Gongoozler

Gongoozler may have been canal workers' slang for an observer standing apparently idle on the towpath.

According to The Times, the term has also previously been used to describe "someone who hung around bridges to laugh at the inept efforts of less experienced barge folk as they struggled to pass through locks".

Though it was used derisively in the past, today the term is regularly used, perhaps with a little irony, by barge communities and clubs to describe themselves and their hobby.

Some observers have been known to heckle or harass the boat crews, whilst others carry a lock windlass and actively wish to help boat crews with their passage, by opening the paddles, or helping push open the heavy balance beams on the gates.

[7] In the UK, Foxton Locks (pictured above) in Leicestershire and the Caen Hill flight on the edge of Devizes, Wiltshire are popular locations for gongoozlers to gather.