RIVER THAMES,
LOWER WHITLEY FARM

This section of the Thames sits between our Bablock Hythe and Pinkhill stretches, around the western side of Farmoor Reservoir. It produces decent match weights of predominately roach, bream and perch but also provides some good chub fishing with plenty of near bank cover to fish to. Specimen sized pike and perch are also a possibility from this stretch.

Parking

Car park 3 on the Farmoor complex is probably the most secure and convenient place to park as it is only a short walk from here directly to the downstream end of this river stretch. There are also a couple of parking spaces at the top end of the stretch adjacent to the Whitley Farm cottages, accessed via a private road owned by Thames Water but these are often occupied by local residents or walkers.

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How to find us

How to find us From car park 3 on the Farmoor complex follow the zig zag footpath down to the service road. Cross this and continue on the footpath until you come to the river. This is our Whitley Farm stretch.

Turn right and head downstream past Shrike Meadow and on to Pinkhill or turn left and follow the river upstream to the footbridge that has a large yellow AOAA sign attached. Continue across this bridge and along the river to eventually access our Bablock Hythe stretch.

Alternatively turn off the Cumnor Road onto the private road owned by Thames Water. Follow this until you come to a small parking area (big enough for 2-3 cars) adjacent to Lower Whitley Farm cottages. To access the river follow the footpath that runs down the right hand side of the cottages (not the Thames Water service road).

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Important notice!

If parking in the 2-3 car parking at the end of the private road (adjacent to Lower Whitley Farm cottages), please be particularly considerate of local residents, as we have received complaints due to excessive noise from anglers, particularly early morning and at the end of the day.

Species

The carp (Cyprinus carpio) comes in many different guises; The wildie, the leather, the mirror and the common carp.

These tiny fish have bright silvery sides, a small head and a very large eye compared to its size. Bleak have a forked tail and can be distinctly identified by a keeled belly and an upturned mouth with a protruding lower jaw

The bream lives in schools and eats worms, mollusks, and other small animals. It is deep bodied, with flat sides and a small head, and is silvery with a bluish or brown back.

The northern pike gets its name from its resemblance to the pole-weapon known as the pike. Pike can grow to a relatively large size; with maximum recorded weights of 63 lb.

Perch are carnivorous fish found in small ponds, lakes, streams, or rivers. These fish feed on smaller fish, shellfish, or insect larvae, but can be caught with nearly any bait

The gudgeon is a bottom-dwelling fish, similar to the stone loach, but with only two whisker-like barbels near its mouth. These sensory organs help it to find its prey in the sand and gravel of the riverbed

A high-backed, yellowish green fish with red eyes and reddish fins. It lives in small schools and eats aquatic plants, insects, and other small animals.

A group of small carp-like freshwater fish, almost all of the genus Barbus. They are usually found in gravel and rocky-bottomed slow-flowing waters with high dissolved oxygen content.

The dace is a slender fish, with a silvery body and brownish fins. It is more slender than the roach and smaller than the chub, with duller fins.

A shoaling fish, dusky silver in colour often with a brown to bronze sheen. They are quite distinctive with a blunt snout, rounded body and very large mouth.

The brown trout is a golden-brown fish with a dark back and creamy-yellow belly. Its back and sides display dark, reddish spots with pale borders. It can be distinguished from the similar rainbow trout by its plain, dark tail fin and by the lack of a purple side-stripe.

They have a short triangular head and large mouth and are brown colour with speckles across the upper body. They have two dorsal fins which are joined together.