Updated: Restrictions added for 7 June and 8 June 2014.
River conditions
Find out the latest river conditions and strong stream warnings by:
visiting our River Thames Conditions website
calling our Floodline on or 0345 988 1188 or 0845 988 1188 (24-hour service) to hear recorded information and advice (find out about call charges)
talking to lock staff
River closures and restrictions
The ‘find more detail link’ in the ‘What’s happening’ column will download guidance with details of the closure or restriction.
River closures: updated 4 June 2014
When
Where
What’s happening
Thursday 12 June 8am to Sunday 15 June 2014
Forbury Loop, River Kennet
Reading Water Fest: The Forbury Loop on the River Kennet in Reading will be closed to all boats other than those participating. No public mooring will be allowed in the Forbury Loop during this closure. The main navigation channel will remain open throughout. Access to and from the Bel & Dragon restaurant moorings will not be affected by this closure.
Sunday 15 June 2014, 6am to 9:30am
The Royal Windsor Triathlon: The river between A332 Windsor/Eton Relief Road Bridge and Firework Ait near Windsor and Eton footbridge will be closed to all traffic other than authorised vessels between the above times. To facilitate this, Boveney and Romney locks will also be closed during this event. Masters of all vessels in the area are to remain moored during this closure. Find more detail on The Royal Windsor Triathlon.
River restrictions: updated 4 June 2014
When
Where
What’s happening
Until further notice
Cookham Lock
Cookham Lock is only operable by handwind between 10pm and 7am. We are working to switch this lock over to 24-hour public power.
October 2013 to June 2014
Windsor (Viaduct) railway bridge, between Romney and Boveney locks
Maintenance works to Windsor railway bridge: scaffolding will lower the headroom by 900 millimetres to 4.51 metres over the navigation channel of the river, and 2000 millimetres elsewhere to 3.41 metres. Please follow signs and navigate slowly in the area of these works. Masters of all vessels are reminded to give way to traffic coming downstream through the bridge. Find more detail on maintenance works to Windsor railway bridge.
1 April 2014 to September 2014
Whitchurch Toll Bridge
Refurbishment of Whitchurch Toll Bridge: the width of the navigation arch at Whitchurch Toll Bridge, between Whitchurch and Mapledurham Locks will be restricted between 1 April and September 2014. Find more detail on the refurbishment of Whitchurch Toll Bridge.
Friday 11 April 2014 until further notice
Grafton Lock
Grafton Lock repairs to head sluice: the casting on one of the head lock gate paddle boxes at Grafton Lock has fractured. The lock is still operational with only 1 sluice on the head gates. It will therefore be slower than usual when filling. Materials have been ordered to manufacture a replacement, which will be fitted as soon as possible. Find more detail on Grafton Lock repairs.
Wednesday 21 May to 6am on Monday 16 June 2014
Henley Reach
Henley Royal Regatta course construction: the following restrictions will apply to all boats (including power driven, manually propelled or sailing) that are navigating anywhere between Henley Bridge and the downstream end of Temple Island: all boats travelling downstream must navigate on the Berkshire, Remenham side of the river within the regatta course, all boats travelling upstream must navigate on the Buckinghamshire, Fawley Court side of the river. Find more detail on Henley Royal regatta course construction.
Saturday 7 June 2014, 9am to 5pm
Hurley Reach, Hurley Weir to the RAF Watersports Centre
Armed Forces sprint kayak race: the navigation channel will be on the Hurley, south side of the river. Racing boats will be using a buoyed channel between Hurley Weir and the RAF Watersports centre on the Medmenhan, north side of the river. Find more detail on Armed Forces sprint kayak race.
Saturday 7 June 2014, 11am to 2pm
Sunbury Reach (the Old River at Shepperton)
Shepperton Raft Race: the navigation channel will be on the Desborough Cut. The Old River will be closed to navigation between 11am and 2pm. Regatta boards will mark upstream and downstream of the course. All vessels to be navigated in accordance with any instructions given from Environment Agency control points or patrol launches. Find more detail on Shepperton Raft Race.
Saturday 7 June 2014 8am to 6pm
Sunbury Reach, Walton Marina to Gridley Miskin’s Wharf
Walton and Weybridge Regatta: the navigation channel will be on the Middlesex, Shepperton side of the river. Racing boats will be using a buoyed channel between Walton Marina and Gridley Miskin’s Wharf on the Surrey side of the river and regatta boards will mark the upstream and downstream extent of the course. Find more detail on Walton and Weybridge Regatta.
