Dorney Lake Rowing Course

DORNEY LAKE, OLYMPIC ROWING 2012

Olympic Rowing and canoe/kayak flatwater events, and Paralympic rowing course

On the Right bank of the river is Eton College Boat House (Andrews) and just behind it the Eton College rowing course (otherwise known as Dorney Lake) -

Dorney Lake
Dorney Lake, 8 lanes, 2000 metres, more than 3.5 metres deep

Eton Dorney Rowing Centre at Dorney Lake is a world-class venue used for the Rowing events during the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The venue is a 2,200m, eight-lane rowing course with a separate return lane constructed to international standards. It is set in a 400-acre park with a nature conservation area. In 2006, it hosted the Rowing World Championships, with high praise from both competitors and spectators.
The venue's existing facilities have been enhanced for athlete warm-up and Canoe Sprint events during the Games. These works included the installation of a new 50m-span bridge over a widened entrance to the return lake for vehicles and pedestrians.
A cut-through between the competition lake and the return lake, and a new bridge over this cut-through area have also been constructed. The new cut-through enables rowers to move between the rowing course and return lake.
To facilitate these works, the existing gravel/stone access road to the competition venue has been upgraded.

Whilst the lake was being dug the opportunity was taken to explore the archaeology of the site.  Various old channels of the river were found and the remains of some six bridges over these channels.   Some of the wood dated to around 1000 BC.