Friday, July 19, 2019

Confused of Oxford


Well here we are at Kings Lock on the Thames at Oxford and it is wet wet wet. No complaining though because the rest of the week has been sunny and they say next week will be too.

Trying to find out what has happened to Thames visitor mooring charges is near impossible. The web site of the company that ran them last year is still up despite their contract being lost six months ago, but Environment Agency have put nothing on their own site. The lockie at Eynsham said that EA moorings were free for the first night but there is nothing in writing. Here at Kings Lock the sign just says there is a mooring charge, but not what the charge is. It says talk to the lock keeper, but there hasn't been one at the lock all day. The sign gives you a phone number for enquiries so I tried that, but the man there had no idea either and referred me to the non existent lock keeper. Grrr.

We had Rick with us for a couple of days earlier in the week and we were musing over potential names for canal bridges based on their numbers. How about 
Luxembourg bridge or Trombone bridge or Dentist bridge? I can think of a few more. How about you? Can you translate the three above?

POST SCRIPT 6.30 pm

A nice (but somewhat damp and bedraggled) EA lady just appeared and relieved us of £7.50 for mooring here.  According to her, first night is free except where it isn't, i.e. here.  Apparently at East Street, first night is free.  If you then go somewhere else the next night and then back another day later, you are on first night again. Simples. 

Good 'ere innit?

6 comments:

Sue said...

Hey Neil,

I did a blog post not long ago about the visitor mooring situation you can find it here ---> https://noproblem.org.uk/blog/the-big-squeeze-then-on-to-godstow-but-what-about-visitor-moorings/

There is a list here of the different visitor mooring sites ---> http://www.tmba.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Thames24HourMooringsInformation.pdf

That should help understanding

Herbie Neil said...

Sue, you're a star!

Jim said...

One of the station announcers (yes, we still have real people) in Lancaster has a habit of referring to a certain train to Barrow-in-Furness as "the dentist train". If there was one at the appropriate time I'm sure he'd announce the "cowboy time" train as well.

Sue said...

I was thinking about these numbers when I went to bed last night! It was better than counting sheep because I fell asleep really quickly!

Maybe I had in my mind some answers that just might fit the bill?

Luxemburg 352 although that sound terribly high for a series of bridges, Trombone can only be 76 surely? And lets say Dentist is bridge 32?

Am I miles out?

Pip and Mick said...

The cowboy train would be 10 2 10

Vallypee said...

Strange that the charges are so confusing for the moorings. It must make it hard for those trying to enforce them.