Dobbs Weir is a both a weir

Weir

A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...

 near and an area of Hoddesdon

Hoddesdon

Hoddesdon is a town in the English county of Hertfordshire, situated in the Lea Valley. The town grew up as a coaching stop on the route between Cambridge and London. It is located southeast of Hertford, north of Waltham Cross and southwest of Bishop's Stortford. At its height during the 18th...

, Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 on the River Lea. It is well known for angling

Angling

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...

, outdoor beauty and watersports. It is overlooked by the Fish and Eels pub.

Angling

Angling requires a current valid licence. As such, it is a very popular spot for anglers, mainly because of the capture of the then record Chub

European chub

The European chub , sometimes called the round chub, fat chub, chevin, pollard or simply "the" chub, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae...

 weighing 8.8 pound

Pound (mass)

The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...

s caught in 2003 by Tim Archer . The fishery is controlled by the Lee Valley Park

Lee Valley Park

Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of London, Essex and Hertfordshire from the River Thames to Ware in Hertfordshire, England through areas such as Hackney, Tottenham, Enfield, Stratford, Tower Hamlets, Walthamstow, Cheshunt,...

. Day tickets are available .

Watersports

Dobbs Weir has had a long history serving the watersports community, as the sluice gate

Sluice

A sluice is a water channel that is controlled at its head by a gate . For example, a millrace is a sluice that channels water toward a water mill...

s after the v-drops could be changed according to the flow of the water. Especially in winter months after heavy rain the weir could be changed into a formidable feature used for whitewater

Whitewater

Whitewater is formed in a rapid, when a river's gradient increases enough to disturb its laminar flow and create turbulence, i.e. form a bubbly, or aerated and unstable current; the frothy water appears white...

 training or playboating

Playboating

Playboating is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where the paddler performs various technical moves in one place , as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective is to travel the length of a section of river...

.

Repair

Since August 2003, British Waterways

British Waterways

British Waterways is a statutory corporation wholly owned by the government of the United Kingdom, serving as the navigation authority in England, Scotland and Wales for the vast majority of the canals as well as a number of rivers and docks...

 padlocked the sluice gates and watersports users have been forced to go elsewhere, since the site has been deemed unsafe and requires approximately £25,000 for the weir to be repaired.

See also

• River Lea
• River Thames
  River Thames
  The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
  
   of which the River Lee is a tributary
  Tributary
  A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
  
  .
• Locks and Weirs on the River Lea

External links

• River Lea Caravan Park, Dobbs Weir http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/en/fe/page.asp?n1=3&n2=12&n3=338 The site is now permanently closed (2009) http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/en/content/cms/where_to_stay/caravan_dobbs_weir/caravan_dobbs_weir.aspx
• Dobbs Weir Information http://www.leevalleypark.org.uk/EN/default.aspx?nl=3&n2=18&n3=51