On 1 Aug 2014 at 9:47pm Colette Crump wrote:
I have recently moved from Chiswick in London to Lewes. One of the reasons by husband and I chose Lewes was because of the river. I am so disappointed to note there are no boats and no river traffic. It looks so sad. Why do you not allow boats/canoes/rowing on the river. It is so lovely to sit and watch, and I see so many people sitting on the river bank looking at nothing....
On 1 Aug 2014 at 9:54pm Naive wrote:
Yawn
On 1 Aug 2014 at 11:26pm Grafter wrote:
Have you not noticed the rowing club? Or the two yachts behind Argos?
On 2 Aug 2014 at 2:22am Lewes30 wrote:
You should of moved to Henley.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 7:17am Sussex Jim wrote:
Colette, did you not think of visiting the town; both during the week and at weekends? I would have done a bit more research when contemplating a major life event like a house move.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 8:10am Popeye wrote:
In spite of the inane responses to your post Collette I totally agree with you. You should have moved to Henley says Lewes30, what a childish response to a sensible post.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 8:51am drone wrote:
You are allowed on the river. Small boats don`t come up as far as Lewes very much because of strong under currents.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 10:16am frustrated wrote:
there are as quoted earlier , rowing club ,there is also a boat yard and various moorings along the river.people do canoe up the river and a few boats navigate through the town stretch ,and lewes holds a raft race once a year, I am sure there are more activities that utilise the river.the rowing club is based in south street.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 11:00am Zzz.. wrote:
There's nothing stopping you getting a jet ski and zooming up and down it (tidal section only of course as boating on non-tidal rivers is nor permitted in England without the consent of the landowners both sides of the river).
On 2 Aug 2014 at 11:00am bastian wrote:
It's a bit presumptuous to assume that because you haven't seen umpteen boats on the river that no one uses it. The river is used by many people, the town stretch is difficult for larger boats because it is shallow and has undercurrents (I wouldn't swim in the town area for that reason, and frankly I wouldn't want to capsize a canoe in high tide water). Also, you are going to get a sh*t storm if you wade in with comments like that from the locals.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 1:08pm trooper wrote:
Total agreement with "Bastian" You or your husband really ought to watch the river when the tides change, the speed of the water is is frightening.You really should buy a book about the history of the river and its surrounds we locals do not take kindly to ill founded comments, I would urge you to be careful however some local bite.
However welcome to Lewes.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 1:54pm Shameus wrote:
If you're a reader, do get "To The River" by Olivia Lang. She'll take you from its' source to the sea with moving Sussex (and mostly Lewes) history on the way.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 6:32pm sceptic wrote:
Us locals do not take kindly to ill founded comments says trooper. What a load of codswallop you come across as a little man trying to talk big. I am a local and I know for a fact the majority of us are not so bulshy.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 6:36pm Earl of Lewes wrote:
I saw some canoeists whizzing past Tesco the other week. Like Bastian, I wouldn't fancy capsizing in one. I wish there were rowing boats for hire, although you'd probably need an outdoor motor once the tide turned.
On 2 Aug 2014 at 6:49pm No more wrote:
Stop coming down here London people
On 3 Aug 2014 at 3:04am Janet Street Preacher wrote:
Undercurrents pah!
On 3 Aug 2014 at 1:10pm Clifford wrote:
No more wrote: 'Stop coming down here London people'
Yes, leave us alone to breed amongst ourselves so we've all got three ears and an IQ in single figures.
On 3 Aug 2014 at 2:46pm leslie Hugh-Janus wrote:
There are loads of people in boats on the Ouse at Barcombe every sunny weekend. Nearly all of them are middle class idiots from places like Brighton with no regard whatsoever for other river users or the environments.
Never venture behind the old pill box or you'll put your foot right in it
On 3 Aug 2014 at 3:41pm trooper wrote:
"Sceptic" Oh Dear how pathetic, you will of course notice that I did welcome the lady to LEWES, I was only trying to tell the lady that there are locals who are not disposed to people arriving and telling them how matters should be conducted, just be aware of local feeling.It is also a pity you cannot spell, the word "BOLSHY" never came into the post. I wonder if you really know the meaning of the word. Never mind you have a good day.
On 3 Aug 2014 at 4:23pm Sceptic wrote:
My word trooper you certainly do get Bolshy. If you read your post again you will find that you said WE locals meaning you as well so don't wiggle out of it. Oh and by the way you have a good day as well. And the word Bolshy or Bolshie means difficult or rebellious.
On 3 Aug 2014 at 4:25pm Leslie Hugh-Janus wrote:
Bit unfair that old chap to the Septic. I think it's great an American is able to settle into Lewes life and ways of Lewes life.
