“I saw a kingfisher today! It was beautiful; it dived into the water, and as it came out you could see those amazing blue feathers. Oh, it was lovely!”
Jan Adnett bubbles with enthusiasm for her holiday on the River Thames. “I’ve noticed how clear the water is,” she says. “We were just coming along from Henley and you could actually see the weed on the bottom. The water’s that clear!”
Jan is on her way back from Sonning to Datchet in their hire cruiser Lady Karen, with husband David and their friends Bill and Christine Frewin. “I don’t remember seeing kingfishers when I came twenty-odd years ago,” Christine recalls. “It’s surprised me how clean the river is – it’s changed.”
In fact, water quality on the non-tidal Thames has improved dramatically over the last thirty years. “It’s great to see people enjoying the river,” says the Thames Waterway Manager Eileen McKeever. “The Thames has so much to offer people who love nature and the outdoors.”
In future, the Environment Agency’s work will be guided by the Thames Waterway Plan. Written in partnership with almost seventy members of the River Thames Alliance, the Plan will promote use of the river for local communities, wildlife, leisure and business. “We had over a hundred responses to our consultation, from both organisations and individuals,” says Eileen. “We’re still analysing the feedback, but people were generally very supportive of the Plan.”
This year, the Environment Agency has received record funding from Defra. “Our main priority is improving the safety of our locks and laybys,” says Eileen. “We’ll also be extending out of hours power at more locks this year, making the river easier and safer for everyone to use.”
Peter Shore has certainly noticed the difference. I caught up with him just after lunch on board his Atlanta 24 Magourney. “I’m delighted with what they’ve done,” said Peter, pushing back his plate. “They’ve created new laybys like the one down here at Cookham; I’m very happy to pay my licence money and know where it’s going.”
After sixteen years on the river, Peter has enjoyed some summer trips down through Bray and Windsor. And, away from the boat, he’s just completed the Thames Path with a group of friends. “We walked in sections from the Barrier up to the source, and again you can see the investment in the towpath and on the bridges,” says Peter. “It was a fabulous walk!”
Just along the bank, Gerald Hicks was busy with a little end of season maintenance on C’est la Vie. He bought his Freeman 22 in Oxford earlier this year, and saw the improvements at Abingdon Lock whilst bringing her down to Bourne End marina.
Gerald has known the Thames for around eighteen years, and often comes down to the boat with his family. He thinks that the Environment Agency does a splendid job. “We see them going up and down in their launches and they give us a wave,” he says; “people are very helpful if you’ve got a problem. So we like that.”
Pushing on up the river to Hurley, I found Ken and Kay Tucker relaxing on the riverbank. Ken bought their Freeman 23 Jael thirty years ago – and, he says, “we still love the river. We like our mooring here very much, and we can just watch the boats go by. Our grandchildren are coming up on Friday, so we’ll take the boat out again then.”
Meanwhile, the couple is happy to enjoy the amenities at Hurley. “We’ve got the lock, and this lovely lawn to sit on,” says Ken; “we’ve got a water point there, and a toilet. For the price we pay, it’s the greatest value for money.” Kay agrees; but, she says, “on the river as a whole, the toilets are the one thing I hate – they’re dreadful!”
Eileen McKeever acknowledges the criticism. “We know that’s a problem, and we want to provide decent toilets at every lock. Once the major safety work has been completed, we can focus on upgrading riverside facilities – and we know that better toilets and water points are top of everyone’s wish list!”
It’s all part of the strategy for reinvigorating leisure and tourism along the river, which has seen a dramatic long-term decline in popularity. Nevertheless, says Teddington lockkeeper Dudley Tyrrell, “we’ve had a good summer this year and our traffic figures are up. We get a lot of passenger boats through here and they’ve had a good season too.”
Working at the Thames’ upper tidal limit, the team of Teddington lockkeepers has a varied, 24-hour job. “In winter, water levels are the main thing,” says Dudley. “If you get a lot of rain, the flood water can back up here and get onto residential areas like Trowlock Island. We have to keep a really close eye on that. But in summer it’s great, meeting people and being out there with the boaters. We put a lot of work into the gardens here – everyone comments on that when they come through.”
They comment on the lockkeepers, too. “They’ve been superb; very helpful,” says Jan Adnett. “When we went upriver, and coming back, they’ve been fantastic! We’d come back for another holiday on the Thames.”
© David Foster 2005
"Many thanks for this feature, it looks great ..."
Rowan Clarke
Environment Agency