# ‘There’s a magic about it’: UK’s deepest canal lock gets a spring clean

It is said that an imitation Rolex watch was once found during the spring clean of the UK’s deepest canal lock. Today the most glamorous discoveries are a Tesco shopping trolley and an empty can of Sprite – but spirits are still high.

“I did once come across a full jar of pickled onions,” said Maureen Readle, a volunteer. “But that was a bit further up. Here it is mostly leaves.”

“It is quite hard work actually,” said Andrew Shephard, a retired video game accessory company boss from Cliviger, near Burnley, who volunteers. “This is a complete change to my working life,” he agreed.

A normal day volunteering might involve painting lock gates or general tidying and maintenance, so to be inside the UK’s deepest lock was a genuine thrill, he says.

Tuel Lane lock opened in 1996, the last link in of the restoration of the Rochdale canal – sometimes known as the Everest of canals because of its steepness over the Pennines – which began in the 1970s after its closure in the 1950s.

It is essentially a double-depth lock and is considered one of the most remarkable in the UK, lowering and raising boats by 6 metres (almost 20ft).

“There is an absolute magic about it,” said Peter Burton, the lead volunteer. “When you come out of that tunnel it’s like seeing York Minster, it is a real experience. People will come this way just to say they’ve been in the deepest lock. We give them a certificate.”

Readle is not wrong. There seems to be tonnes of them lying in the murky water at the bottom of Tuel Lane lock in Sowerby Bridge, .

For the lock to properly function it needs to be cleared, and the only way that happens is for dozens of volunteers to don waders and hard hats and climb down into the freezing cold waters of the Rochdale canal. Once there, they push leaves and other debris for hours along the bottom in shifts.

The spring clean began two years ago and is now an annual event, shining a light on the importance of volunteers in keeping  going.

Readle has enjoyed lots of canal holidays over the years so volunteering was a way of giving something back. “When I took part the first time two years ago, I’d never worn a pair of waders before, let alone being waist high in water … but here I am.”

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