RIVER THAMES,
FRANKLIN'S MEADOW

This is an idyllic and quiet stretch of the Thames. It holds good Roach, Chub, Perch, Pike, and Bream.

There are plenty of large bends on this stretch.

With being so remote, it’s the perfect place to escape and get away from the crowd.

Parking

As you come from Oxford and go through Farmoor, parking is a layby on your Right-hand side. There is another layby just past the entrance to the Cruiser station, also on the Right-hand side of the road.

How to find us

To access the water, go down the drive to the Cruiser station and turn right at the bottom onto the towpath.

Once you reach the river, turn right through the wooden gate, and proceed along the towpath for approximately 200meters, where you will come to a Kiss gate.

Once you have entered through this gate, you are on Franklin’s Meadow. Fishing is on the Right-hand bank downstream, all the way down to the next gate.

View it on Google Maps.

Species

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

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.

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.

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.

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.