THE Black Sluice Lock in Lincolnshire has now been in service for 15 years since its official opening on Friday, March 20, 2009. Following the demolition of the old lock and the fixed sluice, a new lock was constructed on the River Witham tideway at the south end of the Black Sluice complex, marking the first steps in ambitious plans to develop a Fens waterways link.
The South Forty Foot Channel leading on from Black Sluice had been closed to navigation since the old lock was taken out of service and converted to a sluice in 1971. Since the opening of the new lock, the first 19km to Donington are navigable for craft that can pass the extremely low London Road Bridge immediately after the west end of the new lock. Limiting dimensions are 22m long x 6m wide with a maximum headroom varying with the bridge arch from 1.7m at the sides to 3.4m at the crown. All other bridges have at least 3m of headroom at normal summer levels. Towpath Talk reporter Alison Alderton’s Sagar Dutch barge Lily was the first craft through this season when she passed through the new lock at 11.40am on Saturday, April 27.
After squeezing under the London Road Bridge, Alison said: “I’m delighted to be back on the Lincolnshire waterways that are so often overlooked and cruising with my family for the first time on the South Forty Foot Channel, an IWA Silver Propeller location. I cannot praise the EA and CRT lock keepers enough for assisting with tideway timings to allow us safe access through Boston. Their enthusiasm to see us exploring this rarely used waterway is awe-inspiring and all are hoping that in the near future, this vital connection in the proposed Fens Waterway link will reach fruition and open up new cruising grounds for boaters.”
