Yesterday saw a couple of wee snaps from The Cutts, just outside Coleraine. There's a lock for boats wanting to travel up or downstream and this strange little cabinet-type thing was just beside the lock. There were two of them, one either side and at opposite ends of the lock gates.
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| Lock apparatus |
If you look closely there is a piece of iron sticking out, so my take on it is that you stick a handle on this and then wind the lock gates open. Never done it myself, not being a boaty sort, so if I'm barking up the wrong tree then let me know in the comments below.
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| Gate for controlling water level |
Despite the rather turbulent water it was actually very peaceful up beside The Cutts - and as Arnie famously said, I'll be back. I'd imagine anytime there is a lot of rain or no rain (unusual for these parts) then the gate thingy in the snap above is used to control the water level upstream, with subsequent implications for the downstream level. In fact, the gentleman who spoke to me (see yesterday's post about the swan) asked me if I thought that swan's eggs would be damaged by being under water. I was a bit taken aback by his question until he informed me they had closed the gates recently, which caused the water level to rise above the nest. I hadn't a clue, but I should imagine if it wasn't for that long no damage would be done - as long as they didn't float away of course. Any ideas?
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| Beautiful swirling waters of The Bann, captured on FP4+ |
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