It’s great when we get to be at the front of a BIG lock going upstream.  It’s the closest I get to white water rafting when the sluices are opened!  Hard to get a photo that even begins to convey this, but these few at Benson Lock give a slight feel of the calm and storm of the action!

The calm – moving towards the lock …..

….. the stillness within the depths of the lock.

The storm – a deluge, nay a torrent, of water pours through the sluices from above. Calliope rocks and heaves on her ropes ….

…. until we float to the top of the lock and gently move out onto the next reach of the Thames.