River Thames Source to Sea
England’s longest river at 204 miles, stretching from the Cotswolds to the North Sea, rich with wildlife, beautiful villages and riverside pubs. It is the most epic river to explore on a paddle board.
In July 2015 my friend Mel and I experienced our first SUP journey, as we paddled boarded the length of the River Thames from its source to sea.
We had such a brilliant adventure, that we want to share the blueprint we created, to help you create your own epic adventure too.
River Thames Length: 204 miles
Number of Locks: 45 locks
Start / End Point: Kemble to Southend on Sea
Journey: 11 days
Average miles per day: 17 miles
Riverside pubs: 60
Number of fish species: 125
Adventure Blueprint
The source of the River Thames is near Kemble Station (Thames Head), in a field marked by a stone.
It is approximately 22 miles from the stone at Thames Head, to a suitable SUP launch point in Lechlade.
Details below include our original plan and in the notes below is what actually happened.
| Day | Approx Distance(kms) | Start Point | End Point | Accommodation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | - | - | - | Tavern Inn at Kemble (camping) | Train London to Kemble for the night before starting |
| 1[a] | 36 | Thames Head | Lechlade | N/A | Completed on a bike |
| 1[b] | 10 | Lechlade | Radcot Bridge | Ye Olde Swan Tipi Villiage (opposite Ye Olde Swan Pub) | Switched bikes for SUP (we had a support crew) |
| 2 | 27 | Radcot Bridge | Eynsham Lock | Campsite at Eynsham Lock on the Island | Facilities available at Eynsham Lock |
| 3 | 32.5 | Eynsham Lock | Clifton Lock | Bridge House Campsite | - |
| 4 | 30 | Clifton Lock | Pangbourne | Wild camping between Goring Lock and Pangbourne | We wanted to sleep at Goring, however there were no wild camping or riverside accommodation, so we continued to Pangbourne. It was a little tricky to find a wild camping spot, so explore the area to see if there is anything new that's opened up. |
| 5 | 27 | Pangbourne | Henley-on-Thames | Camping on the grounds of Henley Sea Cadets | We were fortunate to meet an organised group of kayakers on the river, who had arranged to stay on the grounds of the Henley Sea Cadets. Contact Henley Sea Cadets, to see if it's possible to stay, as it has great access to the river, or find alternative accommodation. |
| 6 | 26 | Henley-on-Thames | Bray Lock | Amerden Caravan and Campsite | - |
| 7 | 34 | Bray Lock | Sunbury Lock | Wild camping | There were no campsites and we didn’t want the expense of a hotel on the river, so we ate at The Weir Hotel and discretely set up our tent in the grass area next to the property of the pub and ate at the pub. |
| 8[a] | 13 | Sunbury Lock | Teddington Lock | N/A | The last section of the tidal Thames. |
| 8[b] | 19 | Teddington Lock | Putney Foreshore (before the Bridge) | Premier Inn London Putney Bridge (SUP boards stored at a rowing club on the foreshore - arranged prior to arriving) |
Once you reach Teddington Lock, the Thames becomes tidal, so we needed to plan our day according to the tide times.
From Teddington to Putney Bridge, there are no restrictions to SUPing on that section of the river. You just need to obey the river rules, as there are lots of rowers. |
| 9 | 27 | Putney Foreshore | North Woolwich | Travel Lodge London Woolwich | Onwards from Putney Bridge, prior permission is needed to paddle with the Port of London Authority. We would recommend making first contact with the PLA at least 3 months before your journey commences. |
| 10 | 25 | North Woolwich | Gravesend | A hotel in Gravesend | - |
| 11 | 30 | Gravesend | Southend Pier | Back to London after our paddle. The train along Southend Pier, followed by a mainland train back to London. | This was the plan. In reality on the day we had to break up the 30 kms over two days and exit at Hole Haven. This was due to a storm approaching, which would have made it dangerous for ourselves and the safety boat to remain on the water. We paddled the remaining 15kms from Hole Haven to Southend Pier, on a seperate day. |
Kit List
SUP Kit
Inflatable 14” SUP board
Carbon Fiber Paddle
Fin + screw + spare screw
Pump + Paddle + Repair Kit
Buoyancy Aid
Waist Leash*
Rope (at least 4m)
SUP board bag (with wheels)
Plus we had two bikes and helmets for the first 22 miles, cycling from the River Thames source, to a suitable SUP entry point.
Camping Kit
Lightweight tent
Sleeping mat
Sleeping bag and liner
First aid kit
Gas cooker and matches
Bowl and cutlery
Eco friendly washing liquid
Water bottle and bladder (to carry extra water)
Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks for the trip (which we topped up during the trip)
Other Kit
Two changes of paddle clothes (items dependent on season)
Waterproof jacket and puffer jacket
One change of warm cloths for the evening
Swimwear (or use a sports bra and pants)
Water shoes
Trainers or flip flops
Toiletries
Hand gel (and mask in Covid times)
Travel towel
Chargers / Phone / Camera / Money
River Thames Map
50L waterproof bags
Dry bags
Great Resources
Map of the River Thames (Imray) - a MUST buy!
