Kilby Lock to Kings Lock

Following a healthy period of rainfall and snow melt in December and the early part of January, we are happy to advise that the reservoirs supplying the Leicester Line are now at a much improved level. As such, we will be re-opening the Leicester Line from Noon on Friday 12th January.

We would still like to carry out minor works to some of the locks along this length and envisage carrying out these works in the first half of March, and so there will be short closures at that time.

We would ask boaters to help us conserve water by sharing a lock where space allows, making sure all gates and paddles are shut after use and inviting oncoming boats through where they can make use of the water within the lock.

In order to help our boating customers while this closure is in place, we have decided to open the navigation on Monday 22nd January.

On this day the Leicester Line will be open between Kings Lock’s and Kilby Lock from 9:00am, with the last passage in either direction from either of these locks at 10:30am.

This is for passage through the section only; there will be no mooring within the section.

If you wish to make use of the opening of the navigation on this day, can you please contact our office in advance, on [email protected]  

This will help us to plan our resources in advance of the opening and on the day.

In order to help our boating customers while this closure is in place, we have decided to open the navigation for an additional day in December.

On Saturday 16th December, the Leicester Line will be open between Kings Lock’s and Kilby Lock from 9am, with the last passage in either direction from either of these locks at 10:30am.

This is for passage through the section only; there will be no mooring within the section.

If you wish to make use of the opening of the navigation on this day, can you please contact our office in advance, on [email protected]  

This will help us to plan our resources in advance of the opening and on the day.

If you wish to make use of the opening of the navigation on Saturday 25th November between 9am and Noon, can you please contact our office in advance, on [email protected].

This will help us to plan our resources in advance of the opening and on the day.

We would like to advise of the last opportunity to turn your boat before reaching the Lock closures.   

Going up stream, the last winding hole to turn is near Freemans  Meadow Lock.  

Coming down stream it's the winding hole next to the facilities at Kilby. 

In order to help our boating customers while this closure is in place, we have decided to open the navigation on two days in November.

On Saturday 4th November and Saturday 25th November, the Leicester Line will be open between Kings Lock’s and Kilby Lock from 9am, with the last passage in either direction from either of these locks at Noon.

This is for passage through the section only; there will be no mooring within the section.  

We will look into opening the section on further days in December depending on the take up of these two dates.

We believe that these limited openings strike the right balance between conserving water and making sure boaters who need to can pass through the section.

Following a prolonged period of dry weather over last autumn, winter and spring, some of the reservoir holdings that supply the Leicester Line of the Grand Union Canal are lower than we would normally expect at this time of year.

Some of the reservoirs, which did not fully refill last winter and have not responded significantly to the recent rainfall, are close to reaching their minimum levels. As a consequence we are temporarily, and reluctantly, closing the canal between Kilby Lock 30 and Kings Lock 38 from 3pm on Wednesday 27 September.

By closing this section of canal now we will give the reservoirs a longer period to refill over the winter ready for next year’s boating.

We can’t at this stage give any details on how long the closure may last but we will keep you updated as the situation progresses.