CanalPlanAC

River Witham (Lincoln to Boston)

 
 
Information about the waterway

The River Witham (Lincoln to Boston) is a broad canal and is part of the River Witham. It runs for 31 miles and 6½ furlongs through 2 locks from High Bridge Lincoln (the Glory Hole) (where it joins the Fossdyke Canal) to Boston Grand Sluice Lock No 3 (where it joins the River Witham (Boston to the Wash)).

The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 67 feet and 11 inches long and 17 feet and 5 inches wide. The maximum headroom is not known. The maximum draught is 5 feet.

It has junctions with the River Witham (Sleaford Navigation(Kyme Eau)-navigable section) at Chapel Hill Junction and with the Witham Navigable Drains (Frith Bank Drain) at Anton's Gowt Junction.

The navigational authority for this waterway is Canal & River Trust

Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:

Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:

High Bridge Lincoln (the Glory Hole)
Waterside Centre Pedestrian Bridge No 2 ½ furlongs 0 locks
Broadgate Bridge No 3 1 furlong 0 locks
Waterside House Pedestrian Bridge No 4 2¼ furlongs 0 locks
Stamp End Lock No 1 3 furlongs 0 locks
Lincoln Railway Bridge No 7
The bridge carries the line from Lincoln Central to Market Rasen.
3¾ furlongs 1 lock
Witham Park Bridge No 8 4¼ furlongs 1 lock
Pipe Bridge by Spa Road, Lincoln 6 furlongs 1 lock
A15 Road Bridge 1 mile and 3½ furlongs 1 lock
Washingborough Village Visitor Moorings 2 miles and 4¾ furlongs 1 lock
File Mile Bridge No 9 4 miles and 5¼ furlongs 1 lock
Fiskerton Fen Visitor Moorings 6 miles and 3½ furlongs 1 lock
Bardney Lock Weir Entrance
Channel leading to the Weir - No Access
6 miles and 6½ furlongs 1 lock
Bardney Lock Visitor Moorings 7 miles and 6¾ furlongs 1 lock
Bardney Lock No 2 8 miles and ¼ furlongs 1 lock
Bardney Lock Weir Exit
Channel leading to the Weir
8 miles and ¾ furlongs 2 locks
Bardney Lock Old Railway Bridge
Disused, now a footpath
8 miles and 1 furlong 2 locks
Bardney Village Visitor Moorings 8 miles and 5¾ furlongs 2 locks
Bardney Bridge 8 miles and 6¾ furlongs 2 locks
River Witham - Nocton Delph Junction 11 miles and ¾ furlongs 2 locks
Dunstan Fen Visitor Moorings 11 miles and 6¼ furlongs 2 locks
Southrey Visitor Moorings 11 miles and 6¾ furlongs 2 locks
Stixwould 13 miles and 3¾ furlongs 2 locks
Kirkstead Bridge Visitor Moorings 15 miles and 4½ furlongs 2 locks
Kirkstead Bridge 15 miles and 5¼ furlongs 2 locks
Horncastle Canal Junction
Gibsons Cut - No Access
19 miles and 3¼ furlongs 2 locks
Tattershall Bridge
Tattershall Castle is 1 mile north, and well worth visiting.
19 miles and 7½ furlongs 2 locks
Old Tattershall Bridge 20 miles 2 locks
Tattershall Bridge Visitor Moorings
Tattershall Castle is 1 mile north, and well worth visiting. Royal Oak pub no longer does food (July 2025)
20 miles 2 locks
Belle Isle Marina 20 miles and 7¼ furlongs 2 locks
Dogdyke Visitor Moorings
Tattershall Castle and Battle of Britain hangar are 30min walk away
20 miles and 7¾ furlongs 2 locks
Orchard Caravan and Camping Park Moorings
£15 per night (July 2025)
21 miles and 4¾ furlongs 2 locks
Chapel Hill Junction
Junction with Sleaford Navigation (Kyme Eau)-navigable section
21 miles and 7¼ furlongs 2 locks
Langrick Bridge 27 miles and 2¼ furlongs 2 locks
Langrick Bridge General Store and Marina
Only diesel on River Witham (July 2025)
27 miles and 2¾ furlongs 2 locks
Anton's Gowt Junction
Junction of Witham Navigable Drains with River Witham.
29 miles and 3¼ furlongs 2 locks
Boston Lock Visitor Moorings 31 miles and 3¾ furlongs 2 locks
Boston Motor Yatch Club 31 miles and 5 furlongs 2 locks
Boston Gateway Marina
Boat Club
31 miles and 5½ furlongs 2 locks
Boston Grand Sluice Railway Bridge 31 miles and 6¼ furlongs 2 locks
Boston Grand Sluice Lock No 3
Boston Lock
31 miles and 6½ furlongs 2 locks
 
