Bulstake Stream

Bulstake Stream at New Botley.
Another view of Bulstake Stream.

Bulstake Stream, also spelt Bullstake Stream, is a backwater of the River Thames at Oxford, England.

The stream leaves the main stream of the Thames at a river junction known as Four Rivers, at the south west corner of Fiddler's Island opposite Sheepwash Channel. It immediately flows past Tumbling Bay, which had a bathing place in use from 1853 to 1990, when the toilets and huts were removed.[1] The pool is still in occasional use, though in disrepair.[2] A fish race was added in to bypass the bathing place and was completed by 2020.[2] The Osney Ditch flows out of the stream southeast towards Osney. The stream follows a semi-circular course, west and then south, passing under bridges on Binsey Lane and Botley Road (Bulstake Bridge) to a confluence with Seacourt/Hinksey Stream near North Hinksey. It resumes, east, past Osney Mead Industrial Estate, and rejoins the Thames at the Osney Rail Bridge. The Thames Path crosses the stream on a bridge known as Boney's Bridge.[3] Botley Stream flows into it from Seacourt Stream just north of Botley Road.

The lower part (resumption) is also known as Potts Stream or Pot Stream.[4][5]

Until 1790, the stream was the main navigation channel of the Thames.[5] It became a backwater when Osney Lock was opened.

  1. ^ Graham, Malcolm. "TUM 150: Recreation at Tumbling Bay 1853-2010". Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 3 February 2011..
  2. ^ a b Vanessa Fell (August 2021). "Botley Park, Oxford : Urban/Recreational Park Project Oxfordshire Gardens Trust Research & Recording Group" (PDF). Ogt.org.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Osney Railway Bridges - WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE". Thames.me.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Bullstake Stream, Oxford - WHERE THAMES SMOOTH WATERS GLIDE". Thames.me.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b Crossley, Alan; Elrington, C.R.; Chance, Eleanor; Colvin, Christina; Cooper, Janet; Day, C.J.; Hassall, T.G.; Selwyn, Nesta (1979). A History of the County of Oxford. Victoria County History. Vol. 4: Communications: Rivers and River Navigation.