The River Thames is located in Great Britain. It is 215 miles long and has served an important role as a trade route throughout history. It is the longest river that is entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom.
Traditionally the Thames source can be found in Cotswold Hills, at Thames Head, Gloucestershire. However, there are several springs in that area that feed into the river. As the river leaves the source area it flows across, north of Wilshire, into Oxfordshire and on into Oxford. At this point the river is names Isis. Victorian geographers thought that the river was named this because the source of the river was thought to be the River Isis. Today the name Isis is believed to be a derivation of the word Ouse.
The river Cherwell joins the Thames in Oxford and then the Thames continues on its way under the Magdalene Bridge.
After Oxford, the Thames flows through the peaceful English countryside onto Abingdon, which is one of two towns in England which claim to be the oldest town in England. Abingdon was settled during the Bronze and Iron Ages.
The Thames continues until it reaches London. It passes under many bridges on the journey and through eight counties. Currently, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge is the last bridge to pass over the Thames. Formerly, the Tower Bridge had been the last bridge.
As the river finishes its journey, it flows into the North Sea at Southend.
The name of the Thames is believed to come from the Celtic language and was originally Tameses, which means dark or muddy colored. This color is due to the tide that is always stirring up the silt from the bottom.
Along the Thames path, the river is fed by 38 tributaries. Some of the rivers that make up these tributaries are the Rivers Pang, Jubilee and Evenlode.
The Thames was a tidal river for sixteen miles, due to the influence of the North Sea. In 1811, this was changed due to the building of Teddington Lock. Today the river is tidal from Southend until it reaches its weir and three locks at Teddington. This is a total of 55 miles. This entire area is called the Tideway. Data is collected for the London Tide Tables from London Bridge.
There are two tides a day. The high tide can reach as high as 24 feet after four to five hours of flowing in. It can take six to nine hours for the tide to recede. At the Thames estuary the catchments area is about 4,994 square miles, with the River Medway, whose estuary is also in this area.
The river has frozen over 12 times, starting in the twelfth century. At this time the river’s flow rate was slower and there were colder winters. People of London would hold “Frost Fairs” on the Thames at these times. Today the river flows too quickly to freeze over.
Swans have made the Thames their home since the twelfth century. At that time Richard the Lionhearted imported swans from Cyprus. In addition to swans, there are over 100 different types of fish that live in the Thames.
There are many historic and eye-catching structures near the banks of the Thames. In London some of these include Westminster Abbey, Parliament, Big Ben, The Globe Theatre, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower of London. London Bridge is the oldest bridge over the river in London. Originally this bridge was constructed from wood. It was replaced with a stone bridge in 1209. There were houses and shops that were built along it at this time. A granite bridge was built in it place in 1831. The present bridge was built in 1973 out of granite.
The newest bridge over the Thames is the Millennium Bridge in London. It was built as a pedestrian bridge to take them from the Tate Modern to St. Paul’s Cathedral. It opened for two days in June, 2000. It needed to close because it was deemed to be too shaky. After working to correct this problem, it was then re-opened on February 27, 2001.
The Thames is the host for many sports including to boat races up by Oxford. Other sports can be found here including rowing, sailing, canoeing or punting.
For those that would like to enjoy the Thames at a more leisurely pace, there is a path called the Thames Path which follows the Thames for 184 miles. This is the longest riverside path in Europe.
The Thames also played a part in London’s darker pages of history. Before better sewage systems existed, most waste, including human waste, was disposed of in the river. Many believed this led to the water-born disease, cholera, which hit London in the 1800s. Since those days, the river has been cleaned up. It now can be enjoyed in many different ways, whether a visitor would like to walk along it, take a river cruise or stand along one of the many buildings, sidewalks or fields along its path. This river is meant to be enjoyed.
