SPCC NOTES ON VISITING THE THAMES CREEKS
CHANNELSEA RIVER, WATERWORKS RIVER and BOW BACK RIVER, CHANNELSEA RIVER and ABBEY MILLS ISLAND
Boats wishing to cruise Channelsea River and around Abbey Mills Island should arrange to leave Bow Locks at
High Water –30 minutes. The transit around the island into the Mill Pool and back to Bow Locks takes about 40
minutes. BOW LOCKS must be PRE-BOOKED (phone 020 7517 5570) for both the outward and return transits.
Waterworks River is accessed via Three Mills Lock or City Mill Lock. Pre-booking of Bow Locks is essential (Phone: 020 7517 5570). Bow Locks are operational from about 31/2 hours before HW LB to 2 hours after..
Leave BOW LOCKS 3 hours before High Water. On locking out take care to avoid the silt bar just below the lock exit, i.e, turn sharp left to go upstream. Boats need to go slowly upstream in the centre of the channel, feeling their way, as the tide will not be in full flow.
Wait below Three Mills Lock for the green signal. Enter the lock and loop ropes around the sliders. Take the centre of Prescott Channel and do not take the turn North into the Three Mills Wall River too sharply. Just by the last factory site on the LEFT (West) Bank, move over to the left side of the channel. The Right arch of Stratford High Street bridge tends to be shallow. After that bridge move to the centre of the channel and take the centre of the centre span of the Northern Outfall Bridge. Continue forward up the left of the Waterworks River channel under the various bridges.
SLOW DOWN when you pass under Marshgate Lane Bridge. You will need to aim to turn just below the wide junction area. Watch out for some STEPS/RUNGS inset in the left wall and TURN INTO THEM. Reverse back up the Eastern side and pick up a central course for the return journey.
BOW LOCK CLOSES 2 hours after High Water. Take care of the shoal below the Locks when making your turn into them. THE KEEPER SHOULD BE WAITING FOR YOU, so long as he has been PRE-BOOKED. However deep water does not last much longer so you need to speed through the locks back to the Lee Navigation. For PRE-BOOKING at Bow Locks phone: 020 7517 5570 at least 24 hours in advance.
Alternatively it is possible to complete a “mini ring” by returning directly to the Lee navigation by using the recently reopened City Mill Lock and passing along the Bow Back River. It is essential that this lock transit is pre-booked as the lock currently is not available for user operation. Phone: 020 7517 5570 to pre-book your passage.
Entry to the lock is between the Northern Outfall Aqueduct and Stratford High Street Bridge. The lock itself is just beyond Blaker Road Bridge. It has a double set of lower gates; the outer gates are for flood control purposes. Ensure both sets of gates are open before entering from Waterworks River. Once through the lock proceed westwards to link with the main Lee Navigation just upstream of Bow Flyover.
ALL BOATERS AND SKIPPERS ARE REMINDED THAT THEY UNDERTAKE THE CRUISES COMPLETELY AT THEIR OWN RISK. THE ST. PANCRAS CRUISING CLUB AND ITS OFFICERS CANNOT ACCEPT ANY LIABILITY FOR THE SAFETY OF CRAFT ON RIVERS, CANALS OR THE TIDAL THAMES