The canal climbs the hill to the north of Eastington village in a flight of five locks through an area that was known as Chippenham Platt. Near the middle of the flight was a canal maintenance yard with a covered dry dock for repairing vessels. Three wharfs handled coal for the village and for three woollen cloth mills (for two of which buildings survive).
After the right of navigation was withdrawn in 1954, all of the five locks became derelict and one was buried when the M5 motorway cut across the line of the canal c1970. A few years later, however, volunteers started work on the flight and showed that restoration was possible.
