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Mooring between Reading and Teddington


Lily Rose

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The existing thread for mooring between Oxford and Reading has been helpful even though it didn't stop me mooring (at Beale Park) right beside a wasps' nest in the bank just by a window. Perhaps I've come to expect too much from the forum ☺. Fortunately I didn't disturb it as we moored (unaware of its presence), or I may have had to go for a quick swim, and they haven't troubled us so far.

 

Anyway, I thought a thread for suggested moorings between Reading and Teddington might also help me and others.

 

Tomorrow we leave Beale Park heading for Reading. I get the feeling, from other threads, that Reading is best cruised through quickly and not stopped at. So I'm looking for a decent mooring for 2 nights as we are unlikely to move on Sunday due to forecast heavy rain and high winds (gusts > 40mph). I normally only do about 3 hours which I think should just get us through Reading and as far as Sonning Lock.

 

Am I likely to find a decent mooring there, where I can get on and off the boat, and is Sonning a good place to stop for a couple of days?

 

What about between there and Teddington, can anyone recommend any good moorings? Free would be good but I expect I'll have to pay sometimes. Preferably not silly money though!

 

Any suggestions for mooring spots that are convenient for shopping, either for a "big shop" or a top-up, would also be much appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Usually plenty of space upstream of Sonning Lock (EA moorings). Good food in the Bull, but expensive. Not a great deal to do there but a nice place to relax.

 

EA moorings at Wargrave.

 

Lots of paid mooring in Henley and always plenty going on. Cheapest moorings are below the bridge adjacent to the regatta course. (£9?)

 

There is space for about 4 or 5 narrowboats immediately upsteam of Higginson Park in Marlow. Good for shopping. These are free 24hr. Avoid the expensive park moorings. 

 

Nice village moorings in Cookham. Often very busy. Charged by local council.

 

Various lovely National Trust moorings along Cliveden Reach.

 

Plenty of paid moorings in Maidenhead but never fancied them.

 

Couple of free moorings against the wall just above Bray Lock. 

 

EA moorings adjacent to the Eton (Olympic) boating lake upstream of Windsor.  These are often full of boats out from Windsor Marinas for the day. There are a couple more on the corner just upstream. 

 

Baths Island in Windsor. We particularly like getting tucked in around the back of the island. Good for shopping.

 

EA moorings immediately downstream of Runnymede park.

 

Some free town moorings in Staines. OK for shopping. 

 

EA moorings against wall immediately below Shepperton Lock. 

 

Nice moorings on "the loop" (old Thames channel) downstream of Shepperton Lock. Often busy, especially at weekends.  I think it is free for 24 hr. 

 

There are some others but these are the ones that spring to mind.  

  • Greenie 2
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Best moorings in sonning are below the lock on the right but you have to pay (money into the letterbox on the fence) but 2 good pubs in the village and you might spot George Clooney too!

Both the big islands between sonning and Shiplake (hallsmead and the lynch) are popular free wild mooring spots as is the left hand bank behind them but be careful as it's outside the main channel. Also some free spots by shiplake college in the trees. Then wargrave (EA) and some free spots on the right opposite the islands before the left hand bend above Marsh lock. Henley is £8 per night in the park opposite Rod eyot/above the bridge or also £8 in temole meadows beyond bridge (either side but need pins, no rings here and further from town) and another nice spot run by the same guy before hambledon lock. Then the next one i know is Marlow as has been said above (although there is an EA free mooring below the lock as well as the main ones above). Apparently Bourne End has moorings but never spotted these (although didnt really try). Cookham is a lovely spot though, either in meadows or just before the bridge in the town but both have a charge. Next free spots are Cliveden deep, the islands or left hand bank. Also free spots by Boveney church on the left. Then free/wild spots become quite limited as it gets more built up/less rural. Runnymede is great as is laleham Abbey and the other EA mooring between Chertsey and Shepperton. Plenty of moorings at Shepperton and some on the backwater around Desborough island. Also moorings in Walton on Thames and at the start of sunbury lock cut. Then it's Hampton court and Kingston (either side of river) and lastly the bollards above Teddington lock! Happy to give more details on each if you want...not sure on what kind of moorings you most prefer! I love how everyone has a different priority like pub or rings or no neighbours! 

  • Greenie 2
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One mooring not mentioned is Hampton Court Palace. First night free. The last I heard was that the car park people that everyone loves (!) had cocked up the system so that the Palace were allowing free mooring on the barge moorings. If  you don't mind mooring in the rough then there are spaces on the same side where can pull in. Beware - there's a ledge against which you will bang when the trip boats roar past.  

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Thank you to RichLech and Dave123 for a couple of very helpful posts.

 

We have now left the Beale Park wasps nest behind us and moored at the TVM/EA moorings above Sonning Lock after a very windy cruise this morning. I didn't want to chance going down the lock and finding less suitable (or full) moorings after passing on these, particularly as we are likely to do 2 nights here due to the forecast for heavy rain and high winds tomorrow.

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I have moored immediately below the Bourne End railway bridge on the right on the NT land. Its handy for the Bounty (if you like that sort of thing) and there is a footbridge to Bourne End fixed to the railway bridge. There is some very dodgy looking concrete there but I have always got in and on and off the boat OK. PIns required.

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16 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Two mooring sites just below Stains bridge on left in easy walking distance of the shops. I think they are owned by the council so maybe in the clutches of the car parking company now.

