| Re: River Thames - ongoing discussion as to its source Posted by bobm at 17:01, 21st August 2025 |     |
Cricklade still hedges its bets by describing itself as the first town on the Thames.
| Re: River Thames - ongoing discussion as to its source Posted by John D at 12:53, 21st August 2025 | |
I agree. 
Geographically, as the River Thames starts from a spring just to the north of Kemble, anything to the east of there could be called 'Thames Valley'. But not in railway terms.
Geographically, as the River Thames starts from a spring just to the north of Kemble, anything to the east of there could be called 'Thames Valley'. But not in railway terms.
Source of the Thames near Kemble - That's a wholly different dispute - or is it at Seven Springs 4 miles SSW of Cheltenham!
Modern convention (worldwide) is the longest tributary should use the main river name, so the Thames should start at Seven Springs.
But appears no one wants to correct the historical naming error from wrong (shorter) source near Kemble.
We still renumber roads, and occasionally rename roads, and move county boundaries, so why this old error was never corrected is a mystery to me (someone must have had vested interests to block it)
| Re: River Thames - ongoing discussion as to its source Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 09:48, 21st August 2025 | |
From the BBC:
Thames dries up just miles from Cotswolds source
A stretch of the River Thames has dried up just seven miles from its source in the Cotswolds.
Residents of Ashton Keynes, in Wiltshire, say the river bed has been left dry and cracked with weeds growing in it.
On Friday households across the West were urged to save water after the declaration of a "nationally significant incident" caused by dry weather.
Thames Water said groundwater and river levels were continuing to fall because of five consecutive months of below-average rainfall.
Climate change has been blamed for causing world temperatures to rise, posing serious threats to people and nature including in the form of water shortages. Many areas of the UK are already experiencing droughts this summer.
Martin Carter, whose home overlooks the water in Ashton Keynes, said: "This is the driest I have ever seen it. You can walk in there with a normal pair of shoes on and you're not getting any mud on them. We have lost all the fish and there is no other wildlife in there. The crayfish have even died which is not a bad thing - the American crayfish."
The source of the Thames is just over the border in Gloucestershire.
The bed of the river has been left dry and cracked with weeds coming through it
"It is awful, it has been like it for the last three months," added Mr Carter. He added that downriver in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, which is 14.5 miles away, the water level was unaffected. "The river is full there, there is no loss whatsoever," he said.
Thames Water said: "The prolonged dry weather has significantly contributed to the drying of the watercourse at Ashton Keynes and both groundwater and river levels continue to fall due to five consecutive months of below average rainfall. We are following our drought plan which means we are aiming to reduce water use and protect our water resources and the environment."
The Environment Agency has been approached for comment.
A stretch of the River Thames has dried up just seven miles from its source in the Cotswolds.
Residents of Ashton Keynes, in Wiltshire, say the river bed has been left dry and cracked with weeds growing in it.
On Friday households across the West were urged to save water after the declaration of a "nationally significant incident" caused by dry weather.
Thames Water said groundwater and river levels were continuing to fall because of five consecutive months of below-average rainfall.
Climate change has been blamed for causing world temperatures to rise, posing serious threats to people and nature including in the form of water shortages. Many areas of the UK are already experiencing droughts this summer.
Martin Carter, whose home overlooks the water in Ashton Keynes, said: "This is the driest I have ever seen it. You can walk in there with a normal pair of shoes on and you're not getting any mud on them. We have lost all the fish and there is no other wildlife in there. The crayfish have even died which is not a bad thing - the American crayfish."
The source of the Thames is just over the border in Gloucestershire.
The bed of the river has been left dry and cracked with weeds coming through it
"It is awful, it has been like it for the last three months," added Mr Carter. He added that downriver in Lechlade, Gloucestershire, which is 14.5 miles away, the water level was unaffected. "The river is full there, there is no loss whatsoever," he said.
Thames Water said: "The prolonged dry weather has significantly contributed to the drying of the watercourse at Ashton Keynes and both groundwater and river levels continue to fall due to five consecutive months of below average rainfall. We are following our drought plan which means we are aiming to reduce water use and protect our water resources and the environment."
The Environment Agency has been approached for comment.
| River Thames - ongoing discussion as to its source Posted by Chris from Nailsea at 17:29, 14th August 2024 | |
Touche.
From Wikipedia, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Head
CfN
| River Thames - ongoing discussion as to its source Posted by ellendune at 09:40, 14th August 2024 | |
I agree.
Geographically, as the River Thames starts from a spring just to the north of Kemble, anything to the east of there could be called 'Thames Valley'. But not in railway terms.
Geographically, as the River Thames starts from a spring just to the north of Kemble, anything to the east of there could be called 'Thames Valley'. But not in railway terms.
Source of the Thames near Kemble - That's a wholly different dispute - or is it at Seven Springs 4 miles SSW of Cheltenham!
