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Sleaford Navigation (Kyme Eau)

The Kyme Eau, Chapel Hill. © Tom Courtney - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Running through the heart of rural Lincolnshire, the Sleaford Navigation is a 13-mile waterway which was once a bustling commercial route into the town of Sleaford.

The 1790s saw the height of the canal age and, after 20 years of haggling, plans were passed to make the upper reaches of the River Slea navigable. A total of seven locks, built for the standard Yorkshire keel, saw boats filled with stone, coal, wood, wine, spirits, glass, soap and more pass from Kyme village into Sleaford. This boom period lasted until the railways began offering cheaper and more efficient ways of transporting commercial goods. Sadly, profits dwindled and an act of Parliament closed the Sleaford Navigation in 1878.

In recent years, the Sleaford Navigation Trust has been making moves towards bringing the Sleaford Navigation back to its former glory. At present, two locks have been restored and the lower half of the waterway is now navigable up until Cobblers Lock.