The Bratch
Staffordshire
The Bratch locks on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal just to the north of Wombourne are a grand set, complete with a fine, elegant octagonal toll house near Bratch Upper Bridge.
The locks, which heft the Staffs & Worcs up some thirty feet, were originally built by James Brindley as a three-lock staircase before they were subsequently re-engineered as three separate locks. The Victorian Bratch water pumping station stands nearby - built there since the steam pumping engines were coal-fired and fed using coal brought to the site by canal.
An attractive circular three-mile walk is possible beginning at the old Wombourne railway station, walking west until joining the canal at The Bratch locks, along the tow-path north, turning right at Awebridge bridge by Awebridge Lock and then, after half a mile, turning right again on to the Kingswinford Railway Walk returning back to the start point. There is a cafe at Wombourne station.
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