History
The idea to build a rowing course was first conceived in the early 1960s by Eton College teachers. With river laws much more relaxed than what they are today, and with the ever-increasing river traffic on the Thames, rowing training was becoming difficult and sometimes dangerous.
Construction of the rowing course, or 'trench' as it was then known, began in 1996 with some 4,500,000 tonnes of sand and gravel excavated with some material extracted removed by a two mile long conveyer belt to minimise local disturbance. A bridge was built over the Thames to carry the conveyor belt underneath and link footpaths from Dorney to Maidenhead which still stands today.
Dorney Lake was completed in its entirety in 2006 with the main lake, return/warm-up channel, the Finish Tower, and Boathouse, but the first major event, The SuperSprint Regatta, was held in 2000. Attended by 10,000 people, the event was hailed as Sir Steve Redgrave's last race after the 2000 Sydney Olympics at which he won his fifth Gold Medal.