The Lee & Stort Cruising Club clubhouse is on the River Lee immediately downstream of Stanstead Lock, which is one of the very few locks in the country with a swing bridge over the lock chamber.(another can be found on the Kennet & Avon canal). Water comes in through the top gates very fast as the sluices are in both top gates, so do not start by opening paddles fully.Nearby is St Margaret’s village, usually called Stanstead Abbotts. A much quieter place since the A414 by-pass was opened and now even slower with a 20mph speed limit You can step between East & West as the Greenwich Meridian passes through the village as it does through Stanstead Lock. Just down river of the road bridge, built in 1925, is a large marina with chandlery. Access is via South Street in the village. At times, traffic is held up by the rail level crossing, the line from Liverpool Street ending at Hertford East. (Hertford also has Hertford North station, the two not connected).
The Club was founded in 1956 on an old boat moored approximately where the Stanstead Marina is now. The wooden hull in poor condition leaked and did not stay afloat for long, It sank. (but all crew were saved!!) The present site was found and much hard work was given by those early members, including digging out moorings. The clubhouse was built in 1963 and an extension added in 1997. Improvements have continued, to present the clubhouse and moorings we have today.
We welcome new members to join as Single, Joint or Family membership. (minors up to 18).
The Club is proud to be one of four founder members of the Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs (AWCC), a UK organisation of boat clubs.The other founder members being Dunstable & District Boat Club, St. Pancras Cruising Club and Uxbridge Cruising Club. Sadly Uxbridge CC ceased at the end of December 2023 due to falling membership numbers. The other three are still very active clubs.
We are affiliated to the RYA and Association of Thames Yacht Clubs. (ATYC).
For interest the river is usually spelt ‘Lea’: The navigation ‘Lee’. Both spellings appear on OS maps.