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Overnight Moorings Thames to Reading


mark99

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We will be on Thames soon entering at Oxford and travelling down to Thames Kennet Marina where we lay up for 2 weeks.

 

Can you suggest overnight stopping places on Thames (assume we pay per night) before we get to Thames/Kennet Marina?

 

(looks like 2 overnight stops, 1 somewhere near Clifton Lock first night and near Pangbourne second night)?

 

TIA

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Up the backwater below clifton on the pub moorings at Long Wittenham

Goring below the lock

Both free.

You can add to that but these may not suite

Waliingford (pay)

Entrance to the River Thame (free)

  • Greenie 1
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I was waiting for that - nearly put the word 'both' in ........................

 

They are good moorings though.

 

 

Thanks Mike and Loddon - just checked em out on Google Earth. Blimey never realised it was so rural out that way!

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Abingdon free for 5 days, Shillingford free, opposite Reading Sea Scouts approximately 1 mile above Caversham lock. Tesco mooring just before entrance to

Kennet and Avon is handy for supplies.

You can do the trip comfortably in 2 days which you can do on a 1 day licence 2nd day is free . The trick is to get to the first lock on the Thames ( Osney lock ) early, then that will give you the 2 days to get to the Kennet and Avon. There are moorings above Osney lock on the Sheepwash Channel which i think is free.

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Thanks Mike and Loddon - just checked em out on Google Earth. Blimey never realised it was so rural out that way!

OooH, Arr. Silence only broken by the all night goods trains, Cows farting and nightingales singing all night. Welcome to the countryside.

If instead of mooring a Beale Park (wonderful as it is), go through Whitchurch lock and moor on Pangbourne Meadow - there a legendary Chish and Fips shop that does them properly and reasonably priced to boot.

(Back to the bridge, turn left,walk along the road, under the railway bridge, shop is on LHS 50yds. Pub in t'other side while you wait. Coop (?) over main road.

 

from preceding post -

Osney Lock moorings is free for the first night.

Walk into the town City. Thai, 2 good Chinese + ditto 'supermarket' near the end of the canal in Hythe Bridge street also Korean before you get there. The moorings are quiet - despite Osney Bridge being one of the main roads in. The Lockie won't know you're there until he opens up at 09:00 Ack Emma

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The moorings above Onsey lock are free for one night and pay after that, and as such I would have thought that you would need a Thames licence to stop there before going through the lock. You can moor on the canal before Isis lock for the night before you go on the river. On that stretch we stopped at Abingdon (free, and much nicer fron the river than you would imagine) and at Beale Park again free.

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The moorings above Onsey lock are free for one night and pay after that, and as such I would have thought that you would need a Thames licence to stop there before going through the lock. You can moor on the canal before Isis lock for the night before you go on the river. On that stretch we stopped at Abingdon (free, and much nicer fron the river than you would imagine) and at Beale Park again free.

 

 

If I arrive late-ish at Isis Lock, what's the chances of finding a mooring just before Isis Lock? if there are always moorings there, I may decide to use that way into Thames rather than the Dukes.

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v fine & isolated moorings just above Days lock, on the left.

GEROFF - there all Mine, Mine,Mine (hahahaha).

Keep away, nasty sticky out trees, sheep poo everywhere / usually full of white plastic thingys. Long walk to indifferent pubs - exchange sheep - for cow - that's sticky and smellier......

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There are good moorings on right hand starboard side downstream of Folly bridge and these may be closed during the overly enthusiastic rowing event but the River itself is open to navigation and there are some nice spots about half way between Iffley and Sandford locks on towpath side near the hairpin bend. If you like being out of the way. I did source beer in a co-op in nearby Kennington iirc

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If I arrive late-ish at Isis Lock, what's the chances of finding a mooring just before Isis Lock? if there are always moorings there, I may decide to use that way into Thames rather than the Dukes.

 

I don't have enough experience there to know, but I would guess it would be hit and miss. If you are not trying to minimise the licence cost then I think Dukes Cut is a nicer way on to the river.
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Mark, I'll stick my oar in as well...

 

The moorings above Days Lock are lovely, as is the moorings just above Onsey lock by the Punter's pub is a great location for a wee trip into Oxford if that floats your boat, as other's have said it's free for the first night and £5 for the second night. We also stopped at both Abingdon & Wallingford. We had to breast up in Wallingford, but there were plenty of spaces in Abingdon.

 

And as previously mentioned, the Tesco's south of Caversham is a must for us if heading down the K&A to get in all the heavy items...can goods, spuds, beer, Baileys.

