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Rickmansworth.
Common Moor lock (79) is the first point as you come
into London for access to the tube system, at Croxley
station (Metropolitan line). There are no official visitor moorings here.
Above the lock used to be full of long-term moorers: not so the last few times
we were through there. Below the lock, one has to go some way down the pound
before finding adequate depth. I've no experience of leaving a boat there
unattended.
The pound between Lot Mead (80) and Batchworth (81)
locks is full of long-term moorings with no space for casual mooring.
There is a water point &
sanitary station immediately below Batchworth lock (81). The Tesco superstore a little way below the lock (on
the off side) has its own moorings for shoppers — overnight mooring is not
permitted. This is on the site of the former premises of Walkers of
Rickmansworth, where the "Ricky" boats were built. The towpath opposite is a
visitor mooring and there is usually room there. The town centre,
Rickmansworth station (BR & tube) & plenty
of pubs are within a few minutes' walk.
There are official BW visitor moorings both above and below
Stockers' lock (82): usually with plenty of room. They're not
particularly near public transport (or a pub, as far as I know) but otherwise
make a good overnight mooring.
Harefield
Copper Mill lock (84) is the
best bet for a pub mooring (The Coy Carp, formerly The
Fisheries— food-centred pub with a steak-house type menu.).
There's usually plenty of room above the lock , a little immediately below
(beware of the mill-stream: it often runs pretty fiercely and
is used by canoeists , for that reason I'd not advise mooring
between the lock and the pub) and more just round the corner. There is a
water point below the lock.
Black Jack's lock (85) used to have what looked like a fairly
posh restaurant which I never tried. It's been closed for a while now, and the
site is to be redeveloped. There's better depth for mooring above the lock than
below, and usually plenty of room in both places.
Widewater (or Harefield) lock (86) is another
possible pub mooring (The Horse and Barge, I think -
it's changed its name at least once since I first knew it). There's good depth
for mooring above the lock and for a short distance immediately below, but the
latter's usually taken, and you have to go about 500 yards further to find good
depth again. Recent rumours (Spring 2007) tell me that hte pub is in good form
after a change of management.
Harefield Marina
is just below the lock. I don't have first-hand knowledge of
their facilities, but they do have diesel, solid fuel and pump-out. The
moorings there are in an old gravel-pit.
Denham
You'll find pleasant middle-of-nowhere moorings above and
below Denham Deep lock (87), the last out-in-the-country moorings before
you run into urban Uxbridge. Usually there's plenty of room. There's a
tea-room in the lock cottage, but I haven't tried it. If you have
problems with your engine, Roger Wakeham operates from here and knows what he's
talking about (especially with BMC engines).
Uxbridge
At Uxbridge Town lock (88) there's no space to moor
above the lock, and often not below it either. If you want to shop in Uxbridge,
the best place for access is bridge 185 (by the Swan &
Bottle). One can usually find room to moor south of this bridge. I
don't think I'd fancy leaving a boat there unattended overnight. From the
bridge a short walk takes you to Uxbridge High Street.
Denham Marina (formerly Denham Yacht Station), on
the off side immediately below the lock, has diesel (usually at a good price),
gas, solid fuel & pump-out.
Dolphin bridge (186) is probably the safest mooring
in the Uxbridge area. Two pubs lie one either side of the bridge (and on
opposite sides of the cut) - The Dolphin & The
General Elliott - most boaters seem to prefer the latter. There are
always a lot of boaters around, many of them residential. It's about 12
minutes' walk to Uxbridge Tube station (Metropolitan
& Piccadilly lines). Moorings close to the bridge (both above and
below) are often full, but if you want to leave your boat for a while I suggest
you join the line of boats stretching south from the General Elliott
. This is opposite our former mooring at Hillingdon Canal
Club where boaters are welcome to drop in when the clubhouse is open
(usually on Wednesday & Friday evenings, Saturday lunchtime & evening,
Sunday lunchtime plus other odd times when there's something on).
There are a number of restaurants in Uxbridge. The two I
used to like when we moored there (but that's a few years ago now) are
Nonna Rosa (Italian) in the High Street not far from bridge
185, and Sofra (Turkish) in Rockingham Road, a few minutes'
walk eastwards from Dolphin Bridge.
Across the cut from the General Elliott is
Uxbridge Boat Centre (closed Mondays and winter Sundays)
which offers diesel (usually at a good price), gas, solid fuel and one of the
best chandleries you'll find anywhere. No elsan or pump-out facility at the
Boat Centre but there is water at the Club (access from the clubhouse mooring;
please don't hog this mooring for longer than strictly necessary).
Cowley
BW visitor moorings exist above and below Cowley lock
(89) , usually fairly full but it's not impossible to find a space.
