The navigation channel is on the Right (north) side of Taylor Island.
The Left bank channel (manual boats only) is narrow and may be full of canoes with inexperienced children and *harassed instructors!
[* Sorry, I mean: "caring, safety conscious, instructors".]
1794: Report of a survey of the river Thames between Reading and Isleworth ... John Rennie (the Elder)
From Marlow Point we have a good reach for a mile downwards, to nearly opposite Miss Winford's cottage; but here is a shoal near half a mile in length, in which is only three feet ten inches of water; this should be deepened, and there should be willows planted on the ayts to accumulate the silt, and narrow the channel.
Taylor Island - also Sherriff island
Here is a spot where the riverside has been influenced by an author and not the other way round.
Across the river you will be able to see the boats of the Longridge Activity Centre.
Today this is owned by a charity which provides a variety of water and land based activities
for young people.
The land here was originally bought in 1976 by the Scout Association with a legacy
from the playwright RC Sherriff.
He did not live around here but he does have a strong connection with the Thames.
Sherriff was severely wounded in the First World War at Passchendaele but recovered
and became an accomplished rower at Kingston Rowing Club.
It was then that he first started writing plays to raise money for a new boat.
His most famous work is "Journey's End" which is a play based on his experiences
in the trenches during the First World War. The Scouts own the rights to this play.
Sherriff wrote many plays and he also wrote film scripts including "Goodbye Mr Chips"
and "The Dam Busters".
You might notice that the activity centre is sheltered by one of the Thames' many islands.
The scouts named this one Sherriff Island after their benefactor.
There are a lot of islands like this in the Thames.
Many are long and thin and are created by the accumulation of silt.
They are often called 'aits' or 'eyots' (pronounced eights) which is an Old English name for an island.
Longridge Centre
Left bank, 01628 483252
