Poet shows a way with words as new lock gates are opened

Poetry by Ian McMillan has been carved into the lock gates – which will be lifted into place by a crane at Gargrave locks, near Skipton – by the artist Peter Coates to celebrate the birth year of the Canal & River Trust.

The art project is part of a partnership between the Trust and Arts Council England which sets out to attract more visitors to the UK’s historic waterways.

The gates need to be changed in order to keep the lock in working order for years to come.

Mr McMillan wrote the poem, entitled Canal Words, specifically for the Locklines project. The words “Super High Way Super Wet Way” are engraved into one side of one lock gate beam and the words “Super Slow Way Super Low Way” into the other side.

Started in the 1770s to cross the Pennines, the 127-mile long Leeds & Liverpool Canal took more than 40 years to complete. The lock at Gargrave was completed in 1775 but it was not until 1791 that construction of the canal south west of the town recommenced.

This winter the Trust is spending £50m on conservation and maintenance works along 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales, replacing 104 lock gates and undertaking other essential repairs.