Dave123

I suspect this charging for zones is what CRT have already decided to try. I just don't see how it will work without spending a lot more money on enforcement staff and boat checking even more rigourously. It will probably only cover central/zone 1 not the entire M25 ring. My experiences of finding central moorings in 2017/18/19 is quite different to yours. But I knew to arrive early , just as is common in 100s of other places in the country like Pangbourne, Llangollen, Napton etc and be prepared to double moor. Any congestion charge is gentrification which is at the route of a lot of the 'solutions' to London.

Not indicative of a problem really. London contains a lot of canal. And it shows the trend for large year on year increases has stopped/slowed. Covid19 may well have a further big impact on this. But this is slightly irrelevant... I think they have already decided on trying some sort of zoning to price out poorer boaters from central to make the central parts look nicer. Will only shift the problems. More facilities and better enforcement are the only solutions. Or possibly this is just some PR exercie to appease residents of houses in central and nothing will be done? I've no idea how the legalities and enforcing of any sort of zone could work? If they cant enforce the current rules...

CRTs figures above are for the whole 10 year period, not broken down year by year. Also they now count boats in the whole London and south east area together, this includes the Oxford and G.U. canals. However one of the boating council reps did put up CRTs own figures for London (which still don't show boats that have left london) and the last few years the numbers have plateaued.

Predictable amount of anti-london tosh on here from people who haven't been there in years perpetuating the usual scare stories and rumours. Firstly boat numbers have stopped increasing for the last few years. If CRT had implemented their London mooring strategy it would have improved facilities. Perhaps a few more bookable moorings would help visitor boaters. Brentford really needs short stay visitor moorings for boats waiting for the tide. But why is a busy waterways attracting the very demographic CRT are keen to attract everywhere else (younger/more female/ethnically diverse) have to be a bad thing? Why do other boaters/people on here seem to want to actually empty London of boats??! I would not be happy mooring in most places in London (especially outside zone 1) if there weren't already lots of other boats as it would feel unsafe! I doubt other visitor boats would either!? Yes make some improvements for visitors but it is just daft to suggest things like removing moorings and facilities. A lot of London boats Every time I read these kind of posts I can't help feel they are rooted in an anti london/anti younger generation sentiment rather than the reality of boating in london or a genuine attempt to solve any of the problems that do exist. So what if people initially buy a boat as cheap housing? Provided they follow the rules (and yes better enforcement is called for) what is the problem? Is being a canal/historic boat enthusiast the only valid route to boat ownership? The future of the waterways depends on as wide a participation from as much of society for as many reasons as possible.

Back off subject again but does anyone know why the EA send so much water via the sheepwash channel? It's still pelting it through there yet hardly flowing via Osney lock/East street. It would be safer if they sent a bit of that flow down through Osney I'd think.

If you need to go there to get essential fuel supplies for heating etc then you can enter anywhere, even if it was the level of lockdown we had in the spring, which no where is.😁

Once past/north of Bakers lock its easier to mark the stretches where there isnt armco and excellent mooring. Until the North Oxford😁

Dukes cut was very easy, seemed to be no flow at all once I had turned into Wolvercote mill stream above Kings lock weir. And the pull from the weir wasn't too bad. My concern had been finding myself going too fast down the mill stream to avoid the overhanging trees and the turn into the canal cut. Also noticed they seem to shut off all flow through Godstow bridge (once on yellow boards presumably), sending it all via the weir by the Trout pub instead which would have helped enormously had I gone that way.

Thanks for that! Confirms what the lockie at Eynsham just told me too. Although he said he thought either would be fine by tomorrow as they are still shutting down weirs apparently. Despite the bit of rain today

Yeah they have done it now! Don't suppose anyone knows if dukes cut or sheepwash is better when there is some flow on? Approaching going downstream... I'm thinking Dukes cut will be easier as the turn above Kings lock weir is wide enough to keep some speed on. But does much flow get sent down the Wolvercote mill stream?

