Paddleboarding spots in Essex
47 launch spots across Essex
Every mapped spot in Essex
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Launch spots
Showing 23 of 47
RiverWakering Boatyard slipway, River Roach
Essex, EnglandThis slipway serves Wakering Boat Yard, on a branch of the River Roach south of Potton Island, reached from Great Wakering via Bridge Road and a swing bridge with its own traffic lights. East of Rochford the Roach becomes a wide tidal estuary governed by the Crouch Harbour Authority, which requires canoes, kayaks and paddleboards used in its district to carry third-party liability insurance of at least £3 million.
RiverGreat Wakering put-in (Rochford)
Essex, EnglandThis slipway lies on Bridge Road out of Great Wakering, near the tidal River Roach estuary system towards Potton Island. The road continues to the bridges used to reach Foulness Island, an area that includes Ministry of Defence-controlled land nearby.
SeaWakering Stairs slipway (the Broomway)
Essex, EnglandWakering Stairs is the causeway and slipway that marks the current southern starting point of the Broomway, a public right of way recorded since 1419 that crosses the Maplin Sands mudflats off Great Wakering for about six miles. The incoming tide covers the sands at speed, and the Foulness burial register records dozens of people drowned on the route since 1600, so the crossing is timed tightly against the tide.
SeaGreat Clacton put-in (Clacton-on-Sea)
Essex, EnglandThis is a slipway on Marine Parade East in the Great Clacton area of Clacton-on-Sea, opening onto the North Sea beach. Clacton holds a Blue Flag beach at nearby Martello Bay, and the shore here is firm sand and shingle.
SeaWalton-on-the-Naze put-in
Essex, EnglandThis slipway is on Sunny Point on the Walton-on-the-Naze seafront, roughly a kilometre south of the Naze Tower, opening onto the North Sea. Hamford Water, the tidal backwater behind the town, lies on the opposite, landward side toward Kirby-le-Soken.
RiverFaulkbourne put-in (Braintree)
Essex, EnglandThis put-in is on the River Brain by the village of Faulkbourne, a few miles south of Braintree, where the river flows on to join the River Blackwater at Witham. It is a small tributary rather than a major navigation, and OpenStreetMap maps the put-in as part of the river's course through the village.
SeaEast Mersea put-in (Colchester)
Essex, EnglandThis slipway sits on the East Mersea shore of the Colne Estuary, reached along the public right of way East Mersea FP 1. The estuary here is mostly saltmarsh and mudflat, part of a large SSSI and Ramsar wetland. Cudmore Grove Country Park lies a short distance north along the same coast.
SeaEast Mersea put-in (Colchester)
Essex, EnglandThis slipway sits on East Mersea's south-facing shore, on the Blackwater Estuary side of the island rather than the Colne side. Mersea Island separates the Colne and Blackwater estuaries, and the flats here are mostly beach and mud that dries at low tide.
SeaEast Mersea put-in (Colchester)
Essex, EnglandThis slipway lies on the Pyefleet Channel, the tidal creek separating East Mersea from the Essex mainland near Langenhoe. OSM's edit history ties the point to the Colchester Oyster Fishery, which has worked these waters for generations. The channel is bordered by saltmarsh within the Colne Estuary SSSI.
RiverWharf Road put-in
Essex, EnglandThis put-in lies on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation off Wharf Road in the Chelmer Waterside part of Moulsham, Chelmsford, a short way downstream of Springfield Basin, the historic head of the Navigation. Essex Waterways requires its own licence to paddle this stretch.
RiverBow Bridge put-in
Essex, EnglandThis put-in lies on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation beside Bow Bridge in Moulsham, Chelmsford, part of the Chelmer Waterside redevelopment. A new bowstring-arch road and footbridge, officially named Bow Bridge Road, opened across the river here in 2025. Essex Waterways requires its own licence to paddle this stretch.
RiverKing's Head Meadow slipway
Essex, EnglandThis slipway sits on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation at King's Head Meadow in Moulsham, Chelmsford, close to where the River Can joins the River Chelmer. Chelmsford Canoe Club is based on this stretch. Essex Waterways requires its own waterways licence here, separate from the cover Paddle UK's guide gives to the Upper Chelmer.