Thames Lock Info (water, toilets, camping etc.)
Thames21 and Citizen Science
Tideway
Active360
Gravesend Sea Cadets
River Thames Tide Times
Windy - a great weather app
PLA
Paddle Code
You can see a copy of our Passage Plan and Risk Assessment that we created for the PLA to give us permission to SUP from Putney Bridge to Southend-on-Sea. We needed to complete this in 2015. Refer to the Paddle Code for more recente PLA guidance.
River Requirements
Non-Tidal Requirements
Requirements
You are required to hold a British Canoeing license, which means you are insured as a paddler on the non-tidal Thames.
Lock Guidance
The Environmental Agency has issued guidance for SUP users when approaching a lock.
In our experience, if your SUP board is fully loaded, portaging 45 locks will feel quite painful and tiring. If you speak to the lock master and suggest kindly that you either pull your board through the lock with a long rope attached, or go into the lock on the board yourself (on your knees) and hold onto the chains as the water is released slowly out, they may allow you to do this. It’s always worth asking.
Tidal Thames and Central London
Teddington to Putney Bridge
On a paddle board, you do not require permission to paddle board between Teddington Lock and Putney Bridge, however you must comply with the Paddling Code developed by the Port of London Authority.
Putney Bridge to Tower Bridge
On a paddle board, there are strict rules in place if you wish to paddle board between Putney Bridge and Tower Bridge. Please refer to the Paddling Code for details. If you don’t comply, you won’t be authorised or allowed to make the journey.
Tower Bridge to Southend
You must contact the PLA to discuss the rules they have in place, if you wish paddle beyond Tower Bridge.
What did our trip look like?
This little clip below shows a glimpse of our journey, including our appearance on BBC, paddling out of a lock and when I had to get rescued by our safety boat when the Thames became the sea!
(I didn’t have a fab camera back then, so excuse the quality!)
A few more words about our journey
We planned our dates for our route, based on the permission from the Port of London Authority. Once permission was granted for the dates to SUP through Central London and reviewing tide times, we plotted our route and timetable backwards, therefore knowing what date needed to start our journey.
We have attached our Passage Plan for Central London and Risk Assessment under the Resources section, so you can see the level of detail required at the time. If you are looking to make a similar journey, please do use our documents if it would help and check with the PLA what they now require in case details have changed since we made the paddle.
We were supported on the river through Central London by Harry Wheelan our Safety Kayaker and the Gravesend Sea Cadets. We funded these costs ourselves. If you would like their contact details, send us an email and we will happily provide these to you.
We didn’t plan accommodation for all 11 days in advance. Where we could, we used Google Earth and booked campsites before the trip where possible, however we mainly relied on the good will and advice of others, where it wasn't obvious where our nights sleep would be.
We carried all our food and equipment on our boards and had friends bring us extra supplies in Bray. Along the river you are never too far from a riverside pub, so there is no need to worry about going hungry.
We were able to top up our water at the many locks and pubs along the river, always making sure we carried at least 2L of water each on our boards.
A journey with purpose was really important for us. We linked up with Thames21 to become citizen scientist volunteers, where we were trained to test the water quality of the river, for their Thames River Watch Citizen Science project. We carried a small water testing kit on the journey and took samples and recorded our results. All it took was 10 minutes per day.
We raised £810 for Tree Aid, where £1 = 1 tree, supporting villagers in Africa's dry-lands to unlock the potential of trees sustainably.
Paddle boarding from Putney Bridge to Southend Pier
Prior to our Source to Sea journey in July 2015, the law for stand up paddle boarding in Central London was very different - it was illegal. The Port of London Authority stated at the time, that "stand up paddle boarding will not be permitted in any circumstances on the Thames in central or east London.”
Mel and I wanted to positively challenge the PLA statement and therefore worked very closely with the PLA over 3 months to find a solution to make the journey possible and of course safe for ourselves and any other river craft on the River Thames in Central London.
We spent hours researching the hazards on the Thames from Putney Bridge to Southend Pier, both on foot and on a PLA boat. We needed produce detailed documentation, including a detailed passage plan, maps for every section of the river detailing the entire route - including all hazards and potential exit points, and a detailed risk assessment.
In addition to this, we needed to employ a safety kayaker to travel with us while on our SUP boards from Putney Bridge onwards and hire a safety boat fitted with AIS to travel with us from Tower Bridge, escorting us to the sea.
With everything in place, we were granted written permission from the PLA to make the journey.
We proudly and safely completed the first paddle board through Central London to Southend Pier (in many, many years), showing the paddle boarding community and more importantly, the PLA that safe passage on a paddle board was possible through the busy waters of the River Thames in Central London.
The PLA has since worked collaboratively with many organisations who use the river recreationally, to produce new guidance for paddling this section of the River Thames and have engaged with Tideway and Active360 to grow the use of the River Thames through Central London, for paddle board and rowing enthusiasts. Look out for some exciting events that will take place on this stretch of the Thames in years to come.
If you want to paddle board through Central London now? Read through the new guidance and seek advice.