United Kingdom Motmit · CC BY-SA 3.0
The cut
124 metres, to scale.
A slice through Goring Gap where it is deepest and narrowest, measured on the Copernicus relief model every 30 m. Same scale as the landmark standing on the floor.
Standing on the floor, to scale: Big Ben · 96 m
Depth is measured to the lower rim; the width is from rim to rim. A 30 m relief model smooths the narrowest walls, so a slot canyon reads shallower than it is.
124m
Depth
measured on the 30 m relief model
4.4km
Rim to rim
measured on the 30 m relief model
16°
Steepest wall
average over 300 m, from the relief
38m
Floor altitude
Rim to floor
Afternoons, up top and down below.
In July the afternoon reaches 23 °C. The best months to hike are from June to September.
- 7°6°Jan
- 8°7°Feb
- 10°9°Mar
- 14°13°Apr
- 17°16°May
- 20°20°Jun
- 23°22°Jul
- 23°22°Aug
- 20°19°Sep
- 15°14°Oct
- 10°10°Nov
- 8°7°Dec
Afternoon highs, 1991–2020 averages (NASA POWER) brought to the altitude of the rim and of the floor with the standard lapse rate (6.5 °C per 1 000 m). Shade, wind and rock change this on the day. Not a forecast.
Gorge in South East England formed by the River Thames
Goring Gap is a gorge in United Kingdom, cut by the River Thames. The relief model measures 124 m from the floor to the lower rim. Rim to rim it is 4.4 km wide where the cut was taken.
Getting there.
- Goringnearest town · 0.4 km in a straight line
- Parking 720 m awaynearest car park in OpenStreetMap, straight line
- Viewpointsnearest viewpoint · 2.1 km from the floor
- London Heathrow Airport (LHR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 47 km in a straight lineCar hire at LHR airport (London)Discover Cars · sponsored link↗
- From June to Septemberbest months to hike (estimate)
Plan the visit
Guided hikes, a bed nearby, a car.
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
The river
The River Thames runs highest from November to February.
The River Thames carries about 33 m³/s on average here. It runs highest from November to February.
- 48 m³/sJan
- 40 m³/sFeb
- 34 m³/sMar
- 25 m³/sApr
- 20 m³/sMay
- 16 m³/sJun
- 14 m³/sJul
- 17 m³/sAug
- 13 m³/sSep
- 33 m³/sOct
- 49 m³/sNov
- 52 m³/sDec
From about 13 m³/s in the lowest month to 52 m³/s in the highest. Its basin above this point covers 4,374 km².
Follow the River Thames from source to mouth on Riveryas
Estimate: long-term flow from the HydroATLAS model (WaterGAP, 1971–2000) shaped by the monthly rain, snow and temperature of the area (NASA POWER). Dams change it. Not a forecast.
From the sky.
The canyon from above, with the relief shaded, the line of the cut, the river and what people have mapped around it.
N
2 km
Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 10 × 10 km, north up. The line is the cut above. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Around the canyon.
- 3viewpoints within 5 km
- 13marked hiking routes within 4 kmThe Ridgeway, The Chiltern Way Southern Extension, The Roman Way and 10 more
- 27footbridges and suspension bridges within 3 km
- 5rafting, canoe, kayak or canyoning spots within 4 kmFerry Lane and 4 more
- 28car parks within 3 km
- 14information boards and visitor centres within 4 km
- 7bus stops within 2 km
- 5campsites within 8 kmBraziers Park Campsite, West Campsite, East Campsite and 2 more
- 25hotels and guesthouses within 8 kmThe Roebuck Hotel, Grange Close Bed & Breakfast, The Springs Hotel and 22 more
- 9restaurants and cafés within 4 km
- via ferrata routes within 4 km
- climbing crags within 3 km
- swimming spots within 3 km
- named waterfalls within 4 km
- caves within 3 km
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, around the floor of the canyon. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Towns nearby
- Goring0.4 km in a straight line
- Streatley0.7 km in a straight line
- Upper Basildon4.5 km in a straight line
- Pangbourne5.6 km in a straight line
- Cholsey5.7 km in a straight line
- Compton8.1 km in a straight line
- Bradfield8.1 km in a straight line
- Blewbury8.3 km in a straight line
In our other atlases
What else is around Goring Gap.
