We'll be cycling through some of the best of the British countryside as well as some of the more anonymous stretches of road. In a series of blog articles, we'll be giving a short introduction to some of the more interesting places we'll be passing through.
The River Thames flows through the nine counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Middlesex, Essex, and Kent, before finally entering the North Sea.
The importance of the Thames can be seen in the settlements that line its banks. Royal palaces, government buildings, great trading houses, market squares and river crossings all provide links with the past. Many of these settlements have changed little in hundreds of years.
In comparison with major rivers of the world, the Thames is a very small river. It has a total length of just 215 miles (346 km) and is the longest river wholly in England.
More after the jump...
Thames Source (Coates)
Unsurprisingly this is where the Thames seeps seeps out of the earth - in a Gloucestershire field near Cirencester. 215 miles and six counties later, it is swallowed by the North Sea. The spring is supplied by water deep under the ground, and usually seen after heavy rain. It is marked by an ancient ash tree and a stone engraved with the words:
“The conservation of the River Thames 1857-1974. This stone was placed here to mark the source of the River Thames.”
Not to be confused with Thames Sauce - a delightful dip with a flavour insprired by the river, but with none of the nasty digestive side-effects of drinking the river.
We hope to take a short detour at the very beginning of our ride to see the Source.
Lechlade on Thames
The small Cotswold market town of Lechlade is situated at the southern borders of the Cotswolds where the Rivers Coln and Leach join the Thames.
The River Thames flows through the nine counties of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Middlesex, Essex, and Kent, before finally entering the North Sea.
The importance of the Thames can be seen in the settlements that line its banks. Royal palaces, government buildings, great trading houses, market squares and river crossings all provide links with the past. Many of these settlements have changed little in hundreds of years.
In comparison with major rivers of the world, the Thames is a very small river. It has a total length of just 215 miles (346 km) and is the longest river wholly in England.
More after the jump...
Thames Source (Coates)
Unsurprisingly this is where the Thames seeps seeps out of the earth - in a Gloucestershire field near Cirencester. 215 miles and six counties later, it is swallowed by the North Sea. The spring is supplied by water deep under the ground, and usually seen after heavy rain. It is marked by an ancient ash tree and a stone engraved with the words:“The conservation of the River Thames 1857-1974. This stone was placed here to mark the source of the River Thames.”
Not to be confused with Thames Sauce - a delightful dip with a flavour insprired by the river, but with none of the nasty digestive side-effects of drinking the river.
We hope to take a short detour at the very beginning of our ride to see the Source.
Lechlade on Thames
The small Cotswold market town of Lechlade is situated at the southern borders of the Cotswolds where the Rivers Coln and Leach join the Thames.
The town is a popular venue for tourism and river-based activities. There are several pubs, one of which will no doubt serve as a lunch watering hole on our first day. The name Lechlade comes from a combination of the River Leach and 'lade', meaning to load.
Lechlade is the highest town to which the River Thames is navigable by relatively large craft including narrowboats. It is possible to travel to London by river or on foot, and of course by bike!
Lechlade is where the comedian and fundraiser David Walliams started his swim for Sport Relief in 2011.
Oxford
Oxford is the first city from the source on the River Thames. It is famous worldwide for its University, the oldest university in the English-speaking world. For over 800 years, Oxford has been a home to royalty.
Oxford is also famous for being the home of Colin Dexter's fiction detective Inspector Morse (Shum, I don't care if you think that's a boring and irrelevant piece of information, I'm putting it in the blog!).
Leaving Oxford the river Thames flows south-east through several miles of open countryside passing through the picturesque Iffley lock before reaching the market town of Abingdon.
No comments:
Post a Comment