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Playspot: England, River Thames, Sunbury Weir

What's it like

Sunbury Weir runs when the Thames is quite high, a good gauge would be when Hurley is on 4 and Shepperton is on anything bigger than 8 gates.

The weir consists of 7 big gates, and when all 7 are open the weir forms either a big stopper or a big wave, this all depends on the weir pool level.

The best level for Sunbury would be 6 gates open from surfers left leaving a big eddy on the right to access the wave, the weir pool at this level wants to be lapping just below the first step in the eddy. This level will give you what you see in the pictures. You cannot walk to the weir to check the level, the only way to check is to paddle to it, this can be done without getting into your gear!

How to get there

Sunbury Weir is located 5 mins from junction 1 on the M3. Come off at junction 1 take the 5th exit on the rounderbout, signed local exit. Follow the road for 1 mile untill you reach a T junction, the river will be in front of you. Take a right at the T junction and then take the first left into the carpark, walk to the river and off you go.

More info

• Wikipaddle.
• For up to date weir levels check out WWTCC.

Info source

Jon, WWTCC (Whitewater The Canoe Centre).

Nearest weather station (°C): Addlestone, England, United Kingdom Daily Hourly Apr 06 16 7 12 0 Clear Apr 07 16 3 9 0 Clear Apr 08 16 3 9 0 Clear Apr 09 15 3 9 0 Clear Apr 10 16 4 10 0 Partially cloudy Apr 11 17 4 10 0 Clear Apr 12 16 5 10 0 Partially cloudy Apr 13 11 9 10 4.7 Overcast Apr 14 15 5 11 2.6 Overcast Apr 15 13 4 8 4.4 Partially cloudy Apr 16 9 4 6 4.6 Overcast Apr 17 12 5 8 2.8 Partially cloudy Apr 18 10 6 8 9.7 Overcast Apr 19 12 8 10 4.2 Overcast Apr 20 14 6 10 1.3 Partially cloudy Apr 21 12 5 9 1.5 Partially cloudy Credit