Open weekend at Diglis locks

BRITISH Waterways is inviting members of the public to a special open weekend at Diglis Locks on the Severn to see first-hand what it takes to keep the waterways working.

This will be on Saturday 15th October and Sunday 16th October between 11am and 4pm, with  visitors able to descend into one of the country's deepest locks and walk along its bottom.

Only paired locks

Built in 1844 Diglis Locks are the only paired locks on the Severn. The large lock was designed to allow ship movements to the former oil depot at Worcester, while the smaller lock controlled the movement of craft to Stourport on Severn. The large lock is 33ft wide, 151ft long and 36ft deep—one of the deepest in the country.

As part of the winter repairs and maintenance programme, work at Diglis will involve a thorough inspection of both locks, plus the tunnels which feed the locks together with a series of brickwork and cill repairs in each chamber.

See scale of work

Nick Worthington, British Waterways' Waterway Manager for South Wales & Severn, explained:

"This is an exciting time for British Waterways and as part of this move we are keen to give people a chance to get behind the scenes to see the scale of work we do in order to keep the waterways working."

Visitors are asked to wear suitable footwear, and report to British Waterways/May Gurney Site Office, Navigation Road, Worcester, WR5 3DE.