| Dorney Lake | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Dorney Lake in 2007 | |
  Dorney Lake | |
| Location | Dorney,Buckinghamshire, England |
| Coordinates | 51°29′36″N0°39′56″W / 51.4933°N 0.6655°W /51.4933; -0.6655 |
| Type | Artificial lake,rowing lake |
| Basin countries | United Kingdom |
| Built | 2006 |
| Max. length | 2.2 kilometres (1.4 miles) |
Dorney Lake (also known asEton College Rowing Centre, and asEton Dorney as a2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-builtrowinglake and Meetings & Events Venue inEngland. It is near the village ofDorney,Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west ofWindsor andEton, close to theRiver Thames.
The lake is privately owned and financed byEton College, which spent £17 million developing it. Additional grants, totalling £500,000, were obtained fromSport England,UK Sport, theDCMS andSEEDA in order to build the lake's finish tower. The project was completed in 2006, after 10 years of construction.[1] The facilities are hired out for rowing, as well as forcanoeing,Hospitality,dragon boating, andtriathlon.
The lake was used as the2012 Summer Olympic venue for rowing andcanoe sprint, and as the2012 Summer Paralympic venue for rowing.[2] For the duration of the Olympics, the lake was officially referred to asEton Dorney; confusingly, a separate venue in Stratford was calledEton 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 byOxford Archaeology, including a new cut-through between the competition lake and the return lane, a new bridge and an upgraded access road, funded by theOlympic Delivery Authority (ODA).[3] 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.[4] A temporary bridge over the River Thames linked the Dorney Lake site toWindsor Racecourse, where a pick-up and drop-off point for Olympic spectators was established.[5][6] Other access options existed for walkers and cyclists.[7]
Dorney Lake has hosted the following international rowing events:
The lake also hosted the annualNational Schools' Regatta from 2016-2024.[10]
The lake's dimensions follow theFISA rules for a rowing lake suitable for hosting aWorld Rowing Championship,World Rowing Cup orOlympic regatta:[11]
Since the lake was opened, a number of annualregattas that were previously held on theRiver Thames have been transferred to the lake. These include theMarlow Regatta in June, theMetropolitan Regatta in May/June, and theWallingford Regatta in May.
The public are allowed to use the grounds of Dorney Lake when sporting events are not being run.[12] 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-countryskiers practising withroller skis. The picturesque landscape also makes it a popular location for dog walkers and people out for fun.[citation needed]
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| River Zone | ||
| Central Zone | ||
| Outside London | ||
| Football stadia | ||
| Olympic Zone | | |
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| River Zone | ||
| Outside London | ||
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