About

Fourteen locks are the most spectacular set of locks in South Wales. A scheduled ancient monument situated in the idyllic area of Newport. It lies on the Crumlin Arm within the Monmouthshire and Brecon canal, surrounded by striking landscape, it is one of the most beautifully scenic waterways.

The restoration project began here in 2002 where lock 21 was restored and repointed. Between 2010-11 locks 17-20 and their pounds were completely restored with grants from the heritage lottery fund and other bodies. The canal centre, managed by the Monmouthshire, Brecon and Abergavenny Canals Trust in partnership with Newport City Council, continue to preserve and enhance all surviving sections of this 200 year old waterway. The restoration success has been based on partnerships from the very beginning and dedicated volunteers.


In 1792 the act of parliament passed to build the canal. Thomas Dadford Junior was appointed the engineer. Our Fourteen locks heritage trail is made up of a single lock (21) five pairs of locks and one group of three. The primary objective was to construct the locks quickly to meet the demands for transport made by the ‘Industrial Revolution’. Coal and Pig Iron were two of the major products to be carried on the canal. The last lock before the motorway is lock 8, this marks the start of the Cefn fight of locks, an engineering wonder of the industrial revolution.


Our tea room offers a delicious range of mouth watering food. Produce is sourced locally and prepared fresh to order. Meals are perfectly accompanied by speciality coffees and fair trade teas. The friendly staff can cater for any dietary requirement including gluten free, vegan and vegetarian.

Our function room can be hired out for meetings, business and community events and our craft shop offers unique hand made gifts, created by local and talented artisans. We also hire gallery display boards for artists to sell their work.

The canal centre is an ideal location for practical learning opportunities. Education sessions take place here and we offer workshops tailored to the particular needs of Schools.

Our family and dog friendly centre holds events throughout the year including activity trails, forest school, fayres, family fun days, music festivals, BBQ’s, history talks and walks. The canal towpath is part of national cycle route 47 and the beautiful Sirhowy valley walk.

It provides a haven for all kinds of plants and wildlife. The latest events can be found on our website www.fourteenlocks@mbact.org.uk, facebook, twitter & instagram.



Dog towels, dog biscuits and water.