Friday 22 July 2011

Porlock Weir

July saw us away from our usual Ouse rivers and down in Somerset in Minehead near the Porlock Weir. Porlock Weir has been a small port for hundreds of years populated mainly by fishermen and their families.

The harbour at Porlock has some fine and recently restored dock gates and a sluice tunnel to keep the harbour free of stones and to stop inrush of heavy seas during storms and high tides.
Here you see the gates open at low tide ...
... and here a closer view from the side. Pulleys linked by wires to electric winches on the harbour wall pull the gates closed as required. No hand winding of lock gates here .....


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