thames lock steps

[lenten]

last week i finished an 11 day trip from the river wey to lechlade and back----as the river was on red boards for most of my trip and i never saw another boat moving for seven days perhaps it was not surprising that the vast majority of the locks were unmanned---i have got a 15 foot open boat which meant i had to use the steps a lot----they would slippery but manageable with a hand rail but a few have no handrails ----osney lock was the worst----very narrow ---nothing to grab hold of---even a chain would have helped----will be emailing the EA with my comments/complaint----will let you know how i get on

 

[TrueBlue]

last week i finished an 11 day trip from the river wey to lechlade and back----as the river was on red boards for most of my trip and i never saw another boat moving for seven days perhaps it was not surprising that the vast majority of the locks were unmanned---i have got a 15 foot open boat which meant i had to use the steps a lot----they would slippery but manageable with a hand rail but a few have no handrails ----osney lock was the worst----very narrow ---nothing to grab hold of---even a chain would have helped----will be emailing the EA with my comments/complaint----will let you know how i get on

I wish you luck....

There was a time when the locks were regularly cleaned - but H&S and the opinion that the chemicals used damahed the cement put paid to that.

You didn't seemany lockies because their principal job is to work the weirs - which have to be adjusted when the flow changes - as it does when there's a lot of water around.

 

[Outinthedinghy]

Yes they stopped cleaning lock walls with caustic soda quite a while ago that must have been late 90s!

For small boats with no keeper around I have sometimes opted to just pull it in on a long line.. obviously some locks including Osney the lock controls are the opposite side to the lower layby so you have to decide if the extra time walking round the lock is worth it for you.

And this depends on your attitude to potential boat damage while lock is filling. but it does make it easier to get through the locks as it takes the steps out of the equation. Not so straightforward going down though.

 

[lenten]

the slipperyness of the steps didn t worry me ---the lack of handrails did

 

[Alan ashore]

It's a good few years since I made that trip, and I think I might find the worst of the steps a little daunting now. Absolutely agree about the handrail being the important thing. In many ways astonishing that in an age that is far more conscious of safety than earlier ones, handrails are not mandatory.

 

[Big John]

the slipperyness of the steps didn t worry me ---the lack of handrails did

It was probably covered in green slime and you could not see it against the green slime wall.