Fossdyke Navigation slipway, Torksey
The Fossdyke Navigation is a Roman-built canal, among the oldest working watercourses in Britain, running eleven lock-free miles from Torksey to Brayford Pool in Lincoln. At its western end here, the canal meets the tidal River Trent at Torksey Lock.
Eleven lock-free miles to Lincoln
From the slipway the Fossdyke Navigation runs lock-free for the whole eleven miles to Brayford Pool in Lincoln. The route crosses flat, open Lincolnshire countryside in long straight reaches: a railway bridge at Saxilby around five miles in, Burton Waters marina and housing at about seven miles, the A46 road bridge at nine miles, and Carholme Golf Course as the canal nears the city, where Lincoln Cathedral comes into view.
Torksey Lock sits beside the slipway, a Grade II listed nineteenth-century structure with gates facing each way so it can work at most states of the tide on the River Trent beyond; in flood, the Trent's level can stand higher than the canal's. It is the only lock on the whole canal and marks the navigation's western limit. The Fossdyke's published maximum craft dimensions, 21.3 metres long and 4.67 metres wide, with a 1.52 metre draught and 3.66 metre headroom, give a sense of the size of the powered traffic the canal was built to carry.
Nearby
A tea room in the lock buildings beside Torksey Lock, about 150m from the slipway.
Newark Road, Torksey Lock, Lincoln, LN1 2EL. Predominantly an owner-occupied static holiday-home park (101 owned homes), with a small number of touring and tent pitches, per a caravan-park directory listing; open all year. Not found as a named element in OpenStreetMap.
WebsiteNewark Road, Torksey, Lincoln, LN1 2EJ. A static caravan holiday-home site (all owner-occupied) with 3 touring pitches, per a caravan-park directory listing. Not found as a named element in OpenStreetMap.
WebsiteConditions to check
Torksey Lock, the only lock on the whole canal, sits immediately beside the launch. It is keeper-operated and passage through it onto the tidal River Trent must be booked at least 48 hours in advance.
SourceThe River Trent, immediately beyond Torksey Lock, is tidal at this point and can stand higher than the canal's level in flood.
SourceThe Environment Agency's River Trent at Torksey gauge records a normal range of 1.40m to 4.65m, with the highest level on record 7.42m on 6 January 2024.
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