The Cherwell is shown here on six web pages:
Cherwell Mouth (from the Isis to below Magdalen Bridge)
Magdalen Bridge
Mesopotamia (from above Magdalen Bridge to the boat rollers)
Upper Cherwell (above the boat rollers to below Bardwell Road Punting station)
Bardwell Road to the Victoria Arms
Islip (Cherwell above the Victoria Arms)
Other pages of interest to punters are:
Bullstake Stream (Other side of the Isis (aka Thames) - for punters to explore)
To Old Navigation (Punt up above Osney Lock and then round to Oxford Castle)
There are also two round trips including going up the Oxford Canal and coming back down via Kings Lock and Godstow
Maps
In map - drag, double click, zoom. Click link to see Virtual Earth synchronised with StreetMap, Multimap, and old OS maps
Punting to Islip by Eddie Flintoff -
Islip is the furthest upstream you can take a punt - if you get to the Victoria Arms at Marston then you are about half way to Islip.
It has the reputation of being uncharted slightly fabulous territory. Tolkien would have marked it
'Here be dragons'. It is a journey for the experienced punter who can keep up a steady two miles an hour without
continually hitting the bank!
The poem itself is full of word play and 1960s student existential conceit - but who isn't?
Off then we set at the first crack of dawn,
while most of our friends lay still fast asleep
in those dreaming spires : moving off to see
how far we could punt up the uncharted Cherwell,
slipping quietly north through that sleeping city,
‘the Latin quarter of Cowley,’ as