Using the locks
You can book your passage online to travel through Carpenters Road, City Mill or Three Mills Lock.
- You must request your lock booking a minimum of seven days in advance.
- We'll confirm or amend your lock booking within two working days.
- Passage is available 9.30am–4.30pm, Monday to Friday. It's possible to book a slot outside these normal passage times and we'll try to help you through, but we can't guarantee this.
We need advance notice because tide heights, water levels and fluvial flows can affect the lock and lock movements.
If you have any problems with your booking or you're a contractor, please email our Customer Service Team, stating 'Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park lock bookings' in the subject line of your email.
History of Carpenters Road Lock
In 2005 the International Olympic Committee voted to hold the 2012 Olympics in London, with the promise of a huge change to the lower Lea Valley. The centrepiece of the bid was a new venue along the old waterways in London's East End, the Bow Back Rivers. This new venue would contain world-class sporting venues, but would also become the largest new urban park seen in Britain for over a century.