United Kingdom: Harbours, bridges and formalities for sailors

325 harbours · 342 bridges and locks · 9 inland lakes

United Kingdom: 325 harbours, 342 bridges and locks, clearing in, papers and fees. Plan your trip with weather, tides and route.

Formalities

outside the EU customs unionCurrency: Pound sterling

Clearing in: Outside the EU, Schengen and the EU customs union. Before departure, submit a Pleasure Craft Report via the government's online service (for Border Force and customs) and fly the yellow flag (Q) from the 12-mile limit until the report is done. Anyone who is neither British nor Irish needs leave to enter from Border Force before going ashore (this can also be granted remotely), except when arriving from Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. Passports for the whole crew; EU nationals need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). The same report applies on departure. Northern Ireland is included; separate rules apply there for goods and the report.

Documents: Passport and ETA, boat papers (home registry or Small Ships Register), insurance, SRC. A licence is not required for visitors, but one from the home country is expected.

Fees: Harbour dues per night in marinas; harbour dues in many harbours, in the Solent sometimes also for boats at anchor.

Fairway: Large tidal range and strong tidal streams (Portland Race, Needles Channel, Pentland Firth, Corryvreckan). Many harbours dry out or lie behind a sill. Dense traffic and traffic separation schemes in the Channel and off Dover.

Inland waters: Canals and rivers of the Canal & River Trust only with a licence (short-term licence for visitors), the Thames above Teddington with registration with the Environment Agency, the Broads with a toll from the Broads Authority.

Nature: Marine Conservation Zones with restrictions on anchoring in seagrass meadows; bird protection on islands (Farne Islands, Bass Rock) with access rules.

Emergency: 999 or 112; HM Coastguard, VHF channel 16 and DSC.

Sources: HMRC: arriving in the UK by pleasure craft (as of 20 July 2026), GOV.UK: when no ETA is needed (residents of Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man), Maritime and Coastguard Agency (as of 2026-10-20)

Harbours by cruising area

Bristol Channel and South Wales

Cardigan Bay and West Wales

East Anglia (Wash, Norfolk, Suffolk)

Firth of Forth and East Scotland

Humber and Yorkshire

Irish Sea (Liverpool, Lancashire)

Liverpool Marina

Isle of Man

Moray Firth and Aberdeen

North Wales (Anglesey, Menai)

North-east England (Tyne, Tees)

Northern Ireland east coast (Antrim, Belfast Lough)

Northern Ireland north coast (Lough Foyle to Rathlin)

Orkney and Caithness

Outer Hebrides and the Minch

Shetland

Solway and Cumbria

South-east England (Kent, Sussex, Solent)

South-west England (Devon, Cornwall, Scilly)

Southern Northern Ireland (Strangford Lough, Mourne coast)

Thames and Essex

West Scotland (Clyde, Mull, Skye)

Inland lakes

Loch Lochy 1 harbour
Loch Ness 1 harbour
Lough Erne Upper 2 harbours
Lower Lough Erne 5 harbours
Norfolk Broads 21 harbours
Caledonian Canal 7 harbours
Crinan Canal 2 harbours
Forth and Clyde Canal mit Union Canal 8 harbours
Shannon, Shannon-Erne Waterway und Lough Erne 48 harbours

Bridges and locks

Locks

Movable bridges

Fixed bridges (184)