The towpath just north of the bridge is a safe mooring to leave the boat
unattended, as there are plenty of residential boaters around. There is a
sanitary station immediately above the lock and anotherwater
point with a few more visitor moorings below it. The Malt
Shovel (formerly The Shovel) is no longer the
old-fashioned boaters' pub I remember, but is very food-centred and no longer
has a door from the towpath (except for wheelchair access). A short walk east
brings you to Cowley Road with a good bus service
to either Uxbridge (tube) or
West Drayton (BR) stations.
South of bridge 190 is one of High Line
Yachting's boatyards, and BWML's Packet Boat Marina, opened
in Spring 2003. I don't yet know all the facilities the new marina offers, but
there is a facilities point on the main line, including a DIY pump-out operated
by a BW card.
The Water's Edge pub/restaurant (formerly
theThe Turning Point) by the bridge used to be quite expensive
(but the food was very good). I've not tried it in its present incarnation, so
can't comment. If you want a more ordinary pub, a few yards east of the bridge
is The Paddington Packet Boat. Once again there is easy access
to the same bus service as mentioned above.
THE SLOUGH ARM
This is one of those "cruise-it-or-lose-it" waterways which
turns off the main line at Cowley Peachey junction. The first part, as
far as High Line Yachting's main base at Iver is fine. The boatyard provides all
services. From there to the terminal basin in Slough is often very weedy, but
(as at June 2006) is due to be dredged soon. The basin itself is not
particularly near the Town Centre but not too far from the
station (BR main line & local services). It's
not a good place to leave a boat unattended.
GRAND UNION MAIN LINE (CONTINUED)
West Drayton
Bridge 192is the access point for West Drayton High
Street and Yiewsley & West Drayton BR station
(local services between Paddington & Reading). Shopping's not very
good here. I wouldn't fancy leaving a boat unattended here for longer than a
shopping stop. There are several pubs in the town, none (that I've found) very
special.
There are two canalside pubs between here and Bull's Bridge.
At Bridge 198 is The Woolpack which specialises in
strip-tease acts (even at lunchtimes). If that's not your taste, then go a
little further to The Blue Anchor by Bridge 199 which
is quieter.
Bull's Bridge
Opposite the junction with the Paddington Branch is a big Tesco Superstore with its own moorings, which does allow
overnight mooring. The store is open 24 hours a day except for Saturday and
Sunday nights.
Bull's Bridge to Brentford
There are plenty of reasonable stopping-places on the
towpath, none of them particularly glorious, nor would I fancy leaving a boat
unattended at any of them. The Grand Junction Arms (by
bridge 201) and the Old Oak Tree (by bridge 202)
are unremarkable canalside pubs. The former boatyard at Adelaide Dock
, a little way south of bridge 204 used to be the home of
Adelaide Marine who ran a hire fleet and full boatyard facilities, but they
have now relocated to Broxbourne on the River Lee, and Adeleaide Dock is the
new home of the BW maintenance depôt that used to be at Norwood Top Lock.
There is a sanitary station and rubbish disposal at the former BW yard
at Norwood top lock and a pleasant overnight mooring at the foot of
Hanwell locks with a decent pub, The Fox fairly close
by.
Brentford
If you need to moor overnight to catch an early tide from
Brentford, there are fairly erxtensive visitor moorings above Brentford
Gauging Lock (100) , with a new facilities point and a BW office. There are
also a few mooring spaces above Thames Lock (101) although they are
semi-tidal. Brentford Town Centre is close, but I'm not very impressed with the
shopping there. The best pub I've found there is the Magpie &
Crown which offers a good choice of real ales.
Brentford Gauging Lock (100) is boater-operated using
your BW key, and is available 07:30 - 17:00. Out-of-hours passages may be
booked on (020) 8560 1120. The section below this lock is semi-tidal, so you
need to beware of reduced headroom below the bridge on high tides.Thames
Lock (101) connects to the tideway and is only available for a limited time
either side of High Tide. It is manned at these times when they fall within
BW's normal working hours, but passages at certain other times may be booked.
To see these times, you will need BW's Lock Availability
leaflet, available from their London Region Office (020 7985 7200). If you
plan to venture on the tideway, then unless you are used to tidal water you are
strongly recommended to take advice on how to time your trip with the tide, and
to go in company with another boat. John Kennett's excellent
Tideway site has all the information
you are likely to want about the London River, and practical navigational
advice is also provided in London IWA's Tideway Notes which are
available from IWA Head Office.
OTHER PAGES IN THIS SECTION |
MAP |
PHOTOS |
FACILITIES |
The Grand Union Main Line South of Watford
(including the Slough Arm) |
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Top of this page |
The Paddington Branch |
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The Regent's Canal |
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The Lower Lee |
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The Bow Back Rivers |
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The Thames Tideway |
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Tideway site |
Residential moorings in
London |
 Guided towpath walks
(external link
to London IWA site)
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