Watch more of our videos on Shots!
and live on Freeview channel 276

Have you ever wondered how the locks gates at Stanley Ferry are made? Here is your chance to tour the workshop and find out for free with an exclusive tour.

The Canal and River Trust is offering the public a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes at the Stanley Ferry Workshop in Wakefield.

The tour is a chance for residents to discover why every lock gate on the nation’s historic canals are painstakingly made to measure.

The open day will be held on Saturday December 3 between 10am and 4pm.

The trust is offering the public a chance to go behind the scenes of Stanley Ferry Workshop.

The workshop, found on the Aire and Calder Navigation, is one of only two places in the UK where lock gates are manufactured and refurbished by the Canal and River Trust, the charity that cares for 2,000 miles of waterways in England and Wales.

Usually closed to the public, the workshop will open for one day to showcase how these massive gates are expertly crafted.

Richard Parry, chief executive at the Canal and River Trust, said: “We work year-round to maintain navigations but the work we carry out over the winter is at the heart of it.

“The works needed to strengthen the resilience of our 250-year-old infrastructure, with climate change – both heavy rain and drought – present significant and costly challenges to assets which were built when industrial civil engineering was first being developed.

Stanley Ferry Workshop is one of only two places in the UK where lock gates are manufactured and refurbished by the Canal and River Trust,

"It’s more important than ever that these historic waterways are properly funded so we can preserve them for boaters, neighbours, and all those who spend time by them.

“We are very proud of our experts lock gate team at Stanley Ferry and look forward to welcoming people to this unique behind the scenes look at their important work.”

Visitors will be able to take a free guided tour of the expansive woodworking workshop, the beating heart of the charity’s work, where traditional lock gate-making skills have been passed down the generations.

There will also be a chance to see the vast dry dock where boat repairs were once carried out.

Building new lock gates is a year-round job or the tradesmen who work for the Canal and River Trust as every single lock is unique.

Children can enjoy woodwork and festive arts and crafts, plus visitors over the age of six can try fishing with the support of qualified and licensed angling coaches, for free with bait, equipment, permits and licence provided.

Visitors will also be able to meet engineers from the Trust and find out about a nearby winter works repair programme with a 30-minute self-guided walk from Stanley Ferry workshop to Lock three on the Wakefield branch of the Aire and Calder Navigation.

At around 200 feet long, visitors can see the scale of one of the largest locks within the trust’s network with works underway to protect and preserve the structure, that include repairs to the lock ladders, masonry and gates.

To find out more about the Canal and River Trust’s Restoration and repairs programme visit www.canalrivertrust.org.uk/restoration-and-repair-open-days.

The tour is a rare opportunity for visitors to look around the workshop.

To find out more about the free fishing taster session, visit https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/fishing/lets-fish.

Drop-in spaces will be available on the day, but it is recommended that you book ahead to secure your free place for workshop tours and the ‘Let’s Fish’ sessions on the trust’s website https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/enjoy-the-waterways/canal-events-canal-festivals/2022-12-03-stanely-ferry-lock-open-day.

Canal and River Trust to offer rare tours of Wakefield's Stanley Ferry lock gate workshop