Things to do · Lechlade-on-Thames
Cotswold Boat Hire, Buscot Lock
Self-drive boat hire on the upper Thames from Buscot Lock near Lechlade: small electric boats by the hour and cruisers by the half day or day, April to October.
Dog-friendly · Family-friendly
The easiest way onto the quiet upper Thames: no experience needed, dogs and children welcome, and the small electric boats are cheap enough for an hour. Take a cruiser for a day and moor up at a riverside pub. Book ahead.
- Good: No boating experience needed for any boat
- Good: Dogs welcome on all boats, up to two by booking
- Good: Buoyancy aids supplied in every size
- Good: Mostly electric boats, quiet on the water
- Worth knowing: Main season 1 April to 30 October only
- Worth knowing: Online booking adds a 6% fee
About
Cotswold Boat Hire works from Brandy Island at Buscot Lock, on the Thames about a mile and a half below Lechlade-on-Thames. It is a family company that has traded on this stretch of the river for more than 35 years, and nearly all its boats are electric, so they are quiet on the water.
Small open boats go out for an hour or two, half-day and full-day cruisers take 8 to 10 people, and a few boats are let for a weekend or longer. No boating experience is needed for any of them, buoyancy aids are supplied from infant sizes up, and children and dogs are welcome, up to two dogs ticked on the booking.
In 2026 a small boat cost £50 to £70 for an hour, or £45 to £65 midweek before 10am, and £75 to £100 for two hours. A cruiser cost £120 to £200 for a half day and £150 to £350 for a full day, more at weekends. Booking online adds a 6% fee, which disappears if the company books it for you on 01793 354079 (or text or WhatsApp 07947 993784). Day boats are paid in full when you book, and the company’s terms hold a security deposit of £100 or £250 on your card.
When to go
The main season runs from 1 April to 30 October, with boats out from 9am to 5pm; a few go out off-peak through the winter if the river allows. Book ahead: boats must be booked in advance, and summer weekends go first. Allow an hour for a small boat, or a full day if you want to cruise and moor at a riverside pub for lunch. Fishing from the boats is allowed between 14 June and 14 March with a rod licence. Buscot Park is a short drive away, and the walk from Lechlade to Buscot follows the river past the lock.
Opening hours and season
Main hire season 1 April to 30 October, boats 9am to 5pm; some boats year-round off-peak, weather and river permitting.
Facilities
- Dogs welcomeUp to two by booking; dog bowls and a field to walk them
- ParkingOn site, with parking for guests with mobility needs
- Children and infantsBuoyancy aids from infant sizes
The details
- Time to allow
- An hour for a small boat; up to a full day for a cruiser
- Features
- By the water · Parking
- History
- A family company on this stretch of the Thames for over 35 years
- Parking
- On site at Buscot Mill, with parking for guests with mobility needs; note it on the booking form.
Photos
A day boat on the Thames 
Day boats 
The river from the air 
Moorings by the boathouse
Location
Places to stay nearby
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Bridge House Campsite
Camping · Lechlade-on-Thames
A small family-run touring and camping field on Thames Street, Lechlade, a short walk from the river and the town, with 42 pitches and three bell tents, open from late March until it closes for the winter.
Dog-friendly · Walker-friendly
Verified Nov 2026
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The Plough, Kelmscott
Pubs · Kelmscott
Kelmscott's village pub, a listed stone inn dated 1690, a few minutes from Kelmscott Manor and the Thames Path, serving British pub classics, breakfast and Sunday roasts, with a garden and eight bedrooms.
Verified Oct 2026
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Manor Farm B&B
B&B · Kelmscott
A late seventeenth-century farmhouse B&B with three en-suite rooms on a working farm in Kelmscott, with a shepherd's hut and a pod, each with its own wood-fired hot tub, in the meadow across the lane.
Family-friendly · Walker-friendly · Hot tubs
Verified Nov 2026
Nearby walks, places and things to do
- The Trout Inn 1.6 km away
- Buscot Park 1.7 km away
- Bridge House Campsite 2.3 km away
- The Plough, Kelmscott 2.3 km away
Sights nearby
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St Mary's Church, Buscot
Sight · Church · Lechlade-on-Thames
Buscot's small thirteenth-century church by the Thames below Lechlade, with a full set of Morris & Co. windows designed by Edward Burne-Jones from 1892 to 1924, a zigzag chancel arch and the Loveden monuments by Robert Cooke. Grade I.
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Father Thames and St John's Lock
Sight · Monument · Lechlade-on-Thames
Raffaelle Monti's reclining river god, modelled in cement for the Crystal Palace in 1854, beside St John's Lock below Lechlade, the first lock on the Thames. He lay at the river's source from 1958 until vandals drove him here in 1974. Grade II.
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River Thames at Lechlade
Sight · River · Lechlade-on-Thames
The young Thames at Lechlade, where the Coln and the Leach join it and the old Thames and Severn Canal met it at the Round House: long the head of the navigable river, with the Thames Path past Halfpenny Bridge to St John's Lock.
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Halfpenny Bridge, Lechlade
Sight · Bridge · Lechlade-on-Thames
The single tall stone arch that carries Thames Street over the Thames at Lechlade, built under a turnpike Act of 1792, with a little square tollhouse on its corner. Named after the halfpenny walkers paid until 1839. Grade II; free.