Days lock/Thame moorings/Fleur de Lys

ianc1200

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All seem to be open! Lots of boats moored in the meadow above the lock, and the meadows beyond that. The fences between the lock and the first meadow have gone, but the next meadow you have to climb over a gate (as you always did before). A couple of boats down at the Thame entrance. The pub has a modernised bar, doing food, hadn't heard of the beer before (Purity Brewing Co.) but very palatable.
 

ianc1200

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Seems was wrong about the moorings. Nobody moored there today, and the Days lockkeeper said the nee owners were waiting for a licence (he thought from the council) before allowing mooring. Bit odd.

On the plus side some brand new EA moorings in the layby above Culham lock. No signs yet to say max 24 hours etc.
 

ianc1200

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Yes, the layby just below the bridge and used to have a pub sign opposite for the Lion at Culham. Last year had a no mooting sign because the bank was collapsing. They haven't yet got round to putting any signs up yet.
 

Outinthedinghy

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There was a no mooring sign there earlier this year maybe the lockdown thing caused issues with completing the works.

It looks like a slightly uncomfortable mooring all you need is a heavy vessel passing at a reasonable speed and the you get spilled tea.
 

LimL

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I found the Culham mooring excellent a couple of weeks ago, except for teenagers at the upstream end (mostly polite but noisy, and some left litter that I had to clear). Upstream end shallower < 1m.
 

Brayman

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That mooring before the footbridge is perfect for a lunchtime stop and a walk into the beautiful village of Sutton Courtenay with a good choice of hostelries, that was the case 10 years ago, I'm hoping it hasn't changed!
 

DWT

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Are there any restrictions on mooring at the spot by the entrance to the Thame at Dorchester? There used to be quite a few boats moored along there a few years ago, but the bank became quite overgrown leaving only a couple of places.
 

prof pat pending

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That mooring before the footbridge is perfect for a lunchtime stop and a walk into the beautiful village of Sutton Courtenay with a good choice of hostelries, that was the case 10 years ago, I'm hoping it hasn't changed!

Just that there’s now a hardcore track running across the island to give access to the Archimedes generator beside the weir
 

ianc1200

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Just that there’s now a hardcore track running across the island to give access to the Archimedes generator beside the weir
The farmer seems to have allowed some fantastic walls in the fields between the lockcut and the old course of the river. You can wall all around the fields, following the weirstream top and bottom. There is a direct path & road as stated towards Sutton Courtney too.
 

ianc1200

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Are there any restrictions on mooring at the spot by the entrance to the Thame at Dorchester? There used to be quite a few boats moored along there a few years ago, but the bank became quite overgrown leaving only a couple of places.
The lockie at Days advised against it, saying below the entrance as different landowner. However last night at least one boat moored on the high bank, and one on the upper bridge walls. As everywhere atm, lots of teenagers swimming/congregating close by.
 

DWT

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Thanks for that. The only alternative then is the lock island and pay the lock keeper which I’m happy to do, but there are limited spaces and lots of boats out at the moment
 

Outinthedinghy

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Above Days lock on the left hand side going up looks interesting. Have not stopped there myself but I think it might take out the Berinsfield problem which is a known issue on the Dorchester side of the River.

Bob who used to moor at Dorchester on the Thame itself to escape the Boat safety nonsense described the Berinsfield mob as sub humans..

They turn up there at the confluence.

He had issues, obviously. Johnson and Jago wooden boat and worked in the Fairmile loony bin.
However I do think that Dorchester has some scrote problems possibly exacerbated by warmer weather conditions.
 

DWT

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Had a conversation this evening with a friend on a narrowboat who was at Dorchester recently and apparently was told the new landowner wants to open a marina in the lake there and has been moving on boats mooring above the lock in case this impacts on his planning application in some way. It sounds a bit like a story which has grown legs and started sprinting to be honest but interesting nonetheless.
 

Nettles

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Moored above Days Lock on field on the right, no signs to say no mooring. Late afternoon 4x4 pulled up and we were told we couldn’t stay overnight. Was told they acting on behalf of land owner who was waiting for a licence from EA. Vehicle kept cruising round, felt a bit intimidated so moved to avoid any trouble. All sounded a bit odd, checked the EA website that doesn’t mention anything about land owner needing a licence to allow overnight mooring. Was told the land was sold to new owner in the spring so think this has more to do with his future plans for the field.
 

Outinthedinghy

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The marina in the lake sounds vaguely feasible as an argument. Licensing moorings not needed bankside unless you want to install hardware like jetties.

That lake is a bit higher than the River if I remember right and with all this modern flood defence stuff going on it seems enormously improbable that a marina would be authorised but you never know !

If the land owner wants to prevent mooring I would say that prominent and visible signage would be worth looking at rather than or in addition to security vehicles . People do tend to respond to signage however it is not a universal positive response and a lot of people do dislike too many notices saying bugger off.
 
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Outinthedinghy

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The marina in the lake sounds vaguely feasible.

It's a bit higher than the River if I remember right and with all this modern flood defence stuff going on it seems enormously improbable that a marina would be authorised but you never know !

If the land owner wants to prevent mooring I would say that prominent and visible signage would be worth looking at rather than or in addition to security vehicles .
 

Old Crusty

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I wonder if it is possible to check with the EA to verify whether a licence is needed or not.

Just to confirm that no licence from the EA is needed to moor against the bank. An accommodation licence is required for any structures such as pontoons, jetties, landing stages, piles if they are in, on or over the water. That said, the land owner might need planning permission form the local council to allow boats to moor if it's a commercial operation.
 
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