Image

Other British Rivers
The River Adur (Sussex)  – Is navigable for some 12 miles via the Southwick Channel through Shoreham to Bines Green and Shermanbury Place before splitting into the Western and Eastern non-navigable arms.

The River Arun -  Runs for some 25 miles from the coast at Littlehampton through Arundel, with its imposing castle, to Pallingham Quay north of Pulborough.

The River Avon – Is navigable for over 40 miles between Tewksbury and Stratford-upon-Avon, with 17 locks, this is a peaceful and unspoiled river, albeit with a significant tidal range,  passing through Shakespeare country which even enables you to moor-up opposite the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford itself. It has a link near here to the Stratford Canal and more opportunities to explore this historical town.

The River Cam – see Chapter 3

The Chelmer & Blackwater Navigation – A pretty but little-known river flowing through attractive Essex countryside for almost 15 miles,  with a dozen locks, between Chelmsford and the sea at Maldon
The only downside is that it’s quite narrow and at about only 2 foot deep it’s very shallow, best suited to small cruisers.

The River Dart – The beautiful River Dart in Devon is navigable for about 10 miles from Dartmouth to Totnes.

The River Dee – Winding its way for 12 miles from Chester to Farndon, with no locks, this is an attractive river particularly suitable for small shallow draft cruisers.

The River Derwent – Is a tributary of the Yorkshire Ouse, and flows for some 22 miles, through a couple of locks, from Barmby-on-the-Marsh to Stamford Bridge.

The River Fowey – An attractive Cornish river, navigable for about 10 miles from the beautiful Fowey Harbour through to Lostwithiel.

The River Frome – Although some 30 miles long, the Dorset Frome is navigable  only for a couple of miles  from Poole Harbour to the attractive Dorset market town of Wareham.

The River Lee & The Stort – Although the River Lee, with a connection to the main network via the Regents Canal,  initially runs through London suburbs, (which will be home to the 2012 Olympics)  its 27 miles from the Thames to Hertford, with 19 locks, become progressively more attractive and the 14 miles with 15 locks on the River Stort from Hertford to Bishop’s Stortford are especially  pleasant.

The River Medway – With a dozen locks, the River Medway is navigable for a total of 27 miles from Tonbridge to the Thames Estuary at Sheerness, but the eastern reaches below Maidstone are rather dismal. On the other hand the upper (non-tidal) section running through the hop-fields and the Garden of England between Allington Lock and Tonbridge are peaceful and quite delightful.

The River Rother – (Eastern) The Eastern section of the River Rother extents for 16 miles, with 5 locks,  from Rye Harbour to Bodiam Castle, with junctions to the River Brede and the Royal Military Canal, then crossing under the B2082 before reaching Newenden and Bodiam Bridge. The Western Rother was abandoned in 1936.

The River Nene – see Chapter 3

The Great Ouse – see Chapter 3

The Yorkshire Ouse -  Along with the River Ure and the Ripon Canal, The Yorkshire Ouse offers a total of 70 miles, but with only 5 locks, and although the lower tidal reaches are not of much interest, the delightful City of York itself, and the river  up-stream from York, are both well worth exploring.Great river ouse

The Sussex Ouse -  Is navigable from Newhaven Harbour to Hamsey, a little way north of Lewes, but is tidal throughout.

The River Severn – The Severn is actually the longest British river, but these days only the lower 40 miles, with 5 manned locks, between Gloucester and Stourport are navigable. It’s a quite majestic river, flowing through attractive countryside, and Gloucester, with its famous docks, is an interesting city.

The (Kent) River Stour – The Stour is Kent’s second longest river, running some 22 miles from Canterbury to the sea at Pegwell Bay, and is navigable for the 22 miles between Fordwich Mill near Caterbury to Royal Harbour at Ramsgate.

The River Tamar -  The Tamar separates Devon from Corwall, and flows some 50 miles in total from near Bude in North Cornwall to its estuary in Plymouth Sound, where it joins the Tavy, the Plym, the Lynther and the Hamoaze. The lower reaches provide an opportunity to see warships at the Devonport naval base, and depending on your draft it’s also possible to explore further up-stream too.

The River Trent – Historically an 80 mile long  important commercial waterway, the tidal section downstreamof Cromwell Lock is still used commercially and provides connections to the Fossdyke Canal, the Chesterfield Canal and the Sheffield & South Yorkshire Navigation, but that apart,  the 50 mile tidal section of the Trent is quite challenging to navigate and not that interesting compared with the more attractive upper reaches to Nottingham.

The River Weaver – a little used 20 mile long river, with 5 locks,  running from the Manchester Ship Canal to Winsford Bridge, with a connection at Anderton to the Trent & Mersey Canal.

The River Wey – running from the Thames at Weybridge to Godalming, a distance of 20 miles with 16 locks, the Wey is a delightful and surprisingly peaceful river flowing through affluent Surrey countryside,  as well as providing a connection to the Basingstoke Canal.

« go back