Isfield Lock

An early morning walk from Newick to Isfield via the river Ouse. In the 19th century the navigation was improved by building short stretches of canal to shortcut the long bends in the river. Some 19 locks were created above Lewes. Despite this the river trade ceased in the 1860s. Isfield Lock, which served a paper mill, is one of the few to have been restored although it remains unusable. During the Second World War Canadian army engineers replaced the lock gates with a solid wall of concrete that is so thick it would be too expensive to remove.