Three weeks on the Thames a Summary

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oldgit

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Club member has just come back from an extended Thames cruise, regular visitor over many many years.
Main comments, a few pinch point locks were suprisingly unmanned and the river appeared to be very quiet except for the weekend just gone.
Did express some disappointment regards EA mooring at one particular lock.
Phoned ahead to reserve a spot at a lock due to meeting up with friends and grandkids, only to be told , sorry all moorings booked by some vintage boat club or other.
Having had this issue before, suggested to lock keeper he will be mooring there but happy to vacate
when/ if club actually turns up.
Arrives at mooring to greet a line of notices stating "Moorings Reserved"
Club never turned up.
They had all moored up in more picturesque spot round the corner, suspect nobody had bothered to contact lockie.? :(
 
Last edited:
oldgit said:
Did express some disappointment regards EA mooring at one particular lock.
Phoned ahead to reserve a spot at a lock due to meeting up with friends and grandkids, only to be told , sorry all moorings booked by some vintage boat club or other.
Having had this issue before, suggested to lock keeper he will be mooring there but happy to vacate
when/ if club actually turns up.
Arrives at mooring to greet a line of notices stating "Moorings Reserved"
Club never turned up.
They had all moored up in more picturesque spot round the corner, suspect nobody had bothered to contact lockie.? :(
Click to expand...

ah, that would be hurley then!
 
oldgit said:
Club member has just come back from an extended Thames cruise, regular visitor over many many years.
Main comments, a few pinch point locks were suprisingly unmanned and the river appeared to be very quiet except for the weekend just gone.
Did express some disappointment regards EA mooring at one particular lock.
Phoned ahead to reserve a spot at a lock due to meeting up with friends and grandkids, only to be told , sorry all moorings booked by some vintage boat club or other.
Having had this issue before, suggested to lock keeper he will be mooring there but happy to vacate
when/ if club actually turns up.
Arrives at mooring to greet a line of notices stating "Moorings Reserved"
Club never turned up.
They had all moored up in more picturesque spot round the corner, suspect nobody had bothered to contact lockie.? :(
Click to expand...

Name and shame please.
A shocking waste of scarce resources.

Godamit (sp?) what ever is the River coming to.
Boaters doing what they like
EA ignoring inquiries

We'll have the ditcrawlers laking over the management next.
Pah!
 
The Thames Vintage Boat Club certainly were at Hurley last weekend, I've seen the photo's! They were on top side of lock port side going down, in the weirstream above the weir, and either side of the footbridge. Sounds like the lockie wasn't aware of which bit they were using (& certainly they were in same spot for their weekend June 2018).
 
Confused.

Giles said he won’t accept bookings for moorings. Bit disappointed as we love Hurley, but with a new nipper on the boat I prefer to have a mooring booked in advance where possible,

Giles’ no booking policy is at least two years old now - so what gives? Is he taking bookings or not?”
 
rosssavage said:
Confused.
Giles said he won’t accept bookings for moorings. Bit disappointed as we love Hurley, but with a new nipper on the boat I prefer to have a mooring booked in advance where possible,
Giles’ no booking policy is at least two years old now - so what gives? Is he taking bookings or not?”
Click to expand...
EA Notice issued in February this year - BUT considerable anecdotal evidence that these procedures are being largely ignored !
QUOTE
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Booking process for Thames Waterways lock site moorings (February 2019) Following the 2018 pilot into providing the opportunity for boat clubs to pre-book visitor[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]moorings at lock sites, we would like to provide the following update.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]It is important that any initiative associated to the management and use of Environment Agency sites is fair and equitable. Furthermore, our Waterways sites need to demonstrate that any new initiative has a positive impact on our Sustainable Navigation Programme – maximising income from our sites.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Pre-booking of lock site moorings will now be available to both individual customers and groups on a first come, first served basis.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Please follow the steps below to secure a block booking of a lock site mooring:[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Step 1 - All individual customers, clubs, event organisers and representatives of multiple vessels, who wish to book lock site moorings, should contact the lock and weir keeper at the relevant site in the first instance to check availability.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Step 2 - Once the lock and weir keeper has confirmed space is available, the person making the booking must pay a non-returnable £50 booking fee or the full mooring fee whichever is the lower, to the lock and weir keeper. Until this is received, the booking is not confirmed. This fee will be taken off your final total mooring fee if applicable.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]We would prefer to receive credit card payments and are gradually adding this facility to all locks. Some locks, however, do not yet have the facility to receive credit card payments. In these cases, we ask you to contact our Teddington Duty desk on 0208 940 8723 to make the initial payment of the £50 booking fee or full amount whichever is lower. You will be asked for some key information to support your booking: mooring date(s), number of boats being booked to moor, contact email address, and name of person making the booking.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Step 3 - Your booking will be confirmed by either the local lock and weir keeper or the Teddington duty desk.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Where a £50 booking fee has been paid, the full mooring fee for the booked mooring must be received by the lock keeper by no later than 8 weeks before the mooring date. Failure to do this may result in your booking being lost.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Step 4 - The mooring ticket will be issued to you by the local lock and weir keeper once your mooring fee has been paid.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]Things to be aware of[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]If a smaller number of boats arrive than you have booked, you will not be entitled to a refund.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]You can adjust the amount of mooring spaces you want to book in the period between the original booking and the date when full payment is due. This will be subject to the availability of spaces at the lock site.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot]BBQs and music will normally be permitted at your mooring unless local circumstances prevent their use. Please check with the lock keeper at the time of booking the mooring.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=&quot][FONT=&quot][/FONT]UNQUOTE[/FONT]
 
rosssavage said:
Confused.

Giles said he won’t accept bookings for moorings. Bit disappointed as we love Hurley, but with a new nipper on the boat I prefer to have a mooring booked in advance where possible,

Giles’ no booking policy is at least two years old now - so what gives? Is he taking bookings or not?”
Click to expand...

Giles told me about 3 weeks ago he would only take bookings from clubs. If you just turn up and he has room, like we did, no problems.
 
It’s the ‘if he has room’ bit that concerns me. Never been a real issue, but this year we’ll have a 10 month old mini human with us..like all mini humans, he gets bored easily and won’t tolerate buggering around for hours looking for a mooring!

Real shame, Hurley is one of my absolute favourite spots.
 
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