Sunday morning, while we waited for the shops in Staines to open, we went for a walk along the Thames at Penton Hook Lock.
It's a great bend in the river - in America it would be called an 'Oxbow' because it's so pronounced - it has a very narrow neck.
In the past, Staines was a point in the river where there was a sharp fall in ground level and the river broke up into a series of smaller streams and rapids. As a result it was a place where stone age man had a chance of fording the river.
The rapids must have covered quite a big area from Ash...ford (which is now Ashford) to Laleham which is where Penton Hook Lock is. When the Romans came they also forded the river at Staines and then built a series of bridges over the streams. As a result, they named Staines "Ad Pontes"...The Bridges.
Anyway, in the 19th century, the Victorians tamed the rapids at Staines and in the process built a lock and weir at Penton Hook Lock.
It's still quite a sight even when the river is low, as it was on Sunday.
It was also freezing cold with a wind that cut straight through you.
Neil Harris
(a don't stop till you drop production)
Home: helpmesortoutstpeters.blogspot.com
Contact me: neilwithpromisestokeep@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment