The River Thames Information Pages

"Forget six counties overhung with smoke,

Forget the snorting steam and piston stroke,

Forget the spreading of the hideous town;

Think rather of the pack-horse on the down,

And dream of London, small white and clean,

The clear Thames bordered by its gardens green."

Prologue from The Wanderers by William Morris (1834-1896)

Thames Fact:

There are 45 'Pound' Locks on the Navigation. The first, or highest is St. Johns Lock at 234 ft (71.3 metres) above sea level, the lowest being Teddington at 14 ft (4.3 metres) above mean sea level

he Thames has been a living, breathing artery of Britain for over a quarter of a million years. Although its role may have changed over these millennia, it now brings an enormous amount of pleasure to a vast amount of people. This is done in a variety of ways, for example: Boating (powered and un-powered) ,fishing, walking or just simply relaxing by the tranquil waters of this historic waterway. Each Bridge, Ford, Village, Town or Castle has a story to tell, too many to even begin to scratch the surface in these pages, nevertheless there is a plethora of published material covering most aspects of the Thames,

The true source of the Thames is disputable, but it is generally agreed that the River rises at many springs peppered between Cirencester, Tetbury and Coberley. From there on, many streams and tributaries contribute to the increasing size until it ultimately flows through London to the English Channel.

These pages are just a glimpse of this mighty River and are intended to give basic information concerning the Thames and a flavour of it's recreational uses.