 
Maps
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Wikipedia

Wikipedia has a page about River Witham

The River Witham is a river almost entirely in the county of Lincolnshire in the east of England. It rises south of Grantham close to South Witham at SK8818, passes through the centre of Grantham (where it may be closely followed using the Riverside Walk through Wyndham Park and Queen Elizabeth Park), passes Lincoln at SK9771 and at Boston, TF3244, flows into The Haven, a tidal arm of The Wash, near RSPB Frampton Marsh. The name "Witham" seems to be extremely old and of unknown origin. Archaeological and documentary evidence shows the importance of the Witham as a navigable river from the Iron Age onwards. From Roman times it was navigable to Lincoln, from where the Fossdyke was constructed to link it to the River Trent. The mouth of the river moved in 1014 following severe flooding, and Boston became important as a port.

From 1142 onwards, sluices were constructed to prevent flooding by the sea, and this culminated in the Great Sluice, which was constructed in 1766. It maintained river levels above Boston, and helped to scour the channel below it. The land through which the lower river runs has been the subject of much land drainage, and many drains are connected to the Witham by flood doors, which block them off if river levels rise rapidly. The river is navigable from Brayford Pool in Lincoln to Boston. Its locks are at Lincoln, Bardney and the Grand/Great Sluice. Passage through the latter is restricted typically to 12-hour intervals during daylight when the tidal levels are suitable. The river provides access for boaters to the Witham Navigable Drains, to the north of Boston, and to the South Forty-Foot Drain to the south, which was reopened as part of the Fens Waterways Link, a project to link the river to the Nene flowing through the city of Peterborough. From Brayford Pool the Fossdyke Navigation links to the Trent.

Other Wikipedia pages that might relate to River Witham
[River Witham sword] two notable swords known recovered from the River Witham, both kept in the British Museum. The River Witham "Viking sword" (actually a blade of German/Ottonian [Witham Shield] dating from about the 4th century BC. The shield was discovered in the River Witham in the vicinity of Washingborough and Fiskerton in Lincolnshire, England [Witham] Witham /ˈwɪtəm/ is a town in the county of Essex in the East of England, with a population (2011 census) of 25,353. It is part of the District of Braintree [Lincoln, England] 200. Roman Lindum Colonia developed from an Iron Age settlement on the River Witham. The city's landmarks include Lincoln Cathedral, an example of English [Witham (disambiguation)] Lincolnshire, England Witham Friary, Somerset, England Witham, UK Parliament constituency People Witham (surname) Other River Witham, a river in Lincolnshire [Foss Dyke] were built at Brayford Pool in the centre of Lincoln. Connection to the River Witham at Brayford was hampered by the small bore and depth of High Bridge, [Upper Witham IDB] Lincolnshire city of Lincoln, broadly following the valleys of the upper River Witham, the River Till and the course of the Fossdyke Navigation. Land to the west [Viking sword] Stephen in the Treasury of St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague. Lincoln sword (River Witham sword): A sword dated to the 10th century, with a blade of German/Ottonian [River Bain] The River Bain is a river in Lincolnshire, England, and a tributary of the River Witham. The Bain rises in the Lincolnshire Wolds at Ludford, a village
 
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