W A Cadbury Lock | lock (water navigation)

United Kingdom / England / Stratford-upon-Avon /
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Lock on Upper Avon Navigation - previously Welford Lock.

The downstream section of the lock landing is exposed to the flow from the tail of the weir. Caution is needed when mooring at times of high flow - a narrowboat was capsized and sunk here in July 2007, causing serious injury to her skipper.
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Coordinates:   52°10'2"N   1°47'29"W

Comments

  • We sailed through here on the 29th of June 2007. The river was in the red and we were trying hard to get off the river.We were taking a calculated risk to avoid what came later. We tied up to set the lock and in a short space of time the boat was drawn over at an angle of around 50 degrees causing us to ship water in the scuppers. This was the most difficult lock on the Avon and requires the use of bow, centre and stern ropes to hold the boat flat against the pull of the weir. At times of high flow it is not possible to coast into the lock landing you have to maintain power until well onto the landing.
  • Absolutely right. I've just uploaded a picture I took of the sunken boat, taken on 9th July 2007. Water level was at the top of the amber. The narrowboat skipper was singlehanded and only using a centre rope. He ended up in Coventry hospital with a crushed hand.
This article was last modified 17 years ago