Thames

[Timx]

Hi , approaching thrupp on Oxford canal, never been on Thames,my plan is to go to Lechlade first then on to Windsor races, then onto river wey and  then back up and down the Kenneth and Avon. ,I am in no rush, could anyone kindly give me advice as to how much weekly licenses are, as I read that's the way to go, and have ready cash as they don't all have cash machine things.I have done Newbury to Bristol before, but none of the other bits! Would it be best to do that circle around Oxford first next or not at all. We would like to explore pubs in Oxford,route advice welcome please plus any pubs advised, and any that are shut recently.I have done some rivers , Ie soar nene Severn, but first experience of this, Thanks in advance.ps don't need to get to Windsor races till 11th next month, any advice where is best to moor for that, cheers again

 

[kremmen]

IIRC the cost of a weekly is £70.50  for a 60 foot narrowboat. I think it would be difficult to do everything you want in one week but you can buy more than one weekly license. Don't forget that the National Trust will want a wedge for you popping in to their waters.

If you are doing a pub crawl in Oxford could I suggest that you stay on the canal and after you have finished sampling the delights then move in to the Thames to save money.

Enjoy.

 

Paul

 

 

[Martin Megson]

Thames licence charges are here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/569952/LIT_10600.pdf

 

[Tony Brooks]

Also remember that much of the available overnight mooring on the Thames has to be paid for. Ranging from about £5 to £15 a night and much more in Henley during the races and festival. Reports suggest that you also need a mobile phone and credit card to be bale to moor on the free EA 24 hour moorings that are now being run by some private company - so expect cowboy charges like those from wheel clampers.

Edited to add that many of the really free moorings now seem to be taken by boats that do not move much.

Edited March 12, 2017 by Tony Brooks

[Chewbacka]

34 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Also remember that much of the available overnight mooring on the Thames has to be paid for. Ranging from about £5 to £15 a night and much more in Henley during the races and festival. Reports suggest that you also need a mobile phone and credit card to be bale to moor on the free EA 24 hour moorings that are now being run by some private company - so expect cowboy charges like those from wheel clampers.

Edited to add that many of the really free moorings now seem to be taken by boats that do not move much.

I am surprised ........................

[Timx]

Thanks for those answers,wow it's gonna be expensive, so needs carefull planning for times,good answers,thanks 

 

[mrsmelly]

2 minutes ago, Timx said:

Thanks for those answers,wow it's gonna be expensive, so needs carefull planning for times,good answers,thanks 

 

Make sure you go up to Lechlade. The bit from Dukes to Lechlade is the best part of the river. It becomes VERY tight on some of the bends but a sixty footer will be no problem at all.

[john6767]

Given your plans I would have thought that a month licence would be better than buying by the week.  

As to mooring, you will have to pay for some, but particularly above Oxford you will find plenty of places to moor for free, but don't expect anything more than the edge of a field!  Thoeretically you pay in Lechlade on the field below the bridge, £4 per night I believe, but no one came to collect the 2 nights we were there in August.  You pay in Henley about £10 I think on the council moorings.

[Mike on the Wey]

See here for public mooring sites and information. https://www.thamesvisitormoorings.co.uk/home/

The free 24 hour moorings generally remain, but you have to register your arrival.

[cereal tiller]

56 minutes ago, Mike on the Wey said:

See here for public mooring sites and information. https://www.thamesvisitormoorings.co.uk/home/

The free 24 hour moorings generally remain, but you have to register your arrival.

Have used the 24 hour Free moorings for Decades but cannot understand why Registering arrival is required?

CT

[Onewheeler]

I've got a personal list of mooring places on the Thames,  also pubs and restos in Oxford.  Happy to pm them to you when I get home Tuesday.  Remind me if I forget!

 

Martin

I've got a personal list of mooring places on the Thames,  also pubs and restos in Oxford.  Happy to pm them to you when I get home Tuesday.  Remind me if I forget!

 

Martin

[Bewildered]

22 minutes ago, cereal tiller said:

Have used the 24 hour Free moorings for Decades but cannot understand why Registering arrival is required?

