We had a rousing start to the Thames Path 30th anniversary Relay on Friday 5 June with Gloucestershire Ramblers and river health campaigners at the Source of the River Thames in Trewsbury Mead.
Roz Savage MP for South Cotswolds and Dame Fiona Reynolds, High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, who both have strong connections to the River Thames and its landscape, handed the specially-crafted Acorn Relay Baton to Paul Flynn.
Hannah Gutteridge the Thames Path National Trail manager said: “This relay is a perfect opportunity to celebrate the Thames Path and the people who make it what it is: our fantastic volunteers, local communities, councils and user groups.
“We’re delighted to be working with Drinkable Rivers and the Mayors for a Drinkable Thames, highlighting the deep connection between the Trail and the river itself. What better way to begin our first leg, championed by Paul Flynn from the Blue Human Project.”
Dame Fiona is passionate about enabling more people to access and enjoy the countryside. “Over the last 30 years the environment movement has changed from protecting places with lines and boundaries.
“Now there is a burgeoning enthusiasm to give people from every conceivable background access to the countryside, making protected landscapes like National Parks and National Trails an ecosystem at the heart of the nation.”
Roz Savage MP said the Thames has a special role: “meandering through my life”. Roz, a renowned campaigner for improving the health of oceans, is setting up an All Party Parliamentary Group taking action “to clean up our most iconic river.”
James Manthel from Mayors for a Drinkable Thames and Drinkable Rivers, is working with the Port of London Authority, the University of Kent and other organisations developing projects to gain better understanding of the health of the River Thames and how it can be improved.
The Thames Path Relay continues. Find out how to join it https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/.../thames-path-30th.../
The Relay is in collaboration with Drinkable Rivers and Mayors for a Drinkable Thames. Several groups leading sections of the Relay are campaigning for better water quality of the River Thames.