Sunday 8 June, 6.30am to 9am
Romney Reach, Alexandra Gardens to just upstream of the A332 Windsor relief road bridge
F3 - Royal Windsor swim: the navigation channel shall be established on the Eton side of the river. Swimmers will be using a buoyed channel on the Windsor side of the river between Alexandra Gardens and just upstream of the A332 Windsor relief road bridge. Find more detail on Royal Windsor swim.
Sunday 8 June 2014, 8am to 6pm
Sunbury Reach (Desborough Channel)
Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club Regatta: the navigation channel will be on the Old River channel at Shepperton. The Desborough Channel will be closed during the racing from 8am to 6pm. Regatta boards will mark upstream and downstream of the course. All vessels to be navigated in accordance with any instructions given from Environment Agency control points or patrol launches. Find more detail on Weybridge Ladies Amateur Rowing Club Regatta.
Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 June 2014
Marlow Reach, Bisham Abbey to Higginson Park
Marlow Town regatta: the navigation channel will be established on the Berkshire side of the river. Racing boats will be using a buoyed channel in the centre of the river, there will be a small channel on the Buckinghamshire side of the river for racing boats to embark/disembark and row upstream to the start line. Find more detail on Marlow Town regatta.
Saturday 12 July 2014, 9am to 5pm
Sunbury Reach (Anglers Wharf to Gridley Miskins Wharf)
Thames Valley Skiff Club Regatta and Rag Regatta: the navigation channel will be on the Middlesex side of the river and be a minimum of one half of the river. A buoyed channel will be established for racing on the Surrey side of the river between Anglers Wharf and Gridley Miskins Wharf. All vessels to be navigated in accordance with any instructions given from Environment Agency control points or patrol launches. Find more detail on Thames Valley Skiff Club Regatta and Rag Regatta.
Saturday 12 July 2014, 11am to 7pm
Teddington Reach, downstream end of Steven’s Ait to the downstream end of Trowlock Island
Royal Canoe Club Royal Junior Sprint Regatta: the navigation channel will be on the Surrey side of the river. Regatta boards will mark the upstream and downstream extent of the course. Find more detail on the Royal Junior Sprint Regatta.
Saturday 30 August 2014, 9am to 5pm
Sunbury Reach (Black Swan Sea Cadet building to Gridley Miskins Wharf)
Thames Valley Skiff Club Walton Reach Regatta: the navigation channel will be on the Middlesex side of the river and be a minimum of one half of the river. A buoyed channel will be established for racing on the Surrey side of the river between the Black Swan Sea Cadets building and Gridley Miskins Wharf. Find more detail on Thames Valley Skiff Club Walton Reach Regatta.
Sunday 31 August 2014, 10am to 2pm
Sunbury Reach (Black Swan Sea Cadet building to Thames Valley Skiff Club)
Thames Valley Skiff Club inter-club races: the navigation channel shall be established on the Middlesex side of the river and be a minimum of one half of the river. A buoyed channel will be established for racing on the Surrey side of the river between the Black Swan Sea Cadets building and Thames Valley Skiff Club. Find more detail on Thames Valley Skiff Club inter-club races.
October 2013 to April 2014
Kingston Railway Bridge between Teddington and Molesey Locks
Kingston Bridge maintenance work: scaffolding will cover the span/arch where work is taking place. At least 1 of the 3 navigation arches will stay open throughout the work. The middle arch will stay open throughout the works with the headway restricted by 1.71m over the central 10m in the middle arch. Navigate with caution in the area and follow directional signs and/or directions given by the safety boat and/or officers of the Environment Agency. Boats going upstream must give way to boats coming downstream. Find more detail on Kingston Bridge maintenance work.
Planned lock closures
Updated 17 April 2014.
Listed below are the remaining locks that will be closed during the 2013/14 investment programme.
The locks will be closed from the first date listed and re-open on the day after the final date.
River Thames investment programme notice 2013 to 2014
River Thames investment programme map 2013 to 2014
River Thames investment programme preview
When
Where
What’s happening
4 November 2013 to 9 May 2014
Teddington Skiff Lock
Refurbishing the lock gates.
21 October 2013 to 9 May 2014
Teddington Barge Lock
Refurbishing the lock chamber walls and timbers.
