The rowing will be a tricky venue to find for those going to Eton Dorney to watch Britain's rowers bid to live up to their billing as one of the strongest of the Team GB squads at the Games.

Getting to Eton Dorney will require either booking a park and ride service in advance or using the trains, as travelling by car will not be possible.

TfL have sold just 12,265 tickets to date for the service, and with almost 300,000 still available, they have enlisted four time rowing gold medallist Pinsent, one of the country's greatest former Olympians, to help spread the message and ensure the public do not miss out.

The low number of bookings is despite the service being available to book for almost a year now, prompting concern among the organisers.

Pinsent told insidethegames that planning ahead was also crucial for the football venues in Newcastle, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and Coventry.

"People should not expect that they are going to park in their car," he said.

"I know Eton Dorney best of all, but we are also talking about the football venues.

"For the vast majority of them there is park and ride, people should not expect they will be able to park up and get near a venue."

The boat house next to the rowing lake at Eton Dorney

There are park and ride facilities in Dorney, Windsor, Slough and Maidenhead, whilst an alternative to park and ride is the train.

Shuttle buses will operate from either of the Windsor stations, Slough or Maidenhead.

Pinsent was at pains to stress that fans should not be complacent.

"You are dealing with thousands of people on a daily basis, all of whom are coming from all over the country and abroad.

"You want people to have thought it through.

"Maybe the majority or half are already well on top of this, but you do not want there to be any surprises for spectators or organisers when people do unexpected things.

"The roads around Dorney are relatively small.

"You only have limited capacity, the shuttle bus system will work really well but you do not want people pitching up and doing something unexpected with their car.

"You can not park, you can not stop."

The starting blocks at Eton Dorney rowing lake

Hugh Sumner, director of transport for the Olympic Delivery Authority, added: "Spectators really must book their travel and arrange their park and tickets now.

"With around 25,000 spectators expected on the busiest day at Eton Dorney, if you leave it to the last minute you risk being stuck in queues for longer than the events that you have paid to see."

Another alternative for the environmentally friendly is to cycle, with parking available at venues for bikes.

Similar park and ride services are in operation at Hadleigh Farm, Greenwich Park, Lee Valley White Water Centre, Weymouth and Portland, ExCeL and the Olympic Park.

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