Thames Landscape Strategy - Hampton to Kew -

Vegetation and King Henry

So far, it has been an excellent summer down by the river. The mild and largely dry weather being just what the trees and flowers have needed to get them off to good start. The good weather has also attracted visitors to the Thames in their thousands – the towpaths have never been so busy with all manner of people out and about enjoying themselves. It does go to show that staying at home, visiting the local park or exploring a new place – on ones doorstep is the new way to enjoy free time during the economic downturn.
With this in mind it is even more important that we continue to raise the funding needed to improve our open spaces and also to ensure that the maintenance of the riverside is carried out to the best possible standard. On the whole I think a good job has been done so far this summer. There have been a few over-topping or un-emptied bins but these have been reported and litter was largely kept well under control considering the huge volume of use. It is interesting to note that we have seen a significant reduction in the amount of litter people drop on the towpaths compared to a decade ago. We put this down to several reasons such as changing attitudes to the environment, better education and enhanced management. It is true that people think twice about dropping litter in a clean place whereas if the park is already dirty (from say the flotsam and jetsam left by a high tide) they are much more likely to leave their rubbish.
Having enjoyed a riverside walk a few people have asked us why we cut the grass along some stretches of the river at this time of year whilst leave other reaches un-cut. The reason for this is due to several factors such as to aid access but mainly it is due to the special character of the river environment in the upper tideway. The bits of river bank that are cut tend to be the lower places that as such are inundated on the daily high tides. Because the Thames in our part of the world is freshwater and full of nutrients this water acts like a massive watering can full of fertiliser being dropped on the river bank twice a day. One may imagine that this is good for the plants but it does have a downside. The plant that thrives most on this organic rich mixture is dock – wonderful if you happen to sting yourself on a riverside walk (the nettles along the river are left as they are excellent for insects) but not so good for other waterside flowers. The docks are so at home in this environment that by April they have out competed almost all other species – greatly reducing diversity. Because of this we do need to cut these low lying stretches in May or early June to avoid a ‘desert’ of dock all summer long. Once cut, a much richer mix of native summer flowers quickly grow back for visitors to enjoy.
Another great reason for getting out on the towpath and enjoying our magnificent River Thames this June takes place on Saturday 20th. At 10am, King Henry VIII and his Queen will board the Royal Shallop ‘Jubilant’ at the Tower of London. Accompanied by a flotilla of traditional skiffs, the King and his entourage will then travel up the River Thames with more boats joining the procession at Richmond (expected 12.30pm) for the final leg of the journey passing Teddington Lock at 1.00pm (for a short stop), Kingston at 2.00pm and onto Hampton Court Palace (arriving at 3.00pm). It will be well worth a look!

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