Dorney Lake


Dorney Lake is a purpose-built rowing lake and Meetings & Events Venue in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km west of Windsor and Eton, close to the River Thames.
The lake is privately owned and financed by Eton College, which spent £17 million developing it. Additional grants, totalling £500,000, were obtained from Sport England, UK Sport, the DCMS and SEEDA in order to build the lake's finish tower. The project was completed in 2006, after 10 years of construction. The facilities are hired out for rowing, as well as for canoeing, Hospitality, dragon boating, and triathlon.

2012 Olympic venue

The lake was used as the 2012 Summer Olympic venue for rowing and canoe sprint, and as the 2012 Summer Paralympic venue for rowing. For the duration of the Olympics, the lake was officially referred to as Eton Dorney; confusingly, a separate venue in Stratford was called Eton Manor due to 19th-century associations with the school.
To provide for Olympic spectators, the existing facilities were enhanced to include 20,000 additional seats; most of these seats were temporary. Construction of enhancements to Dorney Lake began in October 2009, following investigations by Oxford Archaeology, including a new cut-through between the competition lake and the return lane, a new bridge and an upgraded access road, funded by the Olympic Delivery Authority. During the Olympic events, Dorney Lake was staffed by around 3,500 personnel including volunteers; it could accommodate up to 30,000 spectators per day. A temporary bridge over the River Thames linked the Dorney Lake site to Windsor Racecourse, where a pick-up and drop-off point for Olympic spectators was established. Other access options existed for walkers and cyclists.

Past events

Dorney Lake has hosted the following international rowing events:
The lake also hosted the annual National Schools' Regatta from 2016-2024. It will be hosting another regatta in 2026.

Lake specifications

The lake's dimensions follow the FISA rules for a rowing lake suitable for hosting a World Rowing Championship, World Rowing Cup or Olympic regatta:
  • Stillwater, with consistent water conditions
  • straight length for racing
  • 8 rowing lanes, each wide
  • Minimum water depth of
  • A return channel allowing boats to move to the start, separated from the main lake by an island

    Home regattas

Since the lake was opened, a number of annual regattas that were previously held on the River Thames have been transferred to the lake. These include the Marlow Regatta in June, the Metropolitan Regatta in May/June, and the Wallingford Regatta in May.

Public access

The public are allowed to use the grounds of Dorney Lake when sporting events are not being run. The two-kilometre-long flat, straight paths that run along each side of the main lake make it a popular venue for runners, skaters, and even cross-country skiers practising with roller skis. The picturesque landscape also makes it a popular location for dog walkers and people out for fun.