Another cache, which is close to a parking area, to add to those beside the New Junction Canal. It can be reached on foot or by cycle, from the Trans Pennine Trail, or done as a drive-by 'cache & dash'.
The cache is adjacent to Sykehouse Lock, which consists of normal upper and lower lock gates, but unusually, has a manually operated swing bridge, mid-lock.
The lock gates and sluices are automated, however there is an interlock to prevent their operation, until the bridge has been opened by the 'Armstrong' method.
The New Junction Canal is 5.5 miles long, completely straight and was the last commercial canal to be built in England. It was completed on 2nd January 1905, to link the Aire and Calder Navigation with the River Don and increase the flow of goods out of the industrial areas of Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield. The main sections are around 100 feet wide, the edges are shelved and shallow, however the main channel is 7-10 feet deep.
The length of the lock, in common with others on the route, is to allow the passage of complete trains of 17 compartment boats, which were commonly used for the transportation of coal from the former South Yorkshire mines in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Although there is still the occasional visit from a cargo vessel, most of the canal traffic consists of privately owned pleasure craft, or commercial hire vessels.
Cruise boat, waiting to enter the lock
** Parking is available within a few metres of the cache **
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