Bingley's Five Rise Locks, one of the greatest feats of canal engineering

Originally a stable block for horses that pulled narrowboats, the cafe welcomes tourists from all over the world, many of them in the area to see one of the Canal and River Trust’s seven wonders of the waterway.

The cafe sits on the water’s edge above the Five Rise Locks from which it takes its name. As implied, a boat passing through the area is lifted or lowered in five stages.

The staircase locks were built in 1774, designed by John Longbotham, of Halifax, the canal’s first engineer.

A news report described their opening as being welcomed by “the ringing of church bells, a band of music, the firing of guns by the neighbouring militia, the shouts of the spectators and the marks of satisfaction so important an event merits.”

Thousands of people gathered to watch the first boats make the 60ft descent through the locks – and even today that remains quite the accomplishment.

According to the Canal and River Trust, it takes up to an hour to ascend the locks and up to 30 minutes to head down – the length of time perhaps not surprising, given the locks are steeper, as well as wider and deeper, than any other flight of staircase locks in Britain.

The Five Rise is one of the most standout sights on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. With the cafe at the top and a private mooring site for boats, they are a popular spot for walkers and cyclists.

During the summer months there are often lock keepers on duty to help boats through the locks and monitor water levels. One former lock keeper, Barry Whitelock, who had been at the site since 1978, retired in 2017, making him the country’s longest-serving lock keeper, quite a feat.

On the matter of feats, the locks are a Grade I-listed structure, with a listing by public body Historic England describing them as “one of the greatest feats of engineering of the canal age”. And they’re set against this beautiful backdrop.

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