The lock is accessible from Purley village down Mapledurham Drive, a metalled lane that turns to gravel.

However no access is possible across the weir, and without a boat, journeys between the two villages require a lengthy detour via Reading or Pangbourne.

[5] The mill was attached to the property of Mapledurham House, owned by the Blount family, who have always had an interest in the weir.

The river is in open country nearly all the way to Pangbourne and has been described by Robert Gibbings writing in 1939 (Sweet Thames Run Softly) as so crowded with views "they might have dropped from the gold frames of the Royal Academy".

Pangbourne Meadows, owned by the National Trust, lie to the south of the river before Whitchurch Bridge.