Thames Landscape Strategy - Hampton to Kew -

Tree works and board walks

What incredible weather we have enjoyed this April – it is most defiantly spring. Thanks to the warm, dry weather the riverside has been particularly busy with the tourist season starting a good deal earlier this year than usual. I am pleased that the riverside looked its best – it is that time of year that I love the most. It is also that time of year when I urge everyone to get out and walk the riverside, parks and avenues if only to see the swathes of cow parsley that define the Arcadian countryside in May. Arcadia means ‘rural paradise’ and it is certainly that along our stretch of the Thames at the moment.
To encourage people to walk along the river a series of walking leaflets are to be launched at the Richmond May Fair (12th May) suggesting fascinating circular routes that may not be known to all. Simply pop down to the Thames Landscape Strategy marquee on the day and pick up a copy.
Spring also means that it is our busy time in managing the Thames. Everything has shot up and it will soon be time for the spring hay cut – almost a good month earlier than it was a decade ago. It is also a busy time for us implementing improvements with projects taking place up and down the river.
Back in February we planted twelve trees along the Isleworth Promenade including oak, liquid amber and ash. Isleworth Promenade is the little park that runs alongside the river between Richmond Lock (East Twickenham) and Thistleworth past Pete Townsends Eel Pie recording studios and Gordon House. The new trees looked lovely and come the spring began to bud and leaf. One (10’ oak) tree however, was snapped – bent backwards breaking the fragile young trunk and left to dangle. It still amazes me that vandals will do this sort of thing but unfortunately it is quite common. What was heartening about this particular incident however, were the subsequent acts of kindness in an attempt to save the vandalised tree after the trunk had been snapped. Within 24 hours of the trunk being broken, passer-bys had started to make temporary splints pushing little twigs between the tree and the stake stopping the trunk from snapping completely. 48 hours on and a more elaborate devise to save the tree had been constructed and by the third day the snapped section was bound together with cloth, a huge splint coupled the two sections together and additional stakes had been hammered into the ground to help the tree recover. It has also been noted that someone is giving the tree extra water, obviously bringing a bucket on their riverside walk. How splendid of them – we have no idea who it is but thank you. Unfortunately, the tree will more than likely die but we will monitor it over the summer – fingers crossed and if it does die we will replace it next winter.
Last winter we carried out some tree works along the Warren footpath. On the whole most of this was simply good tree maintenance – willows were pollarded and the crowns (that is the leafy lollipop part of the tree) were raised. Raising the crown of a tree has a very important function in that it allows light to filter down to the ground without the necessity to remove the tree altogether. Where this was carried out we are now putting in place the second part of the plan. As more light can reach the ground a whole range of different plants can be encouraged to grow in this shrub layer for the first time. In some places plants will be allowed to colonise these new habitats by themselves (this often means nettles for the first couple of years) whereas in other places we are giving nature a helping hand by planting a few native species.
Before we can plant however, we have had to remove large amounts of Himalayan balsam from the riverbank. This is a particularly tall and invasive plant that if left unchecked will smother all other native species around it. In a cruel twist of fate it is one of the only species that will quite happily grow under a dense canopy of leaves forming curvaceous clumps of bizzie lizzie- like flowers along the riverbank. Last weekend volunteers from Arcadia and the Environment Trust for Richmond upon Thames were out pulling up the balsam in order to clear areas of riverbank for planting under the newly raised crowns. In its place hundreds of native riverside plants have been planted including purple loosestrife, flag iris, marsh marigold, sedges and reeds. Given time these will spread along the banks to form a wonderful native and natural looking riverbank.
The London’s Arcadia team have also been preparing the ground for the planting of a sweeping new reed bed between Cambridge Gardens and Marble Hill Park. Funded by the SITTA Trust and BIFFA Awards this new reed bed will be a whopping 110m long and should become one of the most important habitats along that stretch of the river whilst helping to soften a particularly brutal section of river wall.
Also along the Warren footpath two new accessible ramps are to be installed this month linking the river path with Cambridge Gardens. This will involve some disruption but the finished entrances will be a splendid addition to the area. Alongside the new ramps, railings and steps will be improved that are at present in a pretty shoddy state.
Anyone who has walked along the towpath in Ham recently would have seen the works that are being carried out near the ferry along the line of the old boardwalk that runs up towards Ham House. The old walkway was almost a decade old and had reached the end of its shelf life. A new accessible link between the Ham Avenues and the river was needed and this meant coming up with a cunning solution due to location’s special rural character and position in the flood plain.
Our solution was to raise the boardwalk above its existing level linking the dry ground on the Ham House side with the raised section of towpath next to Hammertons Ferry. This does not mean that the boardwalk will not flood – it will. There will be tides that overtop even the new bridge. This was unavoidable without constructing a much higher structure that would have marred the rural landscape. Richmond Bridge boat builder, Mark Edwards was appointed to make the bridge. It was important that in such a sensitive spot design and construction was of the highest calibre and anyone entrusted to build HM The Queen’s Royal Thames Barge and a replica of the world’s first submarine was good enough for us.
Around the boardwalk it was decided to dig out a large section of earth to increase the area that flooded on the high tide that given time would become a lovely little wetland area. Firstly though the old boardwalk had to be removed and a hole dug for the new pond. This was no easy task. The area being worked on is inundated twice a day on the tide meaning that as quickly as any hole is dug it fills with water and muck. It is lucky that we have people who understand the movements of the river so well carrying out the job!
In the process of digging out the hole some interesting archaeology has been unearthed that has meant carrying out some more investigation before we can proceed. A series of old brick structures have been un-earthed that have left us all baffled. They may be nothing but at the same time they could be an old C17th drain from Ham House or even the foundations to a Georgian boathouse. Until the experts have a look we can only speculate. Once it has been established what the brick structure is work will continue. It is anticipated that the boardwalk will be place later this month and following this, a gang of volunteers will come in and plant native wild plants and flowers in the pond which we hope will become a wonderful addition to the Arcadian Thames.

> Read other Arcadian Diary entries
> Back to the homepage