclined plane replaced, but only for about ten years.

Heading back along the "new" bit of canal built to access the top of the inclined plane. These gates help protect against leaks and floods.

Two muddy dogs after an interesting exploration.