MY WIFE and I did the 'Terrible Six' as you call the broad locks up to Stenson, writes David Parsons.
And I heartedly agree with what you say about them and can only be glad that attempting the Leicester Ring anti-clockwise we won't have to come back through them as they really are terrible, with only the Shardlow Lock of the six being reasonable to operate.
Seem to be worse
It was seven years since we last did these locks and they certainly seem to be worse with the two you mentioned, Weston and Swarkestone being particularly difficult to operate. (The picture shows the leaking bottom gates of Weston making it difficult to fill and open the top gates—Editor.) In fact when we got up to Weston the offside bottom gate had been left open, and try and we might neither of us could move it though we could together, though that is not much use as one of us would have been on the boat having gone into the lock, so we rang and asked if there was any possibility of help, but not that day.
So we settled down to a meal and waited until a couple of walkers helped my wife close the gate (not me as we thought people would be more willing to help a woman!)
Swarkestone
At Swarkestone Lock (pictured) our Yorkshire windlass came in handy to wind the paddles, even if only bit by bit we did managed to get them open, and one even needed hard work to close, though normally should be easy.
There was a volunteer at Stenson so that was no problem. But I nearly forgot Derwent Mouth that has that bridge tacked on to the top gates that gives it a lot of weight, but as we both were there to open, it went fairly easy as a two 'man' job.
My apology for 'going-on' a bit, but those locks really got to me.