Berkshire, England

Pangbourne slipway (Thames Avenue)

Launch — A concrete slipway on Pangbourne (River) Meadow, on the Berkshire bank of the Thames immediately downstream of Whitchurch Bridge; the parish council refers to it as "the concrete launch".

Parking — Pangbourne River Meadow Car Park on Whitchurch Road has 27 spaces (two Blue Badge) and charges £1 an hour, 8am to 6pm, plus an evening rate 6pm to 8am; a free car park at the Recreation Ground is reached via a gated access road off Thames Avenue.

Access — The launch is reached across open, level meadow that is public open space at all times, managed by Pangbourne Parish Council under byelaws covering the River Meadow and Recreation Ground.

Season — The meadow is a designated bathing water from mid-May to September, when the Environment Agency samples it weekly, and hosts an annual canoe marathon and Pangbourne College rowing. Whitchurch Lock, immediately upstream, is subject to occasional navigation closures; check the Environment Agency's river closures page before travelling.

Regulations — Unpowered craft, including paddleboards, must be registered with the Environment Agency to use this stretch of the non-tidal Thames (British Canoeing or Canoe Wales membership counts as registration), under the Thames Navigation Licensing and General Byelaws 1993, which apply from Lechlade to Teddington. Separate byelaws made under the Open Spaces Act 1906 govern the River Meadow and Recreation Ground on land.

This free slipway lies on Thames Avenue in Pangbourne, on the Berkshire bank of the River Thames opposite Whitchurch-on-Thames, close to the toll bridge linking the two villages.

The launch sits on Pangbourne (River) Meadow, on the Berkshire bank of the Thames in the short reach between Whitchurch Lock, immediately upstream, and Mapledurham Lock, two miles downstream. Whitchurch weir spans the river to the Pangbourne bank just above the launch, and the River Pang joins the Thames from the south between the bridge and the lock. Whitchurch Lock itself is reachable only by boat, with no public towpath or footpath connecting it to the bank.

The privately operated Whitchurch Bridge, a Grade II listed toll bridge carrying the Thames Path across the river, stands immediately upstream on the site of the historic Pangbourne–Whitchurch ferry crossing; the present bridge reopened in September 2014.

Downstream, the Berkshire bank opens into Pangbourne (River) Meadow: open grassland kept by the National Trust and the parish council, with a nature reserve section of reeds and scrub set back from the water, and free 24-hour moorings along the bank.

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Pangbourne's Cafe

Family-run cafe at 14 Whitchurch Road, recently renamed from The Garden Cafe.

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Conditions to check

Weir

Whitchurch weir crosses the river to the Pangbourne bank immediately upstream of the launch.

Source

Lock

Whitchurch Lock lies immediately upstream and is reachable only by boat, with no public footpath or towpath connection to the bank.

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Boat traffic

Scheduled passenger cruise boats call at Pangbourne Meadows, and the reach carries rowing and canoe traffic from Pangbourne College Boat Club and Pangbourne Canoe Club/Adventure Dolphin.

Overhead cable

Whitchurch Bridge, immediately upstream, gives a clearance of about 3.84m (12ft 7in) at normal high winter-level water, reduced to about 3.53m (11ft 7in) by the adjoining railway bridge.

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