CT

Perhaps it is so they can clock your arrival and give out a fine if you are 30 seconds over your 24 hours; bit like parking meters in London, the instant the meter flicks onto red a traffic warden climes out of his hiding place in the nearest drain and slaps you with a fine.

[RichLech]

It is because this outfit Thames Visitor Moorings has placed themselves between the boaters and EA. Seems they managed to convince EA that if they took over running of the EA moorings they would collect enough money to pay EA more than they were getting before AND pay their own costs. Can't see it myself. 

I use Thames EA moorings extensively during the summer, just for an overnight while cruising. I find this system of logging on and giving card numbers a totally unnecesary, cumbersome intrusion into my leisurely cruising. I will not be logging on anyway; I will have to use a mobile. I hope the phone will be manned whenever I call.  

[cereal tiller]

6 minutes ago, RichLech said:

It is because this outfit Thames Visitor Moorings has placed themselves between the boaters and EA. Seems they managed to convince EA that if they took over running of the EA moorings they would collect enough money to pay EA more than they were getting before AND pay their own costs. Can't see it myself. 

I use Thames EA moorings extensively during the summer, just for an overnight while cruising. I find this system of logging on and giving card numbers a totally unnecesary, cumbersome intrusion into my leisurely cruising. I will not be logging on anyway; I will have to use a mobile. I hope the phone will be manned whenever I call.  

Good summary,the Bod that runs the TVM outfit is a Dutch(Fake or Real?) Barge Owner,many real Dutch Barge owners have difficulty finding Deep Water Moorings.

The EA moorings are usually Plenty deep with fixed mooring Bollards so suitable for deep Draughted Boats.

I keep feeling that there is a Hidden Agenda which will benefit clubs or Businesses?

The protests from River user will likely make this a short lived initiative

[Peter X]

I take it this scheme is new this year? Their FAQ page:

https://www.thamesvisitormoorings.co.uk/information/Boating/Frequently-asked-questions/

explains the basis on which they operate, i.e. where the landowner, mostly EA I suppose, has joined their scheme. It seems that there are quite a few of the free moorings not (yet!?) on the list, for example outside Tesco's at Reading. I'd better have a word with bigste about this, as we'll be doing the transit from Reading to Oxford at the end of March and will need one overnight stop somewhere about halfway up.

[cereal tiller]

58 minutes ago, Peter X said:

I take it this scheme is new this year? Their FAQ page:

https://www.thamesvisitormoorings.co.uk/information/Boating/Frequently-asked-questions/

explains the basis on which they operate, i.e. where the landowner, mostly EA I suppose, has joined their scheme. It seems that there are quite a few of the free moorings not (yet!?) on the list, for example outside Tesco's at Reading. I'd better have a word with bigste about this, as we'll be doing the transit from Reading to Oxford at the end of March and will need one overnight stop somewhere about halfway up.

The Mooring outside Tesco's is owned by Reading Council and not anything to do with EA.

The moorings referred to by TVM are the EA owned and maintained solely by them,they have safety ladders and Mown Grass as well as Signage

CT

[Old Son]

The Henley moorings are not EA. They are on the TVM website

[Horace42]

One memory of the trip from Polesworth to Lechlade was that the one week Thames license did not allow enough time for sight-seeing visits on the Thames or an excursion on the K&A or the WEY - so you had to pay twice - or a lot more for a longer term license.

...and a minor detail on the upper Thames trip to Lechlade, the Thames get much narrower and with lots of sharp bends, and because of the extensive vegetation making it difficult to see the proper channel and which way to turn.

It needed someone at the bows most of the time to point the right way.

One other problem was finding somewhere to moor on the Thames. We found the best way was to go past the area where you wanted to stop looking for a suitable place, and having found one, then turning round and going back to it. And if a strong current, heading into the current to give better steerage, especially to manoeuvre into a confined space. And be ready to climb up a high bank, as sometimes the river was well below the towpath level at some moorings - and there is no continuous towpath - just isolated stretches at points of access

 

[cereal tiller]

8 minutes ago, Old Son said:

The Henley moorings are not EA. They are on the TVM website

Henley council have traditionally run the Mill Meadow moorings,monitored by Parks Staff,maybe this TVM outfit are now in charge of them?

There is one tiny EA 24 Hour Mooring below Henley Bridge,suitable for one 30 foot Boat.

