Long-term moorings in Stroud

Stroud is a Gloucestershire town on the Cotswold Canals: the Stroudwater Navigation and the Thames & Severn Canal. The canal through the town has been restored, but it is not yet joined to the national network. Moorings in Stroud are still being planned, so the nearest established berths are at Saul Junction on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.

Moorings in Stroud

• Stroud Valleys Canal Company: the navigation authority, which issues boat licences and mooring permits. It has yet to confirm where its moorings will be, and takes expressions of interest in long-term moorings.
• Brimscombe Port: the only place where the company expects residential moorings, as a later development.
• Saul Junction Marina: run by Lakeland Leisure Estates where the Stroudwater meets the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, with 284 moorings, fuel, pump-out and a chandlery.
• Saul Junction: a Canal & River Trust leisure site on the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal, with room for up to 18 boats along about 260m of offside bank.

On the water

The Stroud Valleys Canal Company gives the navigable length as 7.5km with seven locks, from The Ocean at Stonehouse to the Stroud Brewery winding hole about 2km east of Stroud. Two more locks at Eastington can be used with care. Facilities are sparse: the company lists one water point, at Ebley, and no pump-out.

The link west to Saul Junction was not open in October 2026. The four miles from Stonehouse to Saul are under restoration, and work on the Missing Mile beneath the M5 began in August 2026. Walk Bridge near Whitminster also has to be replaced. The partners aim to reconnect the canal in 2029, its 250th anniversary.

• Getting a boat on: until the link opens, boats arrive by road. There are slipways at Strachans Close, which is steep, and at Eastington.
• River section: about 1.5km between Wallbridge Upper Lock and Ebley shares its channel with the river and needs extra care after heavy rain.
• Who is restoring it: Stroud District Council and the Cotswold Canals Trust lead the work, backed by The National Lottery Heritage Fund.