Acle Bridge 3.7 m
Acle Road Bridge 2.1 m
Beccles Bypass Bridge 3.7 m
Beccles Old Bridge 2 m
Bishop Bridge 3.2 m
Brücke
Brücke
Brücke 3 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 3 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke 2.7 m
Brücke (A801) 2.7 m
Brücke (A89) 2.7 m
Brücke (A898) 3 m
Brücke (A899) 2.7 m
Brücke (Almond Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Argyll Road) 3 m
Brücke (Ashley Terrace) 2.7 m
Brücke (B802) 3 m
Brücke (B8028) 2.7 m
Brücke (B8046) 2.7 m
Brücke (B825) 2.7 m
Brücke (B9080) 2.7 m
Brücke (Balmuildy Road) 3 m
Brücke (Bearsden Road) 3 m
Brücke (Bracondale)
Brücke (Cadder Road) 3 m
Brücke (Camelon Road) 3 m
Brücke (Cleveden Road) 3 m
Brücke (Clifton Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Clovenstone Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Cowgate) 3 m
Brücke (Craighall Road) 3 m
Brücke (Craigmarloch Drawbridge) 3 m
Brücke (Cumbernauld Road) 3 m
Brücke (Dumbarton Road) 3 m
Brücke (Dumbryden Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Duntarvie Castle Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Duntreath Avenue) 3 m
Brücke (Fye Bridge Street)
Brücke (Gogar Station Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Great Western Road) 3 m
Brücke (Great Western Road) 3 m
Brücke (Greendykes Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Hailesland Park) 2.7 m
Brücke (Hailesland Park) 2.7 m
Brücke (Harrison Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Howth Drive) 3 m
Brücke (Kilbowie Road) 3 m
Brücke (Kingsknowe Road North) 2.7 m
Brücke (Kirkintilloch Road) 3 m
Brücke (Lambhill Bridge) 3 m
Brücke (Lock Sixteen) 3 m
Brücke (M8) 2.7 m
Brücke (M80) 3 m
Brücke (Main Street) 3 m
Brücke (Manse Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Merers Bridge) 3 m
Brücke (Murrayburn Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (New Lairdsland Road) 3 m
Brücke (Niddry Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (North Meggetland) 2.7 m
Brücke (Norton Hill)
Brücke (Orchardhall Bridge) 3 m
Brücke (Preston Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Redding Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Redding Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Ruchill Street) 3 m
Brücke (South Bantaskine Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Station Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Torrance Road) 3 m
Brücke (Viewforth) 2.7 m
Brücke (Wester Hailes Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Wester Hailes Road) 2.7 m
Brücke (Whitefriars)
Brücke (Wyndford Road) 3 m
Dukes Palace Bridge
Eisenbahnbrücke 2.7 m
Eisenbahnbrücke (Bittern Line) 4.6 m
Eisenbahnbrücke (Edinburgh and Glasgow Main Line) 2.7 m
Eisenbahnbrücke (Edinburgh to Dunblane) 3 m
Eisenbahnbrücke (Edinburgh to Glasgow via Bathgate) 2.7 m
Eisenbahnbrücke (Vauxhall Bridge (Eastern Span))
Foundry Bridge 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke
Fußgängerbrücke
Fußgängerbrücke
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke (Blairdardie Road) 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke (Coslany Street)
Fußgängerbrücke (Forth and Clyde Canal Towpath) 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke (Garscube Bridge) 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke (Jarrold Bridge)
Fußgängerbrücke (Stockingfield Bridge) 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke (Stockingfield Bridge) 3 m
Fußgängerbrücke (The Green Way) 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke (Walker's Wynd) 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke (Water of Leith Walkway) 2.7 m
Fußgängerbrücke (Water of Leith Walkway) 2.7 m
Geledeston Lock Footbridge
Gogar Moor Bridge 2.7 m
Haddiscoe Bridge (New Cut) 7.3 m
Hermiston Bridge 2.7 m
Itchen Bridge 23 m
Jaw Bridge 2.7 m
Ludham Bridge 2.6 m
Nolly Bridge 3 m
Postwick Viaduct 10.7 m
Potter Heigham New Bridge (A149) 2.3 m
Potter Heigham Old Bridge 2 m
Rusack's Bridge 2.7 m
Saint George's Bridge
St Olaves Bridge 2.4 m
Thorpe Railway Bridges 1.8 m
Thorpe Railway Bridges 1.8 m
Union Canal Bridge No. 40 2.7 m
Union Canal Bridge No. 41 2.7 m
Union Canal Bridge No. 44 2.7 m
Union Canal Bridge No. 46 2.7 m
Union Canal Bridge No. 48 2.7 m
Walker Bridge 2.7 m
Wayford Bridge 2.1 m
Wroxham Bridge 2.2 m

Frequently asked questions

United Kingdom: Do I need to clear in?

Outside the EU, Schengen and the EU customs union. Before departure, submit a Pleasure Craft Report via the government's online service (for Border Force and customs) and fly the yellow flag (Q) from the 12-mile limit until the report is done. Anyone who is neither British nor Irish needs leave to enter from Border Force before going ashore (this can also be granted remotely), except when arriving from Ireland, the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. Passports for the whole crew; EU nationals need an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA). The same report applies on departure. Northern Ireland is included; separate rules apply there for goods and the report.

United Kingdom: Which documents do I need on board?

Passport and ETA, boat papers (home registry or Small Ships Register), insurance, SRC. A licence is not required for visitors, but one from the home country is expected.

United Kingdom: What fees apply?

Harbour dues per night in marinas; harbour dues in many harbours, in the Solent sometimes also for boats at anchor.

United Kingdom: What is the emergency number at sea?

999 or 112; HM Coastguard, VHF channel 16 and DSC.

United Kingdom: How many harbours does Sailseer cover?

Sailseer covers 325 harbours with harbour info, weather and route planning. Plus 342 bridges and locks with opening times and clearances.