Allington Lock slipway (Maidstone)
Allington Lock stands at the tidal limit of the River Medway on the northern edge of Maidstone, where the Environment Agency's Upper Medway Navigation ends and the tidal Medway Estuary begins. Upstream, the non-tidal river runs some 29 kilometres through Maidstone and Yalding to Tonbridge, and Allington is the only lock on that stretch worked by a keeper rather than by the boater.
The lock is paired with the Allington Sluice, the last such structure on the Medway before the river turns tidal; together they hold the level of the reach above and mark the boundary between the non-tidal Medway and the estuary below. A small island between the lock and the sluice carries the Little Old Toll House, a café reached on foot only, and the Museum of Kent Life stands on the far side of the sluice. Allington Castle is visible across the water, largely screened by trees on the opposite bank.
Downstream of the lock, the river becomes the tidal Medway Estuary, part of a Ramsar site, Special Protection Area and Site of Special Scientific Interest reflecting the wider estuary's nationally important wintering and breeding bird populations. The Environment Agency's navigation rules ask paddlers not to land on the river's gravel shoals and islands between 1 April and 31 July, to avoid disturbing nesting birds, wintering wildlife and spawning fish.
Nearby
A small outdoor-only coffee kiosk on the island between the lock and the sluice, with no indoor seating.
WebsiteAn Environment Agency site with eight non-electric grass tent pitches and two cabins, open to the general public (not to groups of 10 or more); one car space is included per pitch or cabin. Open 1 March to 31 October. No OSM element could be found for it; postal address Allington Lock, Castle Road, Allington, Maidstone, ME16 0LU.
WebsiteConditions to check
Allington Lock is a staffed lock at the downstream end of the Upper Medway Navigation; it is the only lock on the navigation that the public may not operate themselves.
SourceThe Allington Sluice, built in 1937, stands next to the lock and is the last such structure on the Medway before the river becomes tidal.
Downstream of Allington Lock the river is tidal, and the Environment Agency notes that at times the river below the lock may run dry.
SourceThe reach immediately upstream toward Maidstone is used by rowing crews from Maidstone Invicta Rowing Club alongside powered leisure craft.
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