Bingley Five-rise lock staircase is the most spectacular feature of the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It is situated about half a mile north of Bingley Station, about 17 miles north west of Leeds and about 12 miles south east of Skipton.
A lock staircase is where the locks open directly from one to another, with the top gate of one forming the bottom gate of the next. This unique 5-rise staircase has a total rise of 60 feet.
The Leeds and Liverpool canal has many lock staircases of two or three locks each. Only a few hundred yards downstream is another staircase - this time a 3-rise flight, with a fall of 30 feet. The locks are supervised by a lock keeper and are closed at night. The Bingley 5-rise and 3-rise locks opened in 1774.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, looking up Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, looking up](ll050.jpg)
Looking west directly up the spectacular staircase of 5 locks at Bingley.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, looking up Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, looking up](ll734.jpg)
Looking west directly up the spectacular staircase of 5 locks at Bingley.
(A larger version of this picture can be found at
Pennine Waterways
Computer Desktop Wallpaper page.)
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, lock chamber Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, lock chamber](ll055.jpg)
A view of one of the empty lock chambers.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, side view Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, side view](ll058.jpg)
A side view of the locks showing the curved stonework between the locks.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, Barry Whitelock Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, Barry Whitelock](ll738.jpg)
Barry Whitelock, for many years well-known as the lock keeper at Bingley, watching carefully over boats in the locks.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, scissor paddles Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, scissor paddles](ll1145.jpg)
Ratchet mechanism on "scissor" gate paddles at Bingley 5-rise locks.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, box clough paddles Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, box clough paddles](ll1146.jpg)
Barry Whitelock operating a box clough ground paddle at Bingley 5-rise locks.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, looking down Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, looking down](ll060.jpg)
The view looking back down the 5 staircase locks with stone woollen mills at Bingley in the background.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, looking down Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, looking down](ll742.jpg)
Looking back down the 5 staircase locks.
![Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, top lock Bingley 5-rise staircase locks, top lock](ll061.jpg)
The top lock of the five-rise staircase locks, looking east towards Bingley.
Interactive aerial view of the Bingley 5 Rise Locks from Google. You can move the image by clicking the arrows or clicking and dragging on the image.
Getting to the Bingley Five Rise Locks
By train: To Bingley Station then walk northwards along the canal past the Three Rise Locks.
By car: On-road parking available a short walk from the locks near the small roundabout on Beck Lane, off Park Road.