The Glorious River Thames

At 215 miles in length the iconic waterway has long been a source of transport, trade and inspiration. It makes its way through fi ve counties — Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire — and into London

- Gilly Pickup

Old Father Thames may not be the United Kingdom’s longest river, that accolade belongs to the River Severn, but it is the most significant with a rich vein of historic buildings, cultural connections and landmarks from start to finish.

The story of the Thames started over 30 million years ago when it was a tributary of the River Rhine — Britain was not an island at that time. Then, 10,000 years ago during the Great Ice Age, the Thames changed its course, pushing its eager way through the Chiltern Hills at the place now known as the Goring Gap. At that time, the fast flowing river was 10 times its current size, fuelled by melting ice sheets. Then its rapid progress slowed down and by 3,000 years ago the river had settled into its familiar meandering pattern that we know today.

From the 1600s to the early 1800s frost fairs were held on the river. At that time, it would often freeze over for up to two months at a time because Britain was in the throes of the “Little Ice Age”. The other reason for freezing over was because London Bridge and its piers were so close together that pieces of ice would get lodged between them and dam up the river, so making it easier to freeze.

The frost fairs were the whole colourful shebang, with entertainers, food stalls, coach races, puppet plays and even a pop-up pub or two. The ice was so thick that football matches were held and, quite bizarrely, shopkeepers would light fires inside their tents!