Hawkesbury Junction to Oxford, England along The Oxford Canal - Photos of all the Canal Locks.

There are plenty of delightful Locks to be found on the Oxford Canal including the Lock Flights at Claydon, Napton and Hillmorton.

The 77 mile long Oxford Canal wanders it's way through the English countryside between Oxford (The River Thames) and Hawkesbury Junction near Coventry and was fully opened in 1790 so it's one of England's older canals. This sequence of Oxford Canal lock photos start off from Isis Lock (shown on the right) which is in the middle of the City of Oxford. There is a short link for narrowboats wishing to go to the River Thames which leaves besides Isis Lock - the other opportunity for narrowboats to reach The Thames is by leaving the Oxford Canal at Lock 44b and going along Dukes Cut. The next opportunity to leave the Oxford Canal is some miles away when the canal shares it's waters from Napton Junction to Branston Turn with the Grand Union Canal Main Line. Our photo guide show all the locks from Oxford - including the excellent flight of locks at Napton and particularly those at Hillmorton Locks - and then on to the other end of the Oxford Canal at Hawkesbury Junction (commonly known as Sutton Stop) where it meets up with the Coventry Canal.

About Canal Locks. The first European canal locks were designed in The Netherlands where there was a requirement to move boats between the drainage dykes and rivers however these were more about controlling the water levels. Leonardo da Vinci ultimately designed a system which could be used to move boats up and down gradients - this featured mitred lock gates which were angled upstream against the current and thus created a water tight seal due to the water pressure. This remains the basic design for lockgates still today. The first canal to use this system in England was the Exeter Canal which was built between 1564 and 1567.

Wolvercote Lock

Dukes Lock

Dukes Lock

Dukes Cut Lock

Kidlington Green Lock

Kidlington Green Lock

Roundham Lock

Shipton Weir Lock

Lock at Shipton Weir

Bakers Lock

Bakers Lock

Pigeons Lock

Northbrook Lock

Northbrook Lock

Dashwoods Lock

Dashwood's Lock

Allen's Lock

Allen's Lock

Heyford Common Lock no.35

Somerton Deep Lock

Somerton Deep Lock

Aynho Weir Lock

Aynho Weir Lock and Weir Bridge

Nell Bridge Lock

Nell Bridge Lock

The narrow Nell Bridge Lock

King's Sutton Lock

King's Sutton Lock

Grants Lock

Banbury Lock

Hardwick-Lock 28

Hardwick-Lock Gates

Little Bourton Lock nbr 27

Little Bourton Lock

Little Bourton Lock Gates

Little Bourton Lock

Slat Mill Lock

Slat Mill Lock 27

Cropedy Lock 25

Cropedy Lock

Broadmoor Lock 24

Varneys Lock 23

Varneys Lock nbr 23

Elkingtons Lock 22

Claydon Bottom Lock

Claydon Bottom Lock 21

Claydon Lock 20

Claydon Lock 20

Claydon Middle Lock 19

Claydon Middle Lock

Claydon Lock 18

Claydon Lock 18

Claydon Top Lock 17

Claydon Top Lock

Claydon Top Lock 17

Napton Top Lock, Marston Doles

Napton Top Lock

Napton Lock 15

Napton Lock 15 gates

Napton Adkins Lock 14

Napton Adkins Lock 14 Gates

Napton Lock 13 Gates

Napton Lock 13

Napton Lock 12

Napton Lock 12

Lock 11 at Napton

Napton Lock 11

Lock 10 at Napton

Napton Lock 10 Gates

Napton Lock 09

Lock 9 at Napton

Napton Bottom Lock 08

Napton Bottom Lock 8

Hillmorton Toplocks 6 and 7

Hillmorton - Locks 6 and 7

The series of twin locks at Hillmorton are in a really nice spot - and also have the added benefit of several bench seats so you can rest your achy feet for a while if out on a long Oxford Canal towpath walk. The original locks at Hillmorton were modernised into twinlocks during the 19th century to create more commercial canal boat throughput.

Hillmorton twinlocks 6 and 7

Locks 4 and 5 at Hillmorton

Twinlocks 4 and 5 at Hillmorton

Hillmorton locks 4 and 5

Hillmorton Locks - 4 and 5

twinlocks 2 and 3 Hillmorton

Hillmorton twinlocks 2 and 3

Hillmorton locks 2 and 3

Hawkesbury Junction - Sutton Stoplock1

Hawkesbury Junction - Stoplock 1

Our Oxford Canal Photos with every bridge and lock are split through several pages as follows:-
A photo record of all the canal's locks (this page)
Oxford Canal North - Sutton Stop to Braunston Turn
The Oxford Canal - Braunston south to Banbury
Banbury to the City of Oxford and the end of the Oxford Canal

We have picked out a few Books about England - concerning the waterways of England. The Nicholsons Waterways Guides are a "must take" for anyone going on a Canal Barge or Narrowboat holiday (as well as anyone visiting the canals) as they are packed with really useful information. (The relevant Nicholson Guide covering The Oxford Canal is BOOK 1.)
If the development and history of our English and British Canals is of particular interest consider looking at the Anatomy of Canals series which are really good reading!.