The non-tidal river above Teddington, 135 miles of navigation down through Oxford, Reading and Windsor
This is the freshwater Thames — the navigable river above Teddington, where it stops being tidal. From its practical head of navigation in the Cotswolds it runs about 135 miles down to Teddington Lock, on the western edge of London, dropping through 45 locks on the way. The whole non-tidal river is managed by the Environment Agency, and the locks are worked by keepers for much of the year, which makes it one of the gentlest and best-served rivers in the country to boat on. Cricklade is the official limit, though few craft venture above Lechlade, the highest point most boats reach.
The river passes through some of the most familiar country in southern England. Below Oxford it winds down past Abingdon and Wallingford, squeezes through the wooded Goring Gap between the Chilterns and the Berkshire Downs at Goring, then runs on by Reading, Henley-on-Thames with its regatta course, Marlow, and beneath the walls of Windsor Castle and past the meadows of Runnymede.
Two other navigations feed into it along the way: the Oxford Canal joins at Oxford and the Kennet and Avon Canal at Reading, so the river is also a link in the wider inland network.
Walkers have the Thames Path, which follows the bank the entire distance and beyond, and the riverside towns are nearly all on the railway, so it is easy to walk or boat a stretch at a time. Below Teddington the Thames turns tidal and runs on through London to the sea.
