Conservation at Shifford Lock on the Thames

Thursday, 10 November 2011 09:00

We were moored at the lock landing below Shifford Lock and a boat was in the lock

But what else was there to see? .......

How about a willow bower?

A bottom gate was missing and the sluice gear had been dismantled and left on the lock side

Sluice gear

The gate beam and platform were also on the lock side

We crossed to the lock island - a pretty place with apple trees and herbaceous plants.

We inspected the place of the missing gate and had a wander to the weir: 

The lock should be open by 21st December, just in time for the Christmas cruisers!

From the island, the Lock House looked attractive in the occasional sunshine:

On the way back across the top gates, I took a snap of the sluice gear as it should look:

 We had a chat to the relief keeper who was covering Shifford Lock and Northmoor Lock. He explained that the resident Lock Keeper here is somewhat of a conservationist and has built a "bug**ry" insect lodge - what a work of art, let alone a wonderful home for the local insects:

Insect Lodge

Nearby the lock is "The Chimney" and meadows. There is a Saxon cemetery and a small settlement developed around it. The meadows are a nature reserve. There is no "chimney" - the place name is Old English, meaning the "Island of a man called Ceomma". 

it was time to return downstream and we turned in the mouth of the Duxford weir stream just below the lock. It was tight (a 60' boat would struggle) as there is a mud bar between the stream and lock, but we made it!

Duxford Stream

We did not want too go far, but we knew that we could moor below Newbridge .......