As you can imagine, there are many bridges that span the river. The lowest headroom is Osney Bridge (7 feet 6 in headroom) in West Oxford.
The 45 locks vary much in size but a 14 feet 8 in width is the maximum that can traverse the river from end to end. Buscot Lock is both the narrowest and the shortest. 14 feet 8 inch beam and 109 feet 10 inch maximum length.
Lock Gates
Tunnel AqueductPowered boats are able to navigate the Thames from a little south west of Lechlade-on-Thames to the estuary.
From its source, in Gloucestershire at Trewsbury Mead (near Cheltenham), to the estuary between Whitstable, Kent, and Foulness Point, Essex. There are at least 50 tributaries that feed the River Thames.
Of the 215 miles, 147 miles are non-tidal. The River becomes tidal at Teddington Lock in West London.
The name 'Thames' is derived from its original name 'Isis' and the point where the Isis meets the River Thame south of Dorchester. Isis is a shortening of Tameisis which is the Latin for the Thames.
The vast majority of locks on the River Thames are accompanied by a weir, usually very close by. Take care when passing as there is sometimes a current caused by the flow of water over the weir.
Cruising your own boat on the River Thames incurs costs independent from other waterway organisations. Information can be found here. The costs of hiring a boat on the River Thames will include these costs.
You could spend many months travelling the River Thames end-to-end and visiting the great many towns and historic sites along the way.
| Lock Name | Date | Flash Lock | Fall/Rise | Next lock up | Earlier Weirs Here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St John's Lock | 1790 | 1775 | 2ft 10in | ||
| Buscot Lock | 1790 | 5 ft 6 in | 1.15 mile | ||
| Grafton Lock | 1896 | 1762 | 3 ft 7 in | 3.34 mile | Farmer's, Harts |
| Radcot Lock | 1892 | 1746 | 4 ft 11 in | 1.85 mile | Old Eye |
| Rushey Lock | 1790 | 6 ft | 2.63 mile | Old Nan's | |
| Shifford Lock | 1898 | 1762 | 7 ft 4 in | 4.3 mile | Tadpole, Ten foot, Shifford Upper, Duxford |
| Northmoor Lock | 1896 | 1879 | 4 ft 1 in | 4.74 mile | Limbre's |
| Pinkhill Lock | 1791 | 3 ft 5 in | 3.86 mile | Ridge's (Langley), Ark, Skinner's | |
| Eynsham Lock | 1928 | 1791 | 2 ft 10 in | 1.48 mile | |
| King's Lock | 1928 | 1541 | 2 ft 6 in | 2.72 mile | Clay |
| Godstow Lock | 1790 | 5 ft 2 in | 1.12 mile | ||
| Osney Lock | 1790 | 1227 | 6 ft 2 in | 2.40 mile | Medley (Binsey) |
| Iffley Lock | 1632 | 1585 | 2 ft 8 in | 2.32 mile | Folly |
| Sandford Lock | 1632 | 8 ft 10 in | 1.7 mile | ||
| Abingdon Lock | 1790 | 1316 | 6 ft 2 in | 4.59 mile | Nuneham |
| Culham Lock | 1638 | 1580 | 7 ft 11 in | 2.58 mile | Culham old (1638 on Swift ditch), Swift |
| Clifton Lock | 1812 | 3 ft 5 in | 2.81 mile | ||
| Day's Lock | 1789 | 1580 | 5 ft 2 in | 3 mile | |
| Benson Lock | 1788 | 1746 | 6 ft 1 in | 3.96 mile | |
| Cleeve Lock | 1787 | 1580 | 2 ft 11 in | 6.50 mile | Pollington's, Chalmore Lock, Moulsford |
| Goring Lock | 1787 | 1538 | 5 ft 10 in | 0.62 mile | |
| Whitchurch Lock | 1787 | 1580 | 3 ft 4 in | 4.07 mile | Hart's lock |
| Mapledurham Lock | 1777 | 1300 | 6 ft 8 in | 2.28 mile | |
| Caversham Lock | 1778 | 1493 | 4 ft 8 in | 4.40 mile | Chawsey |
| Sonning Lock | 1773 | 1580 | 5 ft 4 in | 2.63 mile | Breach's |
| Shiplake Lock | 1773 | 1746 | 5 ft 1 in | 2.91 mile | |
| Marsh Lock | 1773 | 1580 | 4 ft 5 in | 3 mile | |
| Hambleden Lock | 1773 | 1338 | 4 ft 8 in | 2.85 mile | |
| Hurley Lock | 1773 | 1580 | 3 ft 5 in | 3.66 mile | Mednam |
| Temple Lock | 1773 | 1580 | 4 ft | .64 mile | |
| Marlow Lock | 1773 | 1585 | 7 ft 1 in | 1.94 mile | |
| Cookham Lock | 1830 | 4 ft 4 in | 4 mile | ||
| Boulter's Lock | 1772 | 1580 | 7 ft 10 in | 2.08 mile | |
| Bray Lock | 1845 | 1328 | 4 ft 10 in | 2.13 mile | |
| Boveney Lock | 1838 | 1375 | 4 ft 10 in | 3.2 mile | |
| Romney Lock | 1797 | 6 ft 7 in | 2.33 mile | Gill's bucks | |
| Old Windsor Lock | 1822 | 1300 | 5 ft 8 in | 3 mile | |
| Bell Weir Lock | 1817 | 1300 | 6 ft | 3.07 mile | Magna Carta Island |
| Penton Hook Lock | 1815 | 4 ft | 2.69 mile | Savory's | |
| Chertsey Lock | 1813 | 4 ft | 1.94 mile | ||
| Shepperton Lock | 1813 | 6 ft 8 in | 2.06 mile | ||
| Sunbury Lock | 1812 | 1623 | 6 ft 1 in | 2.95 mile | Ballinger's |
| Molesey Lock | 1815 | 6 ft 1 in | 2.98 mile | ||
| Teddington Lock | 1811 | 8 ft 10 in | 4.81 mile | Kingston | |
| Richmond Lock | 1894 | 6 ft 7 in | 3 mile |
Users of the information displayed in this website or in websites linked to directly or indirectly, do so on the basis that it is a guide only. I Do Canals or its directors, partners or associates do not accept any responsibility for inaccuracies, omissions, costs incurred or disappointments of any kind what-so-ever. It is the users responsibility to check directly with any services, displayed, listed or linked to in or from this website, or associated parties with regards to (but not limited to) directions, costs, facilities, services, hospitality, availability, accommodation, etc. There is no implied recommendation for any of the entries or firms listed, nor is any criticism implied for any entry or firm not yet listed.
We have added 103 Waterways and there are 2685 entries listed and displayed on our maps and/or the resource pages:
Waterways Resources -
Boat Build & Fit Out -
Waterside Attractions. We continue to add items on a very regular basis.
Many entries have several services on offer, on average 5 services (some have many more). This means there are approx. 5 x the number of services listed.