Don't be such a Pooper Trooper
On 3 Aug 2014 at 6:03pm canoeman wrote:
Quite a few people boat on the Ouse. There isn't a particularly good launch point in Lewes but it is easily possible to get a canoe in near Tesco. You have to know what you are doing with the tides as it is strong in Lewes so observe it or ask specific questions. You are entitled to canoe anywhere on the river, tidal or not due to ancient rights of way whatever anyone tells you. Some people do not accept this but no one has ever been prosecuted for canoeing on a river in England that I am aware of and the rivers have been used as rights of way for time immemorial.
On 4 Aug 2014 at 8:55am Zzz.. wrote:
That not true. Navigation rights on the Ouse above Barcombe Mills were granted for 'longboats for reasons of trade' after the river was canalised in the early 1800s. Rights were not conferred to any other craft or for reasons of pleasure.
Some time ago the British Canoe Union started to prepare a court case in an attempt to clarify the situation on non-tidal rivers. They intended to use the Sussex Ouse as a test case. After some work they unearthed the original right (for 'longboats for reasons of trade' only) and so had to drop the case. The Union keeps quiet about it but if you talk to their Sussex representative he should confirm the matter (as it was him that first told me).
Note that although a licence can bought to use a kayak/canoe in permitted waters, the Sussex Ouse is not included.
www.canoe-england.org.uk/membership/waterways-licences/
So remember, next time you destroy an anglers pleasure that, unlike you he has a right to use the river for recreational purposes and if he should get angry, that he has paid twice for the priviledge.
On 4 Aug 2014 at 10:49am Leslie Hugh-Janus wrote:
Very interesting post and good information.
Overheard yesterday in the first field at Barcombe (the one where the Brighton middle classes gather to spend sunny family days splashing in the river and having their picnic amongst the cow pats).
Lady to daughter - "what a silly place to have a herd of cows."
Bullocks dearie in more ways than one.
Largely hooray henry type dickheads that gather there lighting their barbecues, annoying the livestock, leaving litter, crapping behind the pill box, breaking chunks off trees, noise and finding it perfectly OK to invade the land opposite that is someone's garden.
In short they don't give a flying fanny for the needs of other rivers users - quite the opposite in fact as many are deliberately obstructive.
Shame the fence that was put up a couple of years back didn't stay put
On 4 Aug 2014 at 11:33am Zzz.. wrote:
You're right, the cows are there explicitly to deter people from 'overusing' the land. The land owner's garden is on the other bank and due to groups of drunken tossers (definitely not your Brighton 'middle classes') who seemed to think it a great idea to camp overnight, get f×××ed up, play bongos, swear loudly (the landowner has two young daughters) and generally make a hell of a noise all night his wife finally lost it and ordered him to sort it out. His response was to fence off the public footpath (his perfect right and there's also a precedent a little further up the Ouse). Public outcry ensued and he relented. The compromise is the cows. Personally I think he should have planted a wood. Much better for the environment and the river.
On 4 Aug 2014 at 12:55pm Leslie Hugh-Janus wrote:
A wood is a great idea.
Sadly the cows/bullocks are not much of a deterrent and I think they get disturbed more than the trippers.
Maybe the over nighters are not Brighton types but those that dive into the river six inches from where a bloke is fishing certainly are.
Perhaps a 20 foot barbed wire reinforced fence could be an option
On 4 Aug 2014 at 2:21pm Zzz.. wrote:
Or perhaps to let all those swimmers and paddlers know that what they are messing with at Barcombe Mills is 70% the output of the 38 Sewage Treatment Works that emit into the Sussex Ouse. Even worse when you get these sudden surges like last weekend which overwhelms the sewage works resulting in raw sewage being washed down the river. There is no doubt at all that the recent fish kill in the Bevern Stream (a main Ouse tributary) was a result of raw effluent from Southern Water's Barcombe Sewage Treatment Works. See link.
Check it out here »
On 6 Aug 2014 at 2:33am The Greek wrote:
Umm it's a Water Treatment Works at Barcombe Mills, not a sewage works. It's where we get our drinking water from.
On 6 Aug 2014 at 11:15am Leslie Hugh-Janus wrote:
No plumbing at your place?
We've been getting ours from the tap for donkeys years
On 6 Aug 2014 at 8:04pm Zzz.. wrote:
@The Greek.
Keep up. There are 38 Sewage Treatment Works 'upstream' of the Mills, but all their output flows through Barcombe Mills (downstream). The Uckfield STW is the largest and drains into the Uck, which in turns drains into the Ouse. There's another West of Barcombe that drains into the Bevern Stream, which in turn drains into the Ouse. There are 36 others that drain into the Ouse. The output from all 38 STWs is measured and the figures freely available. The flow at Barcombe Mills is too. It is extremely simple to see that... ooh, right about now, 70% of the water flowing through Barcombe Mills comes from the 38 STWs.
The Barcombe Water Treatment Plant has got sod all to do with anything in this context.
Anyone who swims in the Sussex Ouse is either stupid or ill-informed.
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