 

Not sure how far down the K&A your heading, but shopping isn't "quite" as convenient as it is on the GU or Thames. Hungerford is really good, and Kintbury is ok (about a mile & 1/2, but felt like 3 with the hill) from the canal, and Devize's is ok as well, again a bit of a hike depending on where you moor.

 

Oh, there's a good mooring at Caversham as well. Just go round the back of the island where Caversham boat services (Excellent customer service for fuel & pump out btw) are located and there some good free moorings there as well...but don't tell anyone else about these spots smile.png


There are good moorings on right hand starboard side downstream of Folly bridge and these may be closed during the overly enthusiastic rowing event but the River itself is open to navigation

 

Just try not to moor near the benches (tends to attract the local drunks)

 

 

View from where we moored when in Abingdon last summer/fall ZT0wzWj.jpg

Edited by Bettie Boo
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Bear in mind that this is Eights Week in Oxford (Wed 27 to Sat 30) which may affect your schedule. I would expect the river is closed for hours on each of those days, especially the afternoon.

 

Thanks Peter, did not know that - however as luck would've it, we are setting off on the 30th and have three days on the Oxford Canal mud soup (we are on Greg's Farm) before we even see the Thames.

Mark, I'll stick my oar in as well...

 

The moorings above Days Lock are lovely, as is the moorings just above Onsey lock by the Punter's pub is a great location for a wee trip into Oxford if that floats your boat, as other's have said it's free for the first night and £5 for the second night. We also stopped at both Abingdon & Wallingford. We had to breast up in Wallingford, but there were plenty of spaces in Abingdon.

 

And as previously mentioned, the Tesco's south of Caversham is a must for us if heading down the K&A to get in all the heavy items...can goods, spuds, beer, Baileys.

 

Not sure how far down the K&A your heading, but shopping isn't "quite" as convenient as it is on the GU or Thames. Hungerford is really good, and Kintbury is ok (about a mile & 1/2, but felt like 3 with the hill) from the canal, and Devize's is ok as well, again a bit of a hike depending on where you moor.

 

Oh, there's a good mooring at Caversham as well. Just go round the back of the island where Caversham boat services (Excellent customer service for fuel & pump out btw) are located and there some good free moorings there as well...but don't tell anyone else about these spots smile.png

 

Just try not to moor near the benches (tends to attract the local drunks)

 

 

Thanks Betty all info from everyone has been logged on a scribble pad.

 

Achchellwy, we are mooring up for 2 weeks on Thames and Kennet marina (R. Thames) before we continue downstream on Thames to Brentford, then into GU and back to Black Jacks where we moor on a River Colne offshoot.

Edited by mark99
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Mark if you choose to moor at Child Beale the area from the Islands down towards Gatehampton railway bridge you are noramlly buzzed by 2 pairs of Hobbies hunting along there ,Pangbourne meadows you normally see the barn owl flying at the downstream end most evenings just a heads up

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There are plenty of free moorings to be found from Oxford to Reading for overnight stays. We have never paid for moorings in the nine years we've been boating.

Maybe we will bump into each other as we are moored at T&K marina.

 

Fred

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Are these 'free' mooring spots available in some sort of booklet or map, as it seems you have to 'know' the river in order to find them. I will be doing the complete Thames next month for the first time (to Limehouse), and it would be really handy to have a quick reference guide

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Are these 'free' mooring spots available in some sort of booklet or map, as it seems you have to 'know' the river in order to find them. I will be doing the complete Thames next month for the first time (to Limehouse), and it would be really handy to have a quick reference guide

Yes there is its by Chris Cove-Smith and it’s called “The River Thames Book” you can get it on Amazon.

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I do not like the Thames, it is merely the only way of getting from my mooring on the K&A to the main, narrow canal system in Oxford.

Nevertheless I have to pay the full CRT licence fee and the EA charges to get from the 90 miles of the K&A to the 2,000 miles of the rest of the CRT system.

 

Before the EA BOGOF offer I was refused a single day licence by the lock keeper at Osney but despite 'unusual delays for maintenance' and my <5mph I was back on BW waters within 10 hours (19:00), no refund allowed. The EA regulations used to limit day licences to four per year and two week licences to one per year, otherwise you needed to buy an annual licence or, more recently, an annual Gold Licence that I maintained for several years.

 

Forget the Thames, spend a day or two in Oxford, set off at first light (5am?) don't give EA a penny if you can help it. Moor-up after 9am and continue your journey after 5pm.

 

Alan

Edited by Alan Saunders
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