8th December 2008 - by John Hacking
The Thames - London's Landmark River
Thirty million years ago, before Britain was a small island to
the west of Europe, the Thames river was a tributary of the
Rhine.
By A.D. 50 it had changed direction and it gave Britain its
capital after the invading Romans established Londinium as a
port at the highest point of the tide. (it now reaches farther
inland due to rising sea levels and the fact that Britain is
sinking into the ocean at a rate of 15 cm every 100 years.)
The Romans consolidated the river as an international port
(trade with the Continent had started in the Bronze Age),
constructing mills, wharves, and bridges. The iconic London
Bridge was the first water crossing, lined with houses and
shops; it has been replaced several times, most recently in the
1960s when the previous one was taken apart and shipped to the
USA. There are now 14 bridges in central London, the most
recent being the Golden Jubilee footbridges built in 2002.
About 100km (60 miles) from the sea, the Thames becomes tidal,
flowing the wrong way toward its source twice a day as the sea
pushes up the estuary. As the tide falls, the foreshore is
disclosed, and in the mud and slush you can discover
fascinating clues to London s past, including clay tobacco
pipes and pottery fragments.
The Thames was most splendid under the Tudors and Stuarts, when
the river loving Kings and Queens lived in lovely waterside
residences at Hampton Court, Kew, Richmond, Whitehall, and
Greenwich, using the waters as a royal highway. Fittingly, the
Thames saw many monarchs final journeys in the form of stately
funeral processions, including that of Elizabeth I in 1605, and
that of Henry VIII in 1547. Its said that during the overnight
stop at Syon House his coffin came apart and dogs licked at his
body.
Today you can travel the same waters on passenger ferries or
tourist vessels from Westminster upriver to Hampton Court via
Richmond and Kew, or downriver to the glittering stainless
steel Thames Barrier via Greenwich. Alternatively, you can walk
all or part of the Thames Path from the river's source at
Thames Head down to the Thames Barrier, or meander along the
South Bank with its riverside attractions, restaurants, English
pubs, and shopping malls. (Note that a walk along the
Embankment on the other side can be frustrating for little kids
because of its high walls.)
When you're on the Thames, try to picture in your minds eye the
Lord Mayor's processions that took place from the 15th century
to the middle of the 19th, in barges covered with gold, some
rowed with silver oars. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Frost
Fairs were held on the river during winter freeze overs,
complete with fairground amusements and stalls, performing
animals, and ox roasts.
Today, The Mayor's Thames Festival is a spectacular family
oriented celebration of the Thames, including the
transformation of part of the shore on the South Bank into a
temporary urban beach. The river also hosts a variety of annual
regattas, including the famous Oxford and Cambridge Boat
Race.
Article Source: http://www.articlesabroad.com
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