Julie Royce, one of our brilliant Thames Path National Trail Volunteers keeps herself busy with many voluntary roles. As well as assisting us with the Thames Path, Julie is also a volunteer presenter at Kingston Hospital Radio, and also regularly contributes to Thames Ditton Today Magazine. She has written several articles about the Thames, which we thought we’d share with you, as they are perfect examples of this months theme of ‘Trail Tales’.
The article can read below, or found on page 23 of the Thames Ditton Today Magazine via his link here: summer2021.pdf
Local People and their Relationship to the River Credit: Julie Royce and Thames Ditton Today Magazine
Long distance swimming
Jon Southey lives in Thames Ditton and regularly swims across The English Channel which takes him around 14 hours. The Thames (near Hurst Park) is his training ground, he swims there regularly with Alan and Neil. He had always been a swimmer, so when his friend Neil decided to swim The Channel as a 60th birthday challenge in 2017; Jon was the obvious choice to train with. While Neil still enjoys a regular dip with his bobble hat on and Alan keeps fit by swimming front crawl or breast stroke; Jon trains to get ready for his next long-distance challenge. He does not wear a wetsuit (as this is not allowed in cross channel swims), and doing front crawl means that water goes in and out of his mouth. Jon said, “you can’t avoid it, but I try not to swallow it”. He swims for up to 40 minutes and says “it’s more enjoyable and freer without a wetsuit, but you do feel colder when you go in. Your body keeps cooling for up to 20 minutes, so you have to be careful not to stay in for too long”. To take care of the river Jon and his friends get in from the rocks to avoid erosion and pick up litter.
Boating
Jane Ellingham’s relationship with the river goes back a long way. She grew up in a family always boating and sailing, and her grandfather built a cabin cruiser in his garden, later becoming part of the Upper Thames Patrol during WWII. Jane and her husband Scott moved to Thames Ditton 11 years ago, and soon after, rescued a dinghy and joined the BMYC boat club, where Scott enjoys helping out with the practical jobs in running a members’ club. They and their family have enjoyed many happy hours messing about on the river ever since. They don’t go far or fast. Jane said, ‘the furthest we’ve been is to a party in Teddington. The distance required a can of extra petrol and I had to row while Scott filled the tank - a bit challenging after a party!’They enjoy the variety of wildlife, such as the Great Crested Grebes, and watching the terrapins sunning themselves at Cigarette Island. Jane said, ‘boating is a great source of fun for us and it’s where we feel most at home. We’re delighted to see people of all ages taking up kayaking and paddle boarding.’
Riverside living
After falling in love with the tidal magic of the Thames near Gunnersbury, Lucy and Ben Siegle decided to seek a home next to the river. Lucy felt doubtful when her first sight was the Thames at its most furious – the river was high, fast and brown, with floating debris. Now, they love its constant change and regeneration, and use their kayaks to go shopping, dog walking, and helping to keep 24 the river clean. Lucy said, ‘you never know what you are going to see – we’ve watched a coracle pass, a water bottle raft, the hover boarders, a seal visiting, snakes that swim over from Home Park and someone playing a euphonium!’ Lucy going shopping in her kayak As a high-profile environmental journalist, author and TV presenter, Lucy was keen to talk about the river environment. ‘There was much less plastic waste in the river during the lockdowns, as there were no big events and places were closed, so people had to take picnics from home. Also, restrictions on boat use led to a calmer environment for the wildlife.’ Lucy says the river is part of our community and advocates a local climate plan, ‘we’re the custodians and it’s up to us to protect it’. Image right: Lucy going shopping in her kayak
Paddle boarding
Federica Bowman took up paddle boarding while living in New York and said, ‘I used to enjoy paddling on the Hudson River which is tidal, very wide and much busier than the Thames’. She and her husband moved here five years ago. ‘We wanted more greenery and liked the character of the village - we could tell people seemed to know each other. The river was a bonus.’ After many towpath walks, Federica decided to take a refresher course with Ditton Paddle boarders. She paddles around locally, and with the river quieter during last summer’s pandemic she described her enjoyment of a timeless scene where people paddled and swam from Albany Reach with the beautiful backdrop of Hampton Court Palace. Federica always wears a buoyancy aid and said paddle boarding takes concentration and balance, but you can make it anything you want it to be - an extreme form of exercise, a group activity, or solitary mindfulness. For her, it’s for relaxation, so if you see someone lying back while floating around in a little inlet – odds on it will be Federica in her mindful state.
Immersion and artistic inspiration
Juliet Turnbull is a textile artist and has lived on a mooring off Boyle Farm Island with her partner for over fifteen years. Juliet is the river – she lives on it, swims in it, uses a dinghy for transport, is artistically inspired by it and looks after its wildlife – particularly George and Mildred, a pair of ducks who they feed each day from the end of their Dutch barge home. Previously the Assistant Manager at the Swan pub, she was encouraged to focus on her art as a form of income when she produced a river scene of an overhanging tree in the sunset, and someone snapped it up. Since then, the river is her main inspiration, providing her with plenty of material to satisfy her passion for colour and texture; with kingfishers, trees, wildflowers, river reflections and of course swimming, regularly appearing in her work (as featured on our front cover). Having been a competitive swimmer, Juliet does not feel complete until she has immersed herself in the water and encourages others to experience this through her work running Surrey Outdoor Swimmers.
Image: Juliet enjoying a swim off Boyle Farm Island
