The State of the Thames 2021
This is the title of a report recently produced by ZSL (the Zoological Society of London). It reports “significant long-term improvements in water quality thanks to updated sewage treatment works, seen particularly in improvements to dissolved oxygen availability, and declines in phosphorus concentrations. However, sewage effluent continues to cause high nitrate concentrations which can be dangerous to aquatic life. The effects of climate change on the estuary are seen by rising sea levels (4.26mm per year at Silvertown) and increasing water temperatures (about 0.2⁰C per year in the Upper Thames).”
It goes on to report that birds and marine mammals have both seen “short-term increases in population numbers” but “the number of fish species in the Tidal Thames showed a slight decline”.
Whilst the findings are generally positive, the report was examining whether the river was improving or not. So, although it may no longer be “biologically dead”, as it was declared in 1957, there is still much work to do. It has one of the highest concentrations of microplastics in the world; and the level of raw sewage emissions remain a grave concern. It should also be stressed that the scope of the report was the “Tidal Thames” in London
With few people walking the Path at the moment, we don’t have much route news. We still don’t know whether the Path at Shifford Lock has re-opened. Contractors working for the Environment Agency were scheduled to remove fallen trees two weeks ago The alternative route is to cross the river at Tenfoot Bridge and follow the path to Duxford and then follow the “natural Thames” rather than Shifford Cut. Full details on our Facebook Group
As we approach the start of winter and the winter solstice, we’ve taken a look at rainfall figures for the south of England. November was 34% below average. In fact, autumn as a whole was dry. River levels are therefore still below normal, although the Path is quite muddy in places.
With most of the foliage now off the trees, mistletoe, our seasonal friend, can be seen in its glory. Did you know that “mistletoe is a parasitic plant growing on other trees, and its seeds are spread by birds who eat the berries, wiping their beaks on other trees?” Thank you Chelsea Physic Garden for that.
If you are aware of any issues with the Path do join our Facebook Group and let us know.
We wrote a couple of weeks ago about London’s Iluminated River project. Now Tidal Thames has produced a great blog walking the Thames Path from Blackfriars to Lambeth Bridge with photos of all the illuminated bridges in between.
In the meantime a campaign is underway to illuminate Henley Bridge. Plans have been approved by both councils involved (the bridge straddles South Oxfordshire and Wokingham); and a crowd-funding campaign will be launched to raise £150,000 to fund the project for ten years.
Reminders:
Goring Gap Wildlife are hosting a series of owl photography workshops throughout November and December. The workshops are held in a private garden near Didcot, Oxfordshire and feature Barn, Tawny, Long-Earred and Little Owls.
A new exhibition at the Stanley Spencer Gallery opened on November 4 entitled “Mind and Mortality, Stanley Spencer’s Final Portraits”. It focuses on some of his work as the artist approached the end of his life in 1959.
On 6 January 2022 an interactive digital reconstruction of Alexander Pope‘s villa and grotto will be held at The Exchange, Twickenham. A Virtual Arcadia has been created by Paul Richens of the University of Westminster and commissioned by Pope’s Grotto Preservation Trust. You can see a trailer on Youtube. Tickets available here.
Christmas has started at Kew Gardens where a series of illuminated trails will lead you to food and drink stalls. The gardens are open from 4pm to 10pm.
Wide-Eyed London, who offer walking tours, are holding a virtual walk of Festive Lights and Christmas Stories. To be held on 19 December at 6pm. Click here to book.
The Museum of London Docklands, part of the Museum of London, has a new exhibition entitled London: Port City, exploring how the port shaped the city, its people, places and language. The exhibition is free and runs until May 2022. The museum can be found close to Canary Wharf on the left bank of the Thames.
Website News
We’ve added to our suggested detours. This is an alternative route from Little Wittenham, through Wittenham Wood to Shillingford Bridge. It avoids the road section through Shillingford and provides a slightly elevated view of the river with views of Shillingford Court, not seen from the Thames Path. Same distance.
We have a number of suggested detours on our website, all designed to improve your Thames Path walk. To be fair, they’re not all detours. Most are alternative routes which we think are better than the official route and with a negligible impact on distance (like the one above). One is even a short-cut. Shhh!
And finally….
We’ve had a quiet week as we prepare for Christmas so we haven’t been out as much as we would have liked. However, we did manage to squeeze in a visit to the nearby stretch of the Thames Path between Goring and Pangbourne. The cover photo was taken from Hartslock Nature Reserve just off the Thames Path. A reminder that, even in the middle of December, the Thames is magical.
Mind how you go.
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