A walk to the Source of the River Thames

By Blue Badge Tour Guide - Anne Bartlett

It was nearly 2,000 years ago that Roman invaders settled on two hills above a wide tidal river, it was the perfect place for the soldiers and merchants to build a town which they called Londinium. The river which wove its way past this settlement was The River Thames, and it not only gave the Romans a good defensive site but was also recognised and developed because of its strategic and commercial importance. Today Londinium has become London and is now one of the major capital cities of the world and all along the banks of the River Thames so many historical sights and connections to our nations past.

Bur how many people who visit Gloucestershire from London realise that the River Thames rises here in our county in a field just outside Cirencester. Today I’m going to take you to the source of that River, the great river that made London.

For the short walk to find the source of the River Thames I suggest that you follow the footpath south of the village of Coates, nr Cirencester and make your way towards the village of Kemble as shown on Explorer map 168. The route is visible as it’s been trodden down by the many walkers who have gone before. You’ll have open fields on your right and after a short walk come to a wood on your left. The source of the Thames is situated at the top of the field beyond the trees. This remote site and the start of the Thames walk is marked by a sturdy wooden signpost with two signs pointing straight ahead. The top sign reads Thames Path and has a black acorn symbol alongside to show that it’s a national trail. The bottom sign gives the distance of the path all the way to the Thames Barrier, beyond London, - a whopping 184 miles or 294 Kilometres. That is where the footpath finishes but the River has another 30 miles to go before it gets to Southend and finally flows into the English Channel.

Close to the signpost there’s a large engraved stone to mark the source of the river. This marker replaced a reclining stone sculpture of a long haired, bearded and bare chested Father Thames, a much more fitting symbol for England’s greatest river. It was increasing vandalism that meant that in 1974 the statue had to be taken away to be repaired. Sadly the statue was never returned. Old Father Thames was found a new home and now reclines alongside St John’s lock at Lechlade.

Beyond the marker stone there’s a circle of small stones on the ground under a very old ash tree, this marks the spring and in very wet weather may produce a small puddle, but when I was there, there it had dried up, as is often the case, so, no chance to drop a stick into water here and watch it float its way down river. The source of the Thames, for most of the year is an underground supply of water and I had to cross two fields and the A433, the Fosse Way, to find the evidence of the proper river flowing above ground. From here the river meanders past the Gloucestershire villages of Kemble and Ewen and on towards Somerford Keynes and The Neigh Bridge Country Park, which is a landscaped flooded gravel pit, in the Cotswold Water Park. Here you can rest, enjoy a picnic and watch the wildlife, and maybe recall the story of the Wind In the Willows, when mole held up both fore-paws and gasped “Oh my, oh my”, because he thought the river so very beautiful.