Portna Lock

Portna is where a rock shoal once held back Lough Neagh's outflow. The engineers who cleared it in eleven years of work from 1847 built a two-chamber lock on a short cut west of the river, still the only double lock on the Bann. Beside it are DfI Rivers' flood gates, one of the three sets that control the river, and in spate the current near the entrance can be strong. A lock-keeper works it for the usual £1 (50p each when boats share): phone +44 28 2954 0214 before you arrive. A dry dock just above the upper lock blocks the channel when it is in use, which is rare and announced in advance. Waterways Ireland lists toilets, showers, water, a slipway and canoe steps at the lock, and a campsite. Kilrea is close by.