River Wey Navigation

Quick Facts

• Wey & Godalming Navigations: approximately 20 miles, 16 broad locks (Weybridge to Godalming, with the Godalming Navigation as an extension above Guildford)
• Basingstoke Canal: approximately 32 miles, 29 locks (only 31 miles + 29 locks fully navigable; the upper end towards Basingstoke is dry)
• Connects: Wey — Thames at Weybridge → Guildford → Godalming. Basingstoke — junction with the Wey at Woodham (West Byfleet) → Woking → Brookwood → Aldershot → Greywell (current head, with the historic Greywell Tunnel collapsed)
• Build period & engineer: Wey Navigation 1653 (Sir Richard Weston) — one of the very earliest navigations in Britain. Basingstoke Canal opened 1794, restored and reopened 1991.
• Boat dimensions: Wey — max 71 ft 6 in by 13 ft 9 in beam, max headroom 7 ft 1 in, max draught 2 ft 11 in. Basingstoke — max 72 ft by 13 ft 6 in beam (booking required for boats over a certain size).
• Typical cruise time: 3 days each way Thames to Godalming; 4–5 days each way for the full Basingstoke run

What's it like to cruise?

Two very different waterways linked by a single junction. The Wey is a National Trust-managed historic navigation through the green commuter belt of Surrey — gentle, deep, beautifully maintained, with hand-operated locks and characterful water meadows. The Basingstoke is a quiet, narrow, semi-rural canal through Surrey and Hampshire — much of it isolated from the main system since the Greywell Tunnel collapse, and run by the Basingstoke Canal Authority not CRT, with strict booking and timing rules.

Highlights along the route

• Wey: Dapdune Wharf — National Trust visitor centre and Wey barge restoration in central Guildford.
• Wey: Newark Priory ruins — atmospheric ruins beside the navigation.
• Wey: Godalming Wharf — the upstream terminus, picturesque and quiet.
• Basingstoke: Deepcut Locks — flight of 14 narrow locks raising the canal up the Surrey heaths.
• Basingstoke: Frimley Aqueduct over the M3.
• Basingstoke: Greywell Tunnel approach — the head of navigation with the famous bat colony in the tunnel.

Connections & cruising rings

The Wey is the only fully functional canal/navigation south of the Thames Ring connecting to the main Thames system. The Basingstoke is a dead-end (currently). Together they form the only southern out-and-back from the Thames.

Suitable for

Wey: excellent for beginners and families — gentle, scenic, well-staffed. Basingstoke: more demanding because of the booking system, the long Deepcut flight and the timed lock operating windows. Both have strict speed limits and an emphasis on conservation.

Practicalities

• Wey licence: separate licence from the National Trust (Wey Navigation), in addition to or instead of CRT.
• Basingstoke licence: separate licence from the Basingstoke Canal Authority (Hampshire/Surrey County Councils).
• Lock hours and bookings: Basingstoke locks have set operating windows and pre-booked passage in summer.
• Water and elsan: Pyrford, Guildford, Godalming on the Wey; Woking, Mytchett (BCA HQ), Aldershot on the Basingstoke.
• Mobile signal: good throughout.
• Pump-out: at the major marinas.

Best time to cruise

May to September. Basingstoke booking pressure peaks in school holidays. The Wey is quietest in early summer mornings.