[Onewheeler]

7 minutes ago, Old Son said:

The Henley moorings are not EA. They are on the TVM website

Only the town moorings. It's like tying to the prom at Bridlington. However the tvm payment system might well work better than the abysmal system using the car park pay points which basically didn't work a year ago (and with which the staff in the tourist information office were well dischuffed).

The moorings below the bridge are much nicer and cheaper.

Martin /

[Drayke]

35 minutes ago, Onewheeler said:

Only the town moorings. It's like tying to the prom at Bridlington. However the tvm payment system might well work better than the abysmal system using the car park pay points which basically didn't work a year ago (and with which the staff in the tourist information office were well dischuffed).

The moorings below the bridge are much nicer and cheaper.

Martin /

Above  the bridge someone comes round and collects the mooring fees, and sometimes will take your rubbish away, never found that the car park machines worked for mooring fees, you can purchase a week’s mooring which is cheaper than paying by the day.

[Drayke]

15 hours ago, Timx said:

Hi , approaching thrupp on Oxford canal, never been on Thames,my plan is to go to Lechlade first then on to Windsor races, then onto river wey and  then back up and down the Kenneth and Avon. ,I am in no rush, could anyone kindly give me advice as to how much weekly licenses are, as I read that's the way to go, and have ready cash as they don't all have cash machine things.I have done Newbury to Bristol before, but none of the other bits! Would it be best to do that circle around Oxford first next or not at all. We would like to explore pubs in Oxford,route advice welcome please plus any pubs advised, and any that are shut recently.I have done some rivers , Ie soar nene Severn, but first experience of this, Thanks in advance.ps don't need to get to Windsor races till 11th next month, any advice where is best to moor for that, cheers again

 

If you a in no rush as you say then look at the price of a Gold Licence it just may be cheaper, just depends on how much time you wish to spend on the Thames. Lots of good moorings all along the Thames and not that many you need to pay for, just depends if you want the honey spots.

[Drayke]

3 hours ago, Peter X said:

I take it this scheme is new this year? Their FAQ page:

https://www.thamesvisitormoorings.co.uk/information/Boating/Frequently-asked-questions/

explains the basis on which they operate, i.e. where the landowner, mostly EA I suppose, has joined their scheme. It seems that there are quite a few of the free moorings not (yet!?) on the list, for example outside Tesco's at Reading. I'd better have a word with bigste about this, as we'll be doing the transit from Reading to Oxford at the end of March and will need one overnight stop somewhere about halfway up.

If you are coming off of the K&A check that Blakes lock is open.

Emergency closure of Blakes Lock 12/03/2017 12.55 hrs.

Following a pollution incident, the River Kennet is closed at Blake’s Lock until further notice. The lock is chained and padlocked shut. We have deployed booms immediately downstream of Blake’s Lock to contain the pollution. The need for this closuer will be assesed daily by 12.00hrs, by Waterways. Boaters are requested not to navigate in the area around Blakes Lock as wash is spreading the oil. Heavy rain in Reading on Sunday morning is moving more oil down to the booms already installed.

 Goring can be a good place to stop.

[mrsmelly]

5 hours ago, Onewheeler said:

I've got a personal list of mooring places on the Thames,  also pubs and restos in Oxford.  Happy to pm them to you when I get home Tuesday.  Remind me if I forget!

 

Martin

I've got a personal list of mooring places on the Thames,  also pubs and restos in Oxford.  Happy to pm them to you when I get home Tuesday.  Remind me if I forget!

 

Martin

If we are talking imortant stuff like pubs then its got to be the Lamb and Flag St Giles.............

[Quaffer]

38 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

If we are talking imortant stuff like pubs then its got to be the Lamb and Flag St Giles.............

Agreed,that's worth a visit.

I did an extensive pub crawl around Oxford last July,taking in the usual suspects in the city centre,but my two favourites were a bit further out of town going north from the Lamb & Flag namely Gardeners Arms and Rose & Crown  both charming small back street pubs with decent ale .Worth the walk IMHO.

Beware there are two Gardeners Arms very close together,the better one is NOT in the same street at the Rose& Crown 

Edited March 12, 2017 by Quaffer