Lock 5 of Campos

Belmonte de Campos

Province

Palencia

Branch

Campos

Visit duration

30-60 minutes

Services available

Provincia

Palencia

Ramal

Campos

Duración visita

30-60 minutes

Servicios disponibles

Página web

The heritage complex of Lock 5 in Campos, built between 1842 and 1849, is located on the Campos Branch of the Castile Canal, within the municipality of Belmonte de Campos (Palencia), at kilometer 141.450. This site forms part of the final phase of the canal and reflects a mature approach to hydraulic engineering, in which flow regulation, navigational safety, and territorial integration are addressed together. The overall function of the complex was to overcome the canal’s elevation change, control water flow, and ensure the continuity of the associated roads and services.

The main feature is Lock 5, a simple, rectangular lock measuring approximately 25.20 meters long, 5.05 meters wide, and 3.60 meters high. It is constructed of limestone masonry and retains the original supports for the operating winches. Its most notable feature is the central gate, equipped with a rack and pinion mechanism, which combines the functions of flow regulation and bottom drainage. On the left bank, a fixed-lip side spillway discharges free-flowing water parallel to the lock, emptying into the canal at the bridge exit. Downstream, a stone hammer protects the structure from erosion.

Associated with the lock are several complementary elements that complete the functional reading of the whole: the lock and diversion bridge, built in limestone ashlar with segmental arches, which guarantees the continuity of the road between Belmonte de Campos and Castil de Vela and is in a good state of preservation; and a group of houses with stables and courtyards, made of pressed brick and wooden structure, now unused and in a state of ruin, but which preserve facades and protected structural elements, testimony to the daily life linked to the maintenance of the canal.

A visit to Lock 5 in Campos allows one to understand the Canal de Castilla as a complex infrastructure deeply linked to the territory.

How to get there:

The P-913 road, in the section between Belmonte and Castil de Vela, passes through the lock bridge.

Lock 5 of Campos

Lock 5 of Campos

Canal areas