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Thames Hire Henley Area


Polly

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Definitely Kris Cruisers for both day and longer hires.  I'm probably biased as I worked there for 10 years but as Vaughan says there's not much left on the Thames now.

Hobbs have some day boats which are very basic but do have a couple of nice Linssens for hire. 

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Hi, if you are looking for full size boats then the choice is limited these days. Cotswold boat hire has about 4/5 boats at Lechlade. Anglo Welsh have say 15 or so narrow boats at Eynsham near Oxford. Benson waterfront have sold their boats however still operate Let Boat from Benson and Chertsey about 30 in total. Caversham Boat Services have about 22 cruisers and narrow boats plus day boats from Reading. Kris Cruisers have 15 or so cruisers and a fleet of day boats. Salter bros have day boats in Henley. I love the Thames however prices are 20-50Percent higher than the Broads

Neil

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Thanks guys it's a 5/6 berth cruiser I had in mind and looked at Hoseasons which brought up Caversham as a starting thought. I was a bit wary of Le Boat having seen them on the river in Norfolk. I will look at Kris Cruisers a bit more carefully now, thanks.

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Kris craft are very good, but remember Polly, it is not distance that counts on The River Thames it is the number of locks and the time it takes to get through them. I have taken two hours to get through Hamble lock near Henley. There are a lot of locks Twix Datchet and Henley and that week a lot of queuing.

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21 minutes ago, Polly said:

Good point Chris and hence I am thinking Reading instead but would enjoy Datchet Windsor Maidenhead route

It is a very beautiful route, I especially like it though the Chilterns where I lived most of my life Cookham to Henley through Marlow, Hurley and Hambleden is absolutely stunning.

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Given the long days I would think so but there will be little time for sight seeing. Distance wise it is, I guess about 30 miles so 7 to 8 hours allowing getting stuck behind dawdlers but then you have nine locks and that is the unknown quantity. I would plan one hour per lock and when you sail straight though it is a bonus. Marlow is good mooring and good shopping, Waitrose very short walk. It could be a good stop on your voyage.

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I assume you are talking next year? Henley regatta was last week! And my old school got knocked out in the quarter finals, but there we are!

I used to run a boatyard in Staines and customers could hope to get to Oxford and back in a week, if they kept going. The locks are all built like historic Victorian railway stations and are part of the pleasure of the journey, manned by friendly and most expert lock-keepers whose traditions go right back to the days of the Thames Conservancy.

As Chris rightly says, it will take you a lot longer to get anywhere in the high season, especially in the 3 weeks on either side of the regatta itself. To moor a hire boat in Henley during the regatta would be impossible but the river is always kept open for passing craft, along the north bank of the regatta course, so you can go gently up and down all day to see the sights but would then have to find a mooring for the night elsewhere.

There are a large number of huge sea going twin engined stink pots which moor in marinas downstream nearer London, such as Penton Hook, and only venture out of their moorings for Henley week, when they work their way upstream, each one driven by someone who has loads of money but has never done this before : each spending hours in the queues at each lock from Windsor upwards : each one a lasting monument to the building excellence of Martin Broom MBE and all of the river totally invisible through thick clouds of white twin diesel exhaust. You think I am exaggerating? I am not.

So in this case, your best bet may be to hire from Benson and work your way downstream towards Henley. You will be passing through towns such as Abingdon, Moulsford, Goring and Pangbourne. This is the country where the "Wind in the Willows" was written and is, in my opinion, the most beautiful part of the Thames. Lots of very famous pubs.

Once you get to Reading (and Caversham) you only have to drop down through the locks at Sonning, Wargrave and Henley to get to the regatta course and then come back upstream for an overnight mooring.

 

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As others have stated the river around Henley week is heaving with long queues at locks.  However, the majority of locks below Oxford now have power 24/7 so are fairly easy to operate.  We always recommended people pass though Henley early morning to avoid the queues, once a couple of locks past it quietens down.

Datchet to Henley is a fairly long day but not an unusual distance. 

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We booked from Caversham at Reading, so that we can go upstream as well as down to Henley. I am exploring a two day mooring in Henley, good luck with that! 

Only issue I have at present is a couple of gripes on reviews about the central holding tank :default_blink: So I am opening a conversation with the yard about that! We will probably drive down soon to look over the boat.

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