*Teddington Launch Lock provides passage to all customers and will remain open during the closure of the Skiff and Barge locks.
The Environment Agency are also carrying out other capital works on the River Thames during 2013/14, please see below for details. These works will not affect you using the locks during the construction.
Rushey Paddle and Rymer weir – Replacing the existing weir with 3 dipping radial gates and raised sill incorporating lightweight paddles on the shorter section.
Due to the flooding over the winter the final works at Rushey have been delayed until after Easter. The weir is fully operational and this delay has no impact on the lock itself.
Molesey Weir – Weir B replacing the existing 15 split gates with 7 radial gates, including a new fish pass in spring to late autumn 2014.
Completed work
The following work has been completed under this programme:
Grafton Lock - Head gates replaced
Osney Lock - Weir A refurbished and guard piles on weirs A and B replaced
Iffley Lock - Support piles on the tail layby replaced
Sandford Lock - Lock chamber refurbished
Culham Lock - Lock gates inspected and refurbished
Cleeve Lock - Repair of lock side walkways and rubbing timbers replacement
Hurley Lock - Emergency repairs made to sluices
Penton Hook Lock - Repair made to tail gates
Shepperton Lock - Lock chamber refurbished
Deferred Work
Shifford Lock and Blakes Lock - work deferred to future years
Rushey Lock and Abingdon Lock - work deferred to next year
Sunbury Lock - work deferred to next year to combine gate and chamber projects for efficiency
Grafton Lock – tail gate replacement
As our 2013/14 investment programme is substantially completed now we do not anticipate needing to issue any further update notices.
Keep up to date
Get the latest river information before you go boating. Call our Floodline on 0845 988 1188 and when prompted select option 1 followed by the number shown below:
River conditions and strong stream warnings: 011131
Work on the river and lock closures: 011132
Events on the river which affect boating: 011133
Find out about call charges
Email and SMS updates
We also send email updates on River Thames closures and restrictions. To subscribe to this service go to our Thames updates subscription page.
Keep up to date with the current conditions on the River Thames, subscribe to email and SMS updates through our River Thames Conditions website.
Know your river conditions
Any river activity poses a greater risk when there are strong currents, high river levels or cold weather. River flows can increase even during the summer months – never assume sunny weather means the conditions are not hazardous.
Warning boards may be displayed at locks to inform river users of the conditions. Read the explanations of what these mean for you. Don’t take risks and never underestimate the power of the river.
When these red boards are displayed on lock gates, we advise users of all boats not to navigate because the strong flows make it difficult and dangerous.
People in hire boats arriving at a lock where these boards are displayed should stop immediately and contact their hire boat operator to ask for instructions.
When these yellow boards are displayed on lock gates, we advise users of all unpowered boats not to navigate and users of powered boats to find a safe mooring. This is because river flows are likely to strengthen, and red boards could be displayed very soon and without further warning.
When these yellow boards are displayed on lock gates, we advise users of all unpowered boats not to navigate and users of powered boats to navigate with caution.
Dealing with changing river conditions
Read this section carefully to find out what to do if you find yourself in conditions where we advise you to stop navigating. Remember, not all conditions will be serious enough to require all the measures suggested below.
Please take the advice to stop. Even the most experienced boater can be caught out, so think about those who could be put in danger if they have to help you.
Moor your boat in a safe place, preferably in a marina or at a recognised mooring. Limited space may be available at some locks. Moor against high banks if you can.
Ensure your mooring lines are fastened to secure fixings such as bollards, rings or even trees; put out extra lines for additional security and allow enough slack for a further rise in river levels; don’t rely on your own mooring pins or stakes, they might not hold.
If possible, put extra fendering (eg scaffold poles or strong timber posts) between your boat and the bank side, to prevent your boat drifting onto the river bank and becoming caught up when levels drop.
Make sure you have a safe exit ashore from your boat. If not, you should consider returning home or finding alternative accommodation until conditions improve.
If you are running low on essential supplies or have other safety concerns and are not able to vacate your boat safely, treat this as an emergency and dial 999 to ask for evacuation.
For hire boaters: if you are advised you to stop, you must call your boatyard and follow their instructions.
Please remember your life is more important than your boat.
The Environment Agency are not an emergency service and are not able to carry out search and rescue, or provide supplies to stranded boats.