The source of a river.

[LynM]

Those Mark Wallington books are brilliant! Not only funny but make you feel that you could actually do what he has done, dog or no dog!

[valleyforge]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Just wondered if anyone here has followed a river to it's source? If yes, what river and what was the source like? Living so close to Old Father Thames, near the estuary, I've often gazed across it at wondered what it is like at it's very beginning.

I seem to remember an episode of the Goodies ... where the intrepid trio (Bill Oddie, Tim Brooke-Taylor and Graeme Garden) launched an expedition to the source of the Thames ... which turned out to be a dripping tap on a standpipe.

Of course they turned it off ... with predictable disastrous consequences to the Port of London.

Anyone else remember that episode?

[Picidae]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Just wondered if anyone here has followed a river to it's source? If yes, what river and what was the source like? Living so close to Old Father Thames, near the estuary, I've often gazed across it at wondered what it is like at it's very beginning.
One of those things that would take time to do. Perhaps when I'm retired.

Problem is the 'source' of the Thames is actually contested! Some say Trewsbury Mead and some say Seven Springs which is about 10 or 11 miles north of that (I think the Trewsbury Mead location is the general view though since it's the River Churn at Seven Springs that joins the Thames at Cricklade). I remember years ago as a kid (we used to take numerous river/canal holidays as a family) and seeing the statue of Old Father Thames which marked the source of the Thames (I think we had to walk along the towpath and across some fields beyond Cricklade or risk being grounded or just plain running out of water!). I can't remember where it was exactly (Trewsbury Mead I think when I first saw it as a kid which was some 40 years ago and remember thinking it looked pretty scary, rather dank and behind some old rusty fencing!). It was later moved down river to Lechlade in the 70's where our family boat had moorings for many years)

25,000 years ago, the Thames was a tributary of the Rhine believe it or not so the source of the Thames was in Switzerland!

[AshLee]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

Just wondered if anyone here has followed a river to it's source? If yes, what river and what was the source like? Living so close to Old Father Thames, near the estuary, I've often gazed across it at wondered what it is like at it's very beginning.
One of those things that would take time to do. Perhaps when I'm retired.

Interesting question.

When I was younger I would search for the source(s) of a particular river near where I lived. Turns out that one of these was a spring bubbling up from the ground. It looked something like this:

As a small child I found this fascinating

[Wild-Woman]

Thanks for your most interesting and informative replies everyone.
The furthest 'up' the Thames I've seen is Goring, a very beautiful stretch of it indeed.
My 'end' of it however, is beautiful in it's own way, and as you peer at the muddy wavelets you can imagine all sorts of treasures below on the riverbed. I believe the a flotilla of the English Navy ventured up this far and perhaps a bit further to Purfleet after the ravages of the attack on the Spanish Armada. I think Purfleet got it's name after Queen Elizabeth I witnessed the ships returning and uttered 'my poor fleet'. Don't know how accurate this is so if you're studying history, please don't quote me!
Then there's the time way back in history when woolly mammoths and rhinos and sabre toothed tigers roamed about the area that the Thames now passes through.
I expect the source was very different then indeed.

[eeyore]

indeed it does this is the official source - which as i said is at thames head just west of the A433 near kemble in glos (although it has been contested from time to time this remains the officially recognised start of the thames)



the spring here is often dry at the surface (unless we have a lot of rain - i saw it running in 07) but it runs underground until it emerges at the otherside of the A433

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Picidae

25,000 years ago, the Thames was a tributary of the Rhine believe it or not so the source of the Thames was in Switzerland!

technically not because the thames would have been a tribuitary so its source would still have been in the cotswold region - in the same way as the source of the churn is at 7 springs even though it flows into the thames. The source of the rhine would have been the source of whichever is the longest tribuiatry so that would probably have been in switzerland but not the source of the thames

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by eeyore

technically not because the thames would have been a tribuitary so its source would still have been in the cotswold region - in the same way as the source of the churn is at 7 springs even though it flows into the thames. The source of the rhine would have been the source of whichever is the longest tribuiatry so that would probably have been in switzerland but not the source of the thames

A few years ago I was with a geologist in the valley that Rousebarn lane lies in, in Watford (Herts..) and they said the valley was the 'Proto-Thames' - which meant that it was the course of the Thames in geological times. I also seem to recall reading that the Severn ran in the opposite direction at one time - South to North!

Jim

[lol geoff]

Originally Posted by Wild-Woman

I think Purfleet got it's name after Queen Elizabeth I witnessed the ships returning and uttered 'my poor fleet'. Don't know how accurate this is so if you're studying history, please don't quote me!
.

A couple of days later she stood on the south bank just downstream from purfleet and exclaimed " If those Spaniards don't give up soon I'll have nor fleet left at this rate."