Flatford Mill and Lock - 14th September 2025

I’d forgotten that Sudbury-to-the-Sea was on today, so luckily, I have arrived in good time to get some boating action, I ask River Stour Trust volunteer Alan Ryan if I can film and after some banter, he agrees. He and two other volunteers are operating the lock today for S2S, which is a yearly fundraising event, meaning that there are lots of people and boats on the river today. A man knocks the camera tripod with his kayak so I have to put it back, hopefully in the same position, I bet Constable didn’t have anyone knock his easel with a horse on the tow path, or perhaps there was less vegetation in his day so he could stand further clear of the path and its users, people on kayaks and paddle boards weigh up to whether to wait for the lock to fill up with participants or jump out and drag their boats to the portage, I’m keeping an eye out for my friend Matt and his family as they are taking part, a lady telling her dog that the mic might be a squirrel but then suggesting that it wouldn’t be a good idea to kill it, the volunteers close the back of the lock and then undo the pen stops at the front of lock to let the water drain out, they chat with the boaters on the lock whilst it empties, ‘You’re on the home stretch!’ he says encouragingly, a couple with two kayaks side by side taking care past the microphone, one of the volunteers goes to close a pen stop at the back of the lock that was open and filling it up as it was emptying, the gate opens and everyone thanks the volunteers as they head on down stream, the lock is shut again and they head to the back fill it up again.

It’s a continual cycle but now for leisure and not for industry. Before the locks were built the river had to be dammed with logs and branches to back the water up and then quickly pulled away to create a huge rush of water that was deep enough for the barges to be pulled over the shallows, or change in elevation, by horse against the current! Needless to say that lock technology transformed the transportation of goods immeasurably. But also changed the structure of the river from flowing to very slow moving and that impacted the habitats of many species living in the river. One of those was the eel, as being a migratory species they swam to the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda (!) to spawn, but couldn’t navigate past the locks which impacted its ability to swim back up river when it returned. Now, special devices that bridge the locks and weirs are installed to help the eels movement up the river.

One of the boaters declares ‘Lock Pastie!” before tucking in, as Alan and his team close the rear gates approaching boaters shout to be let in so they open it again, the boaters cheer! Just as they close the gate again another request, which adds to the workload and they open and close the gate again. A couple with a baby in a papoose, a dog crying, ‘No Fishing’.

The cycle continues, water only heading down stream, as are the boaters, towards the sea. They’re nearly there after two days of paddling, on the last leg to Cattawade and the finish line to collect their certificate. An Irish Wolf Hound, its owner with similarly proportioned legs, a few spots of rain, a quiet moment before the lock is ready to go again, and a new lot of boats fill it up.
Somehow its only now, at 55 minutes in, that I feel like I’m imposing, and thankfully the hour beep in my headphones soon sounds itself, I need to let it roll for a couple more minutes to give me room to edit off the rusting and faffing about when setting up and stopping. Unfortunately I didn’t see my friends come through.

Listen to the whole hour on our YouTube page.

*Due to the large number of members of the public in this film, that are clearly recognisable, I have uploaded this version that uses a still image of the location instead of the film footage. I gained permission from the River Stour Trust volunteers to record them.*