A little stroll down by the River Thames UK- Photo essay

Here are a few pictures i took a couple of weeks ago, whilst having a little stroll around Shepperton Lock on the river Thames, near where i live. I live in a little town called Ashford Middlesex, on the borders of Surrey. On the Thames map below, i live between Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace. Its about 15 miles from Central London.

Englands River

From its source near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, to Teddington Lock in West London, the non-tidal Thames winds through beautiful countryside and thriving towns.
Over centuries the Thames has been an important transport route, source of food, water and power, a place for recreation and an inspiration to writers, composers and artists.

Plenty to see and do

As well as the attractions of riverside towns and villages, there are stately homes, historical churches, charming pubs, toll bridges and watermills. For a relaxing afternoon by the river there are parks and nature reserves to visit, whilst in the summer regattas provide a spectable.

Shepperton Lock and its 'B' weir have been extensively renovated by the Environment Agency, the lock benefiting from a £550,000 Environment Agency investment to protect the river bank and provide a new secure layby for boats.

Located on the Surrey/Middlesex border, near where the rivers Wey and Bourne meet the Thames, this lock is a short distance from D'Oyly Carte Island, once home to the producer of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas. Above the lock is Pharaoh's Island, given to Lord Nelson after the Battle of the Nile.

In 1813 the City of London Corporation built a timber pound lock here at Shepperton and it was not until 1899 when a new stone lock was constructed alongside the existing one. Then the earlier chamber was filled in.

Today the lock is very similar to that built in 1899, although the old timber manual gate-opening beams have been removed and hydraulic operation installed in the 1960s.

Ducks, geese, swans, grebes, coots and moorhens and kingfishers are common at the lock.

There are also parakeets in abundance.

Pics taken with a Canon Powershot A560.