LakeBroomfield private fishing lake slipway
Essex, EnglandThis is a small private fishing lake on the northern edge of Chelmsford, near Broomfield and the Regiment Business Park off Essex Regiment Way. OpenStreetMap tags the slipway here as private access, and the lake carries no current published name, only a historic OSM tag recording it as "Fishing Lake".
SeaCanvey Island slipway, Silver Point
Essex, EnglandThis slipway is on Canvey Island's south-east shore at Silver Point, near the Thorney Bay stretch of the seafront that faces the Thames Estuary a few miles upstream of the open sea. A sea-wall path runs along the beach side here, so the tide needs watching from the path itself as well as the water.
SeaCanvey Island slipway, Silver Point (west)
Essex, EnglandThis slipway sits roughly 250 metres west of the Silver Point slipway on Canvey Island's south-east shore, also launching onto the Thames Estuary near the Thorney Bay stretch of the seafront.
SeaBenfleet Yacht Club slipway, Canvey Island
Essex, EnglandThis slipway serves Benfleet Yacht Club on Canvey Island's northern shore, on the tidal Benfleet Creek that separates the island from South Benfleet. The neighbouring Dauntless Boatyard describes the creek as roughly twenty minutes by boat from the River Thames. The Port of London Authority's Tideway Code covers paddlers on this stretch of tidal water.
SeaBenfleet Creek slipway, Canvey Island
Essex, EnglandThis slipway is on Canvey Island's northern shore, on Benfleet Creek, the tidal channel that separates Canvey from South Benfleet and links onward to the Thames Estuary. Local boatyards and Benfleet Yacht Club's own slipway sit a short way along the same creek. The Port of London Authority's Tideway Code covers paddlers on this stretch of tidal water.
RiverCanewdon put-in (Rochford)
Essex, EnglandThis slipway is on the western tip of Wallasea Island, in Canewdon civil parish, on the tidal River Crouch directly opposite the Creeksea slipway near Burnham-on-Crouch. Wallasea Island is bounded by the Crouch to the north and the River Roach to the south-east.
RiverCreeksea Sailing Club slipway (Burnham-on-Crouch)
Essex, EnglandThis is a private slipway used by Creeksea Sailing Club on Ferry Road, on the tidal River Crouch at Creeksea, a hamlet within Burnham-on-Crouch civil parish. It faces Wallasea Island across the river, close to the site of a former ferry crossing.
RiverBurnham-on-Crouch put-in (Maldon)
Essex, EnglandThis slipway sits within Burnham Yacht Harbour, a marina on Foundry Lane connected to the tidal River Crouch on the edge of Burnham-on-Crouch. It is a short distance downstream from the town's central quay and yacht clubs.
RiverBurnham-on-Crouch put-in (Maldon)
Essex, EnglandThis slipway is on the tidal River Crouch off Foundry Lane in Burnham-on-Crouch, close to Burnham Yacht Harbour marina. Burnham is a long-established sailing centre on the river's north bank, home to four yacht clubs and the annual Burnham Week regatta.
SeaBrightlingsea put-in
Essex, EnglandBrightlingsea Creek meets the River Colne estuary at the edge of Brightlingsea, a small working port on the Essex coast. The OpenStreetMap slipway sits by tidal mudflats close to the town's historic hard and the moorings used by its sailing clubs. The Colne Estuary here is a designated SSSI and Ramsar wetland, important for wintering wildfowl.
SeaGrays foreshore slipway, Little Thurrock
Essex, EnglandThis slipway sits on the Thames foreshore at Little Thurrock, close to Grays, on the tidal river's north bank. Ordnance Survey mapping shows a tidal mudflat fronting the site, consistent with the exposed mud and open estuary water typical of this stretch of the river. The Port of London Authority's Tideway Code covers paddlers on the tidal Thames here.
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Some launch spots in this directory are seeded from open data. © OpenStreetMap contributors · Open Database Licence (ODbL)