First boats seen at Lordings lock for over 100 years
 A volunteer working party led by Winston Harwood, a member of The Wey and Arun Canal Trust, has restored the remote Lordings site. This is about a mile from any road; the nearest village is Wisborough Green on the A272.
On Sunday, May 23rd, a ½-mile stretch of newly cleared canal saw its first boats in about a hundred years at a special Small Boats event. Canoes, punts and even a small powered cruiser took to the water. The intrepid navigators were able to inspect the only turf-sided lock on the canal, the unique flood gates and the recently completed Flood Gate Bridge.
On the same day, the Trust celebrated the opening of the reconstructed waterwheel nearby. The rare, if not unique "undershot" wheel is about 14 feet in diameter and lifts water 10 feet from the River Arun into the Arun Navigation. It is powered purely by the force of the river Arun. Trust volunteers are also restoring the historic canal lock next to the wheel. The Arun Navigation opened in 1787 and formally closed in 1896; it joined the Wey and Arun Junction Canal at Newbridge, on the A272 near Billingshurst, and formed part of "London's Lost Route to the Sea". It is hard to visualise today's peaceful country waterway as part of a grand strategic plan to allow military supplies to reach Portsmouth from London without danger from French warships.
A new walkway which runs for 200 yards alongside the canal has been built, together with a new footbridge over a recently excavated section of river which is believed to have served as a flood relief measure. The site can be found on OS Explorer Map 134 or Landranger 197 at TW056245.
Winston, who led the restoration of this part of the canal, said he was delighted that the reconstructed wheel was attracting so much interest from passing walkers. At present the water raised by the wheel runs neatly back into the river on the other side on the canal. When restoration of the canal is complete, it will serve its original purpose of ensuring an adequate water supply.
Further information and photographs in the form of JPEG files can be obtained from the Wey and Arun Trust's new Public Relations Officer: Sally Schupke (01483 560543): or e-mail: sally . If you would like to receive future press releases by email or fax, please let Sally know.
For general information on the work of the Wey and Arun Canal Trust, please telephone the Trust office on 01403 752403.
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