Long-term moorings in Kingston upon Thames

Kingston upon Thames is in Greater London, on the lowest non-tidal reach of the River Thames between Molesey Lock and Teddington Lock. Moorings in Kingston upon Thames are private long-term and residential berths at the town's piers and boatyards, plus short-stay council moorings. Teddington and Thames Ditton have their own pages.

Moorings in Kingston upon Thames

• Turk Launches: long-term and residential moorings at Town End Pier on the High Street, for narrowboats, wide beams and barges up to 40m, with electricity, water, sewerage and gated access.
• Stewart Marine: residential moorings on pontoons at Hart's Boatyard, Portsmouth Road, Surbiton, with a slipway, repairs and refits.
• Charter Quay: eight residential moorings on the riverfront, managed by Charter Quay Moorings Limited, a company run by its boat owners.
• Council moorings: the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames permits mooring only at Town End Pier and Horsefair Quay. Arrival must be registered, the first 24 hours are free and the limit is 72 hours.
• No return: a boat that leaves the council moorings may not come back within 48 hours, and a breach brings a penalty charge notice. The council offers no long-term moorings.
• Environment Agency visitor moorings: Railway Wharf and Stevens Eyot, for up to 24 hours unless signs say otherwise.

On the water

The Environment Agency runs the river down to its boundary obelisk, 0.39km below Teddington Lock. Below that is the tideway of the Port of London Authority, which covers 95 miles from Teddington to the North Sea. Every boat kept or used above the boundary must be registered with the agency.

• Teddington Lock: the barge lock is 198.12m by 7.54m. The launch lock, 54.22m by 7.41m, has been closed for repairs since 1 October 2023. Mooring at the lock is only for boats locking through or awaiting the tide.
• Molesey Lock: 7.74km (4.81 miles) above Teddington Lock, 81.78m long and 7.56m wide.
• Bridges: Kingston Bridge has 7.29m (23ft 11in) of headway at standard water level, Kingston Railway Bridge 6.51m (21ft 4in) and Hampton Court Bridge 5.92m (19ft 5in).
• Depth and speed: the agency gives a maximum draught of 2.0m between Staines and Teddington. The speed limit is 8km/h, about 5mph.

Floods and closures

After heavy rain the agency puts up stream warning boards at Molesey and Teddington locks and lists them by reach on GOV.UK. On yellow boards unpowered boats are advised not to navigate. On red boards, a strong stream, the advice is that no boat should move.

Drought restrictions have applied at Teddington and Molesey locks since 24 August 2026, until further notice.