There are also moorings on the right side, the signs are hidden in the foliage.

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9 hours ago, F DRAYKE said:

There are also moorings on the right side, the signs are hidden in the foliage.

I wndered about that one, we've used it occasionally. The signs are EA, but TVM doesn't show it. Hmm - it just by some nice apartments, perhaps they don't want folks to know...

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Despite saying we'd stay at Sonning (above lock) for 2 nights we ended up leaving at 3pm on Sunday as I needed to run the engine anyway due to lack of solar. We moored at the Wargrave Lashbrook EA moorings Sunday night and today, at 3pm, we just managed to squeeze onto the end of the free moorings just before Marlow's Higginson Park (£13 overnight there!). Had to tie the bow line to a small tree growing by the bridge.

 

I was going to stop briefly in Henley to do some shopping but I'm buggered if I'm going to pay £10 for 24 hours *or any part thereof* (according to the sign I pulled up to) just to go shopping. So shops in Marlow will get my money instead. At least Higginson Park, had I needed to stop there, would only charge if I stayed after 6pm.

 

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2 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

 

Despite saying we'd stay at Sonning (above lock) for 2 nights we ended up leaving at 3pm on Sunday as I needed to run the engine anyway due to lack of solar. We moored at the Wargrave Lashbrook EA moorings Sunday night and today, at 3pm, we just managed to squeeze onto the end of the free moorings just before Marlow's Higginson Park (£13 overnight there!). Had to tie the bow line to a small tree growing by the bridge.

 

I was going to stop briefly in Henley to do some shopping but I'm buggered if I'm going to pay £10 for 24 hours *or any part thereof* (according to the sign I pulled up to) just to go shopping. So shops in Marlow will get my money instead. At least Higginson Park, had I needed to stop there, would only charge if I stayed after 6pm.

 

Henley Mill Meadow Moorings are Free between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M.

Unless it has changed since last Year.

Edited by cereal tiller
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34 minutes ago, cereal tiller said:

Henley Mill Meadow Moorings are Free between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M.

Unless it has changed since last Year.

So much potential for mooring in Henley but I'm not sure how to identify which is free during the day and also close enough to be able to lug heavy shopping back. 

 

Which is Henley Hill Meadow and is it near the shops? 

(Marlow was fine, about half a mile or so from M&S Simply Food, Sainsburys and Waitrose I would guess).

 

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17 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

So much potential for mooring in Henley but I'm not sure how to identify which is free during the day and also close enough to be able to lug heavy shopping back. 

 

Which is Henley Hill Meadow and is it near the shops? 

(Marlow was fine, about half a mile or so from M&S Simply Food, Sainsburys and Waitrose I would guess).

 

It's below Marsh Lock on the LHS.

The moorings or part thereof run down past the Rowing museum - there are notices.

At that end of the town you only have a reasonable sized Tesco ?Extra - a ten minute walk down a country lane.

If your moor on the town wharf (never empty...) you have lodsa shops, fine for artisan stuff at Oxfordshire prices plus a Waitrose - similar.

Depends on your needs...   

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2 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

There use to be a 2 hr shopping mooring just above the bridge where I have drawn the triangle 

Capture.JPG

Yes this is still there and free (and was always empty when I was in Henley for a couple of weeks last month). I think most boaters assume it's private as the sign is small and it's sandwiched by the pub and the trip boat moorings. 

And Yes the mill meadow moorings are free during the day as above...

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Tonight we've moored by the field on the left after coming under the railway bridge at Windsor. Not a bad spot to moor (apart from the fair a few hundred yards across the field), worth £8 for the view of the castle straight in front of us. Bit tricky getting in close enough to get off to tie up though, probably about 20 inches deep at the side.

 

By the way, I noticed diesel at Bray Marina was £1.21 (fixed at 60/40 I assume). Is it that sort of price everywhere down here or are there cheaper options? I'm not sure I need any until I dip the tank in a day or two but it would be good to know where's best to fill up on the way back up to Oxford if necessary. 

 

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30 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

Tonight we've moored by the field on the left after coming under the railway bridge at Windsor. Not a bad spot to moor (apart from the fair a few hundred yards across the field), worth £8 for the view of the castle straight in front of us. Bit tricky getting in close enough to get off to tie up though, probably about 20 inches deep at the side.

 

By the way, I noticed diesel at Bray Marina was £1.21 (fixed at 60/40 I assume). Is it that sort of price everywhere down here or are there cheaper options? I'm not sure I need any until I dip the tank in a day or two but it would be good to know where's best to fill up on the way back up to Oxford if necessary. 

 

Is that where the bank is realy high, hard for getting the dog off for us.

 

I don’t think 1.21 at 60/40 is that expensive is it. What makes it expensive is that they don’t let you make a reasonable split.

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Yes, it is a pretty high bank but it would have been easy enough for me, but impossible for Mrs Lily Rose, even without having a gap. I managed to get the gap reasonably small at the front at the expense of a very large gap at the back.

 

I'm not very well up on diesel prices, having only ever bought it in the marina and paid little attention to the price. However, I thought £1.21 sounded expensive for a 60/40 split without really knowing what it would be at, say, Aynho for comparison or what it would be elsewhere on the river. To be fair, a 60/40 split is reasonable for me as I rarely run the engine without moving and don't have diesel-fired heating or hot water.

 

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