Not a vast wind-blown desert of dunes but a sliver of sand on the Victoria Tower Gardens’ foreshore.
The Victoria TowerGardens’ foreshore and in the distance, Westminster Bridge.
Yet peering down through a zoom lens it’s possible to imagine a desert landscape below. And over the past three years I’ve captured a variety of its forms, forms that appeal to the imagination…
Landscape of rolling sand dunes.
With a Thames tidal range of up to seven metres, and a flow of five or more miles an hour scouring the shoreline, this small stretch of sand crowning a stony beach, is never quite the same. Rough or smooth, wet or dry, and sculpted in different sizes, the sand seems to mirror the shapes of water and at times reflects a sudden change in movement.
Shifting shapes reflecting changes in movement of water above.A marked a change in movement of the water above the sand.
At other times patterns in the sand are more regular, echoing the rippling water above.
Wavelets in the sand: the sharper, shadowed, leeward side facing away from the current.Shimmering sand.Sand ripples.Wave ripples left in wet sand by an ebbing tide.As the tide ebbs, sand dries out.Patterns changing as water evaporates.Sand wavelets drying out.Flood tide returns.
At other times the beach presents a clean, smooth surface with faint lines marking the ebbing tide…
Smooth sand with ebbing tideline marks.
…sometimes outlined by dark particles that have been floating in the river.
Receding tideline marked by small, dark particles.Sand pockmarked by rain.Sand waves pitted with rain spots.Return of the flood tide, washing away rain marks.
*********** You may have noticed other central London Thames beaches, mostly small patches of sand, revealed at low tide. The best known and largest of these is the easily accessed Ernie’s Beach on the foreshore below Gabriel’s Wharf on the South Bank. It is a favourite place for sand sculptors.
A once famous but now vanished Thames beach, Tower Beach, was created on the foreshore below the Tower of London. It took more than 1,500 barge-loads of sand to fill the allotted space between St. Katherine Steps and the Tower. It was opened on 23 July, 1934, by the Lieutenant Governor of the Tower. King George V, actively promoting the project, decreed that the beach was to be used by the children of London, who should be given “free access forever”. Always closed at high tide and throughout the Second World War, Tower Beach was re-opened in 1946. However as levels of pollution gradually caused increasing concern, it was closed for good in 1971 and the sand long since swept away.
The sliver of sand on the Victoria Tower Gardens foreshore.
In troubled times dominated by actions of a few, when the hopes and aspirations of most of us count for little, such escapes into the natural world and its ever-changing patterns are balm for the soul.
Sources and further information London’s Thames Beaches, see: The Londonist See a general view of the Victoria tower Gardens’ shoreline here. History of the Tower Hill Trust. Discover the history of Tower Beach by ‘Exploring GB’ here.
Wendy Tobitt standing by the river wall in Victoria Tower Gardens, holding a well thumbed copy of the Thames Path guide.
A unifying thread the length of the River Thames, Wendy Tobitt, with nearly 6,000 followers on Twitter-X, brings together those who both love and care for the river. She highlights volunteering events, the installation of fingerposts, clearing of paths, all kinds of boating activities, and the rich variety of nature. She passes on warnings of flooding, and features the many photographers capturing scenes of the river from source to sea.
But this is not her only contribution to the River Thames. Her work with the Thames Path National Trail has brought her to greater prominence. It began in 2018 on her retirement from the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust communications team, when she started volunteering with the Thames Path National Trail. In 2019 she took on the management of their social media accounts to promote the Thames Path more widely. Wendy says: “I feel very lucky to be looking after these accounts and to see the beautiful photographs and comments that people post during their walks along the riverside.”
Another of the pleasures of Wendy’s involvement with the National Trail is meeting and talking with the many people she meets who regularly walk or run along the Thames Path.
Wendy’s journalistic and PR experience stands her in good stead too. Her long and impressive career, beginning as a journalist in the 1970s with local Berkshire and Oxfordshire newspapers, was followed by positions in the press offices of the Thames Valley Police; the BBC, publicising local radio stations and as part of a team bringing Pudsey Bear to Children in Need; and in 1990, a role in communications and public affairs for one of British Rail’s passenger businesses. From then she worked independently in management consultancy until 2000 when she had the chance to return to her first love: public relations, working as a freelance for organisations close to her heart. All of them including Natural England; the North Wessex Downs National Landscape; and the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust; having a bearing on her work for and love of, the river Thames, eventually leading to her position as Chair of the Thames Path Partnership.
The Thames Path Partnership is an overarching group involving all the highway authorities between the source of the River Thames in Gloucestershire and Greenwich; the Environment Agency; Port of London Authority, River Thames Society and others. Wendy explains: “We meet online twice a year to discuss the main issues such as forced diversions because of closed footbridges, severe erosion caused by flooding after heavy rainfall, and improvements to access the River Thames, ensuring the Thames Path meets the high-quality standards of a National Trail.” And emphasising the point she adds: “It’s important for all these partners to recognise the significance of the Thames Path National Trail. It’s the only Source to Sea route in the UK and the only National Trail running through the great cities of Oxford and London.” And now, after it was extended to the Woolwich Foot Tunnel and linked to the England Coast Path, it is 232 miles long.
The River Thames has been a constant for Wendy Tobitt throughout her life. “As a child growing up in Maidenhead I remember picnics beside the River Thames and taking a rowing boat out for Sunday afternoons. We had friends in Cookham and Hurley, so I got to know the river in those villages.” But she came to know much more.
“I’ve lived near the Thames in Twyford, Pangbourne and Oxford, and always walked beside the river whenever possible. When I was looking for my latest home, in Wallingford, I made sure to be only a few minutes’ walk to the Thames.”
Wendy says: “Whenever I’m beside the Thames there’s always a different view, and something interesting to see and hear.” She appreciates the different seasons, and the changing character of the river as it flows through town and country. Ever championing her cause, and encouraging others, she adds “Walking on the Thames Path is definitely the best way to enjoy those changing views across and along the River Thames.” I, among her many followers, second that.
Further information Discover The Thames Path National Trail. You can discover Wendy Tobitt on social media including: Facebook; Instagram; and Bluesky @thamespathnt.bsky.social; as well as @ThamesPathNT and @12beesbuzzing on Twitter-X You can see John Tippetts’ photography and records of his Thames walks here: https://www.mythames.co.uk
