A. Park at the village car park and walk down to the river. Put in and turn right to head east (downstream) through Hurley Lock. Alternatively, go over the footbridge onto the island and launch at the canoe portage/landing stage on the backwater to the weir.

B. After half a mile portage Temple Lock on the left hand side. During the summer months tea and ice creams are sold in the lock keeper’s garden. This is Marlow Reach and, depending on the time of day, you may find many rowing boats training for one of the Thames regattas or sailing dinghies from the National Sports Centre at Bisham Abbey.

C. At the end of this long wide stretch is Marlow Suspension Bridge, opened in 1832 and restored in the 1960's after the failure of plans for it to be replaced with a ferro-concrete structure. Under the bridge on the north bank is Marlow Canoe Club.

D. The approach to the lock passes a long weir on the right. Care needs to be taken if the river is flowing as the draw on the weir can be quite strong at times. The portage is on the left and you stay on the left bank and put back in just below the lock.

E. Not long after the Lock you travel under the Marlow by-pass bridge and pass the Longridge Water Sports Centre. As you paddle down here you will notice a lot of countryside and some very attractive riverside properties. Just past Longridge is a home in the shape of a castle.

F. There is an island after about a mile and you can pass either side of it. Soon after that on the left is Spade Oak where there is often an ice cream stall. From here and on the other side of the level crossing is the Spade Oak pub.

G. Round the next corner is Bourne End. Do watch out here as there are often sailing dinghies out and the occasional race too. There is a pub on the right bank, The Bounty, which could be another good place to stop. Further downstream there are lots of fields where one can picnic.

H. Further still under Cookham Bridge is The Ferry public house. Cookham Bridge was first opened in 1840 in place of a ferry but the present structure dates from 1867. Since its opening a toll was payable but this ceased in 1947 when Berkshire County Council bought the bridge from its private owners. It is a beautiful iron bridge.

I. Once you turn off the main river into Cookham Lock cut there is quite a long paddle with no flow. Portage the lock on the left hand bank and put in below the lock on the left bank.

J.A short and interesting diversion is to canoe upstream, under the footbridge into Hedsor Water to explore this quiet backwater. This backwater was deemed private and the right of navigation denied for over 100 years. A successful action in the High Court by the Environment Agency restored public access in 2005.

K. It is at Cookham that the powerful waters of the Thames meet the Chiltern chalk at Cliveden Cliff. This causes the river to change direction suddenly. Centuries ago this area would have been a maze of narrow river channels between wooded, marshy islands but now it is full of foliage.

L. After Cookham Lock you come into Cliveden Reach with the large mansion (now a hotel) that was the scene of the Profumo Scandal that brought down the Tory government in the 1960s.

M. Two miles further on will bring you to Boulter's Lock. During Victorian times, Boulter's Lock won fame across the country as thousands of people flocked to here to mess about and watch the wealthier classes indulge themselves.

N. Nowadays the weir at Boutler's Lock is a popular kayaking site. A canoe/kayak flume is installed annually on the weir during the summer and there is a permanent fixed ramp in front of the third of the weir's six gates.

O. This is your destination so portage on the far right of the island just above the lock. The lock island has a cafe and public toilets. There is a car park just along Lower Cookham Road from your finish point.