The main line of the canal connects the city of Leeds with the city of Liverpool. At Leeds it has a junction with the Aire and Calder Navigation. There is a separate arm on the canal at Wigan which connects to Leigh and has a junction with the Bridgewater Canal. There is also an arm at Burscough to Tarleton which has a junction with the Douglas Navigation.
The locks on this canal were designed to carry the ‘short boats’ that had twice the capacity of the narrow boats used on other canals.
The locks therefore had to be wide enough to allow the 62 feet long, 14 feet wide boats through them. Most of the locks were also grouped together to give long runs between the locks.
The boats were mainly used to carry bulk cargoes such as coal, stone and limestone. Commercial traffic ceased in 1964, but the locks are still used to carry leisure boats which have become very popular. Ironically the leisure craft are often narrow boats, because there are links to other canals, and wider boats would not be able to pass through the locks on the other canals. These locks are wide enough to allow two narrow boats to enter the lock side by side.
The construction of the canal was started in 1770 and the first section opened in 1774 and it as finally completed in 1816. The canal is 127 3/4 miles long through 91 locks.
Locks 30 – 35 Gargrave flight
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| Lock 30 – Holme Bridge lock |
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| Lock 31 – Eshton Road lock |
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| Lock 31 – Eshton Road lock |
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| Lock 32 – Higherland lock |
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| Lock 33 – Anchor lock |
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| Lock 33 – Anchor lock |
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| Lock 33 – Anchor lock |
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| Lock 33 – Anchor lock |
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| Lock 34 – Scarland lock |
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| Lock 34 – Scarland lock |
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| Lock 34 – Scarland lock |
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| Lock 35 – Stegneck lock |
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| Lock 35 – Stegneck lock |
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| Lock 35 – Stegneck lock |
Locks 36 – 41 Bank Newton flight (56’ 0”)
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| Lock 36 – Bank Newton Bottom lock |
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| Lock 36 – Bank Newton Bottom lock |
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| Lock 37 |
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| Lock 37 |
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| Lock 37 |
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| Lock 38 |
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| Lock 38 |
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| Lock 38 |
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| Lock 39 |
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| Lock 40 – Plantation lock |
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| Lock 41 – Bank Newton Top lock |
Locks 42 – 44 Greenberfield locks (29’ 1”)
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| Lock 42 – Greenberfield Bottom lock |
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| Lock 43 – Greenberfield Middle lock |
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| Lock 44 – Greenberfield Top lock |
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| Lock 44 – Greenberfield Top lock |
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| Lock 44 – Greenberfield Top lock |
Locks 45 – 51 Barrowford locks (69’ 3 ½”)
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| Lock 45 – Barrowford Top lock |
Lock 47
Lock 48 – Barrowford Middle lock
Lock 49 [NO PICTURE]
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| Lock 50 |
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| Lock 51 – Barrowford Bottom lock |
Locks 52 – 57 Blackburn locks (54’ 8 ½”)
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| Lock 52 – Blackburn Top lock |
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| Lock 52 – Blackburn Top lock |
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| Lock 52 – Blackburn Top lock |
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| Lock 53 |
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| Lock 53 |
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| Lock 53 |
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| Lock 54 |
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| Lock 54 |
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| Lock 54 |
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| Lock 54 |
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| Lock 55 |
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| Lock 55 |
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| Lock 55 |
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| Lock 55 |
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| Lock 56 |
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| Lock 56 |
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| Lock 56 |
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| Lock 56 |
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| Lock 56 |
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| Lock 57 – Blackburn Bottom lock |
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| Lock 57 – Blackburn Bottom lock |
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| Lock 57 – Blackburn Bottom lock |
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| Lock 57 – Blackburn Bottom lock |
Locks 58 – 64 Johnson’s Hill locks (65’ 6”)
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| Lock 58 - Johnson’s Hill Top lock |
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| Lock 58 - Johnson’s Hill Top lock |
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| Lock 58 - Johnson’s Hill Top lock |
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| Lock 59 |
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| Lock 59 |
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| Lock 59 |
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| Lock 60 |
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| Lock 60 |
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| Lock 60 |
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| Lock 61 |
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| Lock 61 |
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| Lock 61 |
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| Lock 62 |
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| Lock 62 |
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| Lock 62 |
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| Lock 63 |
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| Lock 63 |
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| Lock 64 - Johnson’s Hill Bottom lock |
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| Lock 64 - Johnson’s Hill Bottom lock |
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| Lock 64 - Johnson’s Hill Bottom lock |
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| Lock 64 - Johnson’s Hill Bottom lock |
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| Lock 64 - Johnson’s Hill Bottom lock |
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| Lock 64 - Johnson’s Hill Bottom lock |
Locks 65 – 87 Wigan flight (214’ 7”)
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| Lock 65 – Wigan Top lock |
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| Lock 77 |
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| Lock 77 |
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| Lock 81 |
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| Lock 81 |
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| Lock 81 |
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| Lock 81 |
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| Lock 83 |
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| Lock 83 |
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| Lock 83 |
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| Lock 83 |
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| Lock 86 – Henhurst lock |
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| Lock 86 – Henhurst lock |
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| Lock 87 – Wigan Bottom lock |
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| Lock 87 – Wigan Bottom lock |
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| Lock 87 – Wigan Bottom lock |
Abandoned lock at Crooke
Lock 88 Pagefield lock
Lock 89 Ell Meadow lock (6’ 7”)
Lock 89 Ell Meadow lock (disused)
Lock 90 Dean lock (6’ 9”)
Lock 90 Gathurst lock (abandoned)
Lock 90 - Appley River lock (abandoned)
The lock on the right used to drop down to the river. The lock on the left is the current lock 90 Appley lock.
Lock 91 Appley West lock (abandoned)
This and the east lock were replaced by 91 Applet deep lock.
Lock 91 Appley Deep lock (12’ 0”)
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