Looking after the Thames

Such a pleasure is enjoyed by the river wardens of the River Thames Society as they show their concern for the waterway and its environment by keeping a watchful eye on it.

The duties of a river warden are to: l Look after a reach of river, usually defined by the locks on the non-tidal river and bridges on the tidal Thames l Walk the Thames Path beside the river and to report on its condition, at least three times a year.

l Report faults in signage, unsafe features, litter, problems with access, broken gates, missing lifebelts, pollution threats and navigational hazards.

l Identify improvements and attractions that will help people to enjoy the River Thames.

That the duties of a river warden are doubly rewarding has been discovered by Geoffrey Carr and his wife Janet since Mr Carr took on the role for the reach between Rushey and Shifford Locks earlier this year.

Having discovered the particular delights of the Upper Thames when travelling it by boat, they became members of the River Thames Society and, when attending its annual meeting in April at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley, heard that it was looking for more river wardens.

Wardens can include in their reports information about wildlife they see along their reach and on their most recent walk, in mid-June, Mr and Mrs Carr observed butterflies, many species of birds and waterfowl, and saw the indications of the holes that are the entrances to the houses and homes of the small creatures of the river bank.

The length of their reach is about four-and-a-half miles. “We can do it in one-and-a-half hours at a brisk pace,” said Mr Carr. “But it usually takes us about four hours, as we like to stop and look at what we find around us.

“That is the great thing about it, the attraction of the whole area. It is so wonderfully quiet and away from the hustle and bustle of life. It is lovely to get right into the middle of the countryside.”

Mr Carr was pleased that his report on this walk could indicate that both the water and the towpath showed little cause for any concerns.

“There are very broad outlines on what to cover, and I go through the process in a systematic way,” he said.

“I found that there was good access, even for anybody with an all-terrain pushchair. The path was well cut back, and ran in a corridor.

“As regards litter, there was little, but there was some dog mess — and often in the middle of the path — and some bags of it left behind. On the whole though, litter along here is not too bad.

“I am very keen on the importance of footpaths. The Thames Path is one of the best, and it is important that any defects should be reported regularly. This is a path that is well signposted, and very well looked-after on the whole. It is important that we keep the paths that way, and if the authorities do not know of any problems they cannot do anything about them.

“I think we should encourage more people to get out more and to do more walking. I think sometimes people are a bit daunted if, after covering about a quarter of a mile of a footpath, they find that there are no more signposts.

“But the Thames Path is one that is well-signposted, and is well-mainained.”

Dr Dick Mayon-White, who lives in Oxford, is co-ordinator of the river wardens along the lengths of the Thames from Lechlade to Teddington, the non-tidal section. The scheme began about 20 years ago, and he has been involved for more than half that time, taking on the role of co-ordinator three years ago.

At this year’s annual meeting of the River Thames Society, his tireless dedication to developing and encouraging the river warden scheme on the non-tidal reaches, and his support for many local initiatives that benefit the river, was recognised by the presentation to him of the society’s Durant Cup.

The reaches that he covers himself are those from King’s Lock, just west of Oxford, to Eynsham and from Eynsham to Pinkhill. He has a team of about 40 wardens; some may take on responsibility for more than one short length of water, and on the longer lengths more than one person may be involved. “On the towpath itself, there may be areas where the path has become muddy, and others where bank has become eroded, as it does from time to time and from place to place,” said Dr Mayon-White.

“We are also looking for anything that is not in keeping with the river, such as where a householder who may own a section of the river bank and has a boat moored there has put a fence around it or where somebody has moored a boat where they are not licensed to do so.”

Observations of large boats being moored up alongside a bank could be an indication that there are plans for a boatyard to be developed. There may also be the occasional abandoned boat, that the owner can perhaps no longer afford to maintain.

Another observation may be that illegal fishing is taking place.

“There are also things that might make navigation of the river more difficult,” said Dr Mayon-White. “This is in the places where there may be tree branches hanging across the river, or where navigation signs are inadequate.”

The amount of information recorded about wildlife varies from warden to warden.

“It depends how much we know about wildlife,” said Dr Mayon-White. “Some people may be knowledgeable about birds, or botany or about mammals, but we do not have a formal way of recording any species — we tend to leave that to the specialist groups. But certainly wardens do look out for and note interesting birds, interesting plants and others.”

During their 12 years of river-walking, Dr Mayon-White and his wife Valerie have seen some changes along the river.

“It is changing,” he said. “It is wetter than it used to be, and there are more areas that are muddy and become more difficult to get across, despite the good work that has been carried out on the paths.

“There is surprisingly little litter, especially in the rural areas. The items we do come across are those such as plastic bags, which become caught in the branches when flood water lifts the water level.

“But most people walking along the river in rural areas are doing so because they enjoy it, and they are usually very good, and would pick up litter as they go.”

The reach between Osney and Godstow Locks has been under the watchful eyes of Brian and Mary Coates ever since the river warden scheme began.

“The instigator was Sonia Hesketh, who lived by the river in Oxford, and we were among some of the first wardens,” Mr Coates recalls.

They look with satisfaction on the work that has recently been undertaken on the towpath in their area, repairing both the path itself and the embankment. “It is something we had been reporting for about the last 15 years, as it has become gradually worse,” said Mr Coates.

“We are very pleased now with the work that has been done by the contractors and is still continuing.”

More wardens are always welcome. Dr Mayon-White said: “We are always glad to see new volunteers, if they are interested in being involved in this kind of thing.

“If they would like to become river wardens, they can join the River Thames Society, and offer their help.

“Our interest is in ensuring that the river can be enjoyed by everybody.”

Enquiries about the River Thames Society can be made to the administrator, Helen Batten, on 01491 612456 or at admin@riverthamessociety.org.uk