The river that carved it, the waterfalls inside it, the mountains on the rim, the lakes, beaches and island nearby — from our six sister atlases, each with its own figures.
Riveryas22 rivers in the canyon
Peakyas2 mountains within 15 km
Lakeyas1 lakes within 15 kmComing soonFigures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, NOAA, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.
Month by month
The weather, at the floor and at the rim.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon · floor | 7 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 17 | 20 | 23 | 23 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 8 |
| Afternoon · rim | 6 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 7 |
| Night · rim | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 |
| Rain (mm) | 69 | 56 | 54 | 47 | 58 | 59 | 61 | 66 | 47 | 79 | 79 | 75 |
| Rainy days | 14 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
| Sun hours/day | 1.8 | 2.7 | 4.1 | 5.9 | 6.4 | 6.9 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 5.2 | 3.2 | 2.0 | 1.5 |
| Snow on the ground (cm) | 6 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Afternoon · floor | Afternoon · rim | Night · rim | Rain (mm) | Sun hours/day | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | 6 | 1 | 69 | 1.8 |
| Feb | 8 | 7 | 1 | 56 | 2.7 |
| Mar | 10 | 9 | 2 | 54 | 4.1 |
| Apr | 14 | 13 | 4 | 47 | 5.9 |
| May | 17 | 16 | 7 | 58 | 6.4 |
| Jun | 20 | 20 | 10 | 59 | 6.9 |
| Jul | 23 | 22 | 12 | 61 | 6.8 |
| Aug | 23 | 22 | 12 | 66 | 5.7 |
| Sep | 20 | 19 | 9 | 47 | 5.2 |
| Oct | 15 | 14 | 7 | 79 | 3.2 |
| Nov | 10 | 10 | 4 | 79 | 2.0 |
| Dec | 8 | 7 | 2 | 75 | 1.5 |
Averages 1991–2020 (NASA POWER) for a cell about 55 km wide, brought to the floor (38 m) and the rim (178 m) with the standard lapse rate. Not a forecast.
Photographs
Seen from the trail.
Recent years
Wet years, dry years.
Rain of each month as a share of the 1991–2020 average. A dry year means a lower river and hotter rock; a wet one, more water in the gorge.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 104% | 222% | 85% | 115% | 7% | 132% | 83% | 137% | 66% | 223% | 74% | 146% |
| 2021 | 142% | 106% | 78% | 38% | 162% | 106% | 112% | 62% | 111% | 144% | 25% | 93% |
| 2022 | 43% | 129% | 115% | 39% | 77% | 76% | 17% | 27% | 109% | 109% | 177% | 106% |
| 2023 | 123% | 16% | 205% | 149% | 95% | 68% | 165% | 97% | 120% | 136% | 113% | 154% |
| 2024 | 104% | 196% | 180% | 152% | 136% | 32% | 110% | 90% | 271% | 112% | 103% | 70% |
| 2025 | 126% | 105% | 19% | 67% | 37% | 65% | 68% | 33% | 111% | 81% | 141% | 151% |
130% or more: wet month 70% or less: dry month
Compare with the neighbours.
Goring Gap
United Kingdom
- 124 mDepth
- 4.4 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 16°Steepest wall
Ironbridge Gorge
United Kingdom · 151 km
- 95 mDepth
- 2.2 kmRim to rim
- —Length
- 13°Steepest wall
Where these figures come from
| Name, type, published depth and length | Wikidata (Q5586495) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| The cut: depth, width, wall and 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| River flow and basin | HydroATLAS / RiverATLAS v1.0 (Linke et al. 2019) · CC BY 4.0 |
| Climate | NASA POWER, 1991–2020 |
| Viewpoints, trails, bridges and the river line | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Rivers, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, beaches and islands nearby | Coastya, Lakeyas, Peakyas, Cascadyas, Islandyas, Riveryas |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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