There are winding holes with moorings in them, Penkridge and Cowroast for example.

It's interesting that CRT are showing Isis lock as open/'yellow' but the EA haven't removed the red boards at Osney on their website.

That's in reference to the state of the Thames not the canal

I waved to them when they passed me at Rushey lock last week, but if they are at Osney I'm above them and I'm probably going to leave the river ASAP for the Oxford canal. A shame as I had planned to go down to Hambledon but it's too risky as any further significant rain and it'll be red boards again.

Yep things are looking up. The rain last night wasn't much and forecast is dry. I'm rethinking my cancelled trip down to Henley before heading back to the South Oxford....😅 Weir at Pinkhill has (as of this morning) only 2 of 4 radial gates fully up, 1 fully closed and 1 half closed. That's a change from 3 fully up and the 4th on top flow at the peak 😁

Disadvantage of not being on fb is not seeing interesting videos of badly moored boats breaking loose😂

They were very nice in their email reply to me. Said they hope to be able to and they know what happened was a product of the weird summer we have had and won't be repeated. The yobs from Reading and elsewhere responsible can go back to Magaluf for their parties as usual😂

It wasn't boats it was people visiting by car. This has been covered exhaustively earlier in the thread. Beale Park confirmed this by email. The issue wasn't overstaying either as some rumours were suggesting. Beale Park can't stop car visits. They can stop boats. They had to be seen to be doing something.

They just have a pretty big weir and keep the flow really fast past the East Street moorings! Plus there are several side channels through Oxford like the Hinksey stream. The Kennet will be fine especially going upstream. I made it in an average powered narrowboat last October in a strong flow. The upstream landings at Goring and Whitchurch are the hardest bit of your journey as you can get slammed sideways into the pontoons and I'd imagine a heavy boat could cause some real damage doing that wrong!

I didn't see anything on Facebook about that boat. It's usually the sort of thing that makes it on there! People do do some daft things. A chap here tried to set off up the Thames to Radcot, got spun round and pulled across the weir guards where his boat is now stuck, fortunately still floating. He didn't realise the river was on red boards and going faster than usual! I doubt you'll be going anywhere with the NBT boats until mid next week at least. I think I saw them struggling up to Radcot last week (because it was narrow and shallow not from the flow)? Are they at Osney now? That reach is generally the last to come off red boards as it has to be kept so fast to stop it going into East Street which is below river level!

I'm amazed it has got this bad from just 3 days of rain. It was hardly moving at the end of Sept! I pushed some twigs out that had caught on the stern and they still hadn't floated past the bow by the time I had gone inside to get a drink and come back out again😂 So long as the forecasted dry 2nd half of October happens we will all escape so I'm not worried yet.

It seemed the flow at Pinkhill has stabilised. The weir here is still not fully drawn interestingly. I suspect it's because Abingdon is downstream of the Cherwell that it's so bad there? I think we must be at the peak by now? I guess use the plank and pole? And put in spring lines or just a second pin further back (so that banging it in doesn't dislodge the existing pin) with another rope?

Wow! That's had some journey. Saw on Facebook a boater at Netham saw it go past and reported it to Bristol harbour who weren't that interested🤷‍♂️

Fortunately I'm above the confluence of the Thames and Cherwell. It isn't meant to rain significantly in the Cotswolds for 2 weeks so I don't expect to be stuck forever, but would be nice to leave sooner than later! I also missed an anglo-welsh narrowboat getting from Northmoor to below Shifford, then having to turn and moor below Tadpole on the towpath (where no one ever moors as its usually so high) as the pub landing was underwater! Not sure if they have abandoned it or not, but I am surprised the hire company let them out ,assuming they had only just left, given the forecast. PS I think you were moored in front of me in Lechlade last month for a few days?

Hopefully the video can educate others on what not to do. I'm nowhere near Brentford so don't know but was also wondering why they didn't bang in another pin quickly or start the engine sooner (they eventually motor out of the weir stream) presumably the engine takes too long to get going?