Isis Lock, South Oxford Canal
Isis Lock, South Oxford Canal, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2RQ
For 228 years Isis Lock has stood as the gateway to the Oxford Canal, allowing boats to access the Thames from as far a field as Manchester and Leeds and brining valuable goods to Oxford itself. Originally designed as the main link from the Warwickshire coal fields to West London, the Oxford Canal has always been a place of industry, but more than that it was a home. Boaters lived alongside their cargo on the narrowboats and developed a rich culture that survived largely unchanged until the mid-20th Century. With rail and road competition, the boaters and industries that kept the canal alive slowly declined. The South Oxford Canal became the home of the future, the birth of the canal leisure industry, that keeps over 2,000 miles of canal alive today.
Join us at the lockside to hear fun stories of the canal: how the canal was born from political corruption, where boater-kids attended school while constantly on the move, who were the women keeping canals going during wartime, what role the founder of Morris Motors played in saving the canal, and how local people work hard in Oxford to keep it going today.
Listen to the voices of the last boaters tell you in their own words what life was like, see a 90 year old narrowboat that served in the Blitz still working today, get hands on with canal objects over 100 years old, and see a 180 year old canal lock in action.
This event is run by the Canal & River Trust, the UK's largest canal charity.
Timings & Tours
- Saturday 13 September:
- 1000-1700
- Sunday 14 September:
- 1000-1700
Location & directions
Isis Lock, South Oxford Canal, Oxford, Oxfordshire, OX1 2RQ
- Contact on day:
- Anna Clark
- Telephone number:
- +441865242918
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
Walton Well Road Bridge has smooth sloped access 650m North of the Lock where it is flat tarmac all the way. Rewley Road Bridge has a path access over a humpback bridge 70m West, but the bridge’s surface may be difficult to navigate for wheelchairs.
