Lock gates for Glastonbury

ONCE again British Waterways have donated old lock gates to Glastonbury, this time from the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal, and transported them a short distance to their new home at the Glastonbury Festival.

In the past old gates from Caen Hill Flight on the Kennet & Avon Canal have also been donated to the festival, for various uses. The ones this time were removed from Lower Maunsell Lock on the Bridgwater and Taunton Canal. They were  transported by road to Worthy Farm, which is the home of the world famous Glastonbury Festival. Once on site they will be stored, ready to be put to good use when building commences for the next festival.

Plenty of use in them

Michael Eavis, Glastonbury Festival founder, enthused:

"It's great that British Waterways has donated these wonderful lock gates to us, and even better that they have come from the local area. The gates may have come to the end of their working waterway life but there's still plenty of use in them for us. From beautiful bridges to sound proofing our noisiest circus arena and lots more ideas still to come, I guarantee these gates will not be wasted."

British Waterways has so far donated over 140 tonnes worth of lock gates to the festival organisers to help them build unique features at the iconic festival site. Most of the lock gates that have been donated over the past few years have originated from the Caen Hill Lock Flight on the Kennet and Avon Canal. This picture of the two by British Waterways shows Michael Eaves with one of the lock gates.

Put to good use

Mark Stephens, British Waterways' waterway manager explained:

"Lock gates are a unique feature of the waterways and we are always looking at ways we can reuse and recycle gates once we can no longer use them. Although lock gates are quite large and weigh several tonnes, the festival team at Glastonbury have demonstrated in the past just how versatile and inventive you can be and have put the gates to good use."

The balance beams from the lock gates will also be reused, and are being donated to the volunteers at Maunsell Lock Canal Centre to be made into raised flower beds and to act as extra seating for visitors.