River Witham (Lincoln to Boston)

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 TrustRelevant publications — Waterway Maps:
- Waterway Routes 01M - England and Wales Map
- Waterway Routes 18M - Fossdyke and Witham Navigation and Tributaries Map (Downloadable)
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 |
- http://www.belleislemarina.co.uk/ — associated with Belle Isle Marina
- Langrick Bridge General Store — associated with Langrick Bridge General Store and Marina
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.