Walton Locks, Warrington. 06/10
 

I could find very little info about this place! I spotted it on Google Earth and decided to check it out. It is a small channel just off the Manchester Ship Canal At Stockton Heath.
It is a lock with 3 gates and various manual pulling systems dotted around the site to mechanically open/close the gates.
I looked in Emapping Cheshire and an aerial photo of the site in the 70’s shows that the other side of the locks was a waterway that fed into the River Mersey.
That section was the Runcorn and Latchford Canal, it is closed off now and vanishes in the mass of undergrowth at the lock section.

Entrance to the locks.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-70.jpg

First gate.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-13.jpg

Some kind of winding device.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-24.jpg

Gate 2.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-27.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-32.jpg

Gate mechanics.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-33.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-34.jpg

Gate 3.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-35.jpg

A man powered winding system.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-37.jpg

The twisted hull of a vessel that remained.
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-45.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-51.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-52.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-57.jpg

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-58.jpg

This had a gauge on it, so it maybe to show the water depth?
http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y16...onLocks-66.jpg

I saw these too, Great stuff mate :)

Nice one like the look of this

I cant find your location on googlemaps, but is it not the old acton loading dock?

this may be of help.. 1950's map of the canal - http://www.canalarchive.org.uk/map/oldSCHome.php

Nicely photographed. I used to live in Stockton Heath and occasionally wandered down here.

Nice little find that, interesting bit of local history.

For some reason this brought back memories of when me and Gibbo did the Concrete Barges in Lymm. :D

Just remembered where this is actually, I remember looking across the ship canal in 2008 I think and wondering what it was. Go down the road a little further and there's a great pub on the corner!

What a great little find, reminds me of a section of the Rochdale canal at Castleton (from many, many moons ago in my childhood).

this place is just near Stocktom Heath on the North side of the canal. It reminds me of the concrete barges too, I've been down there twice now - nature has just taken over and shown no mercy!