Abingdon to Teddington: What is the very best mooring?

No Regrets

No Regrets

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Tricky huh?

Abingdon itself: Many days free moorings and plenty to do and see! Surprisingly nice... ;)

Days lock: Middle of nowhere, nice walk to historic Dorchester. Very peaceful! :sleeping:

Goring....Strangely satisfying little place, with a few nice places to eat and drink. :cool:

Reading: 'Action packed' if 'low rent' kinda place if you like moped racing on the towpath and apparently (unconfirmed) ladies of the night operating in the locality... :o

Sonning: A chance to see George and Amal who probably spend about 1.5 days a year in Sonning drinking Nespresso, extremely pretty but small and limited... :ambivalence:

Henley on Thames: Rowing central! Home of the legendary SRB moorings, but despite the seasonal price adjustments lots to do including bend your prop if you find 'The mooring' :nonchalance:

Hurley Island: Nothing going on. Absolutely nothing. However, add a boat, a few mates and some bottles (BBQ ban!) and :encouragement: ....

Marlow: A million restaurants packed into fifteen bankside moorings! :rolleyes:

'The Bounty' or, the only place that allows Dogs to eat on the table. Yes, ON the table! Brilliant... :p

Windsor: Despite the flash name, actually cheap in terms of eating and drinking! Costa Coffee moorings best, as no charge for 24 hours, but plenty to do and see.. :cool:

Staines: (Staines on Thames if you really must...) Anchor essential, and consider Staffordshire Bull terrier for security, but free moorings and eateries in abundance! Worth a bash... :cool:

Kingston: C'mon...there must be a reason for having moorings here even if your surname is not Trotman... :disgust:

Teddington: 'Interesting' towpath activities, but the gateway to London and the muddy place :confused:

However, there are plenty of other interesting places to visit, and perhaps we could arrange an end of season meet up at the favoured one!?

Gentlemen, place your bets :encouragement:
 
You do Hurley an injustice:)

They're the prettiest moorings, what could almost pass for a bit of beach, a couple of very nice pubs, an annual regatta(that's not particularly boaty, unpretentious and a great day out), a lock cafe for a morning coffee, showers and as it's an island, no irritating passing cyclists to run into my dogs.:encouragement:
 
Steve Grubb said:
Cookham, on the island by the lock cut. Complete peace and no one to disturb you (but nowhere to go either!)
Click to expand...

Depends what you mean by nowhere to go.
Once off the boat
Hop across the lock gates,
Pretty walk along the lock access road, past the 'facilities' which were never quite completed,
Over the weir,
stiff walk into Cookham,
a couple of pubs,
Spencer art gallery.

What else do you want??
 
Culham Lock cut, above the weir, middle of nowhere but a pleasant walk into very pretty Sutton Courtenay with two or three pubs to sample

Also Shillingford Bridge, either the hotel moorings or just beyond for free and a walk into another picturesque village of Warborough on the north side of the river. A good pub near the green, much used by Midsomer Murders and Morse in the past.

Pangbourne Meadow, used to be very quiet and a couple of nice pubs over the bridge in Whitchurch, shops and a couple of pubs in Pangbourne too.

Medmenham, middle of nowhere and the bottom end of SRB's moorings, walk up Ferry Lane to the Dog & Badger if its still open.
 
No mention of Cookham, is that cos its clogged up with wide beam & NBs who have been there for months

Sad to hear that you can no longer book a mooring at Hurley lovely spot but suppose spoilt by people booking and not turning up because they found a spot eleswhere
 
Had a meal in the Dog & Badger Saturday and although the place has been refurbished to a very high standard the menu was limited. I had the ribeye which was no good and a mate had the lamb which was tough as old boots. Staff are a bit of a dead loss the barman was more interested in filling his fridge than serving us and when the bill came and it was time to pay what must have been one of the kitchen staff in an Arsenal shirt hung around our table until we had paid.
 
Bel & Dragon taken their eye off the ball went a few months ago 5 of us ordered fillet steak and they overcooked every one, second time round all were rare. How difficult is it to cook a medium steak!!


When the bill came they made out they were doing us a massive favour by excluding the service charge which i believe is optional
 
I do like the small free mooring below Staines bridge! Great view of some dodgy forumites boat (Ex Libri!) dead quiet and only a moment away from a good supermarket! Handy stop off for St Kats or other tidal trips. Also clogged up with permanent Narrow Boats/Barges though.... :nonchalance:

'Costa Coffee' mooring in Windsor (below Eton bridge) the cheapest mooring in town, 20 seconds away from morning Coffee and handy for town...

Henley town moorings: ignoring the 'prop bender' a relatively quiet place with good Dog walking facilities and water points, again handy for town centre...
 
Beale Park is one of my favourite spots and not just for the beautiful scenery. The kids are entertained all day while I stay by the boat and dog sit, relax with a Guinness or two and a tasty pie from Greens of Pangbourne:encouragement:
 
I was going to say Rolfs place in Bray would do that, but it would be totally tasteless....:ambivalence:

I concur with you on Hurley lock island, it is beautiful, but there is a lack of facilities (i.e. Costa Coffee, Debenhams etc) but well worth a punt if one has stocked up with provisions! :encouragement:
 
Well tickle me intrigued. There is a lot of mention of free moorings here. Anyone care to elaborate? I would have thought anywhere on the Themes would have cost a pretty penny. How long can one stay in these free moorings for? What are the requirements re - black/grey water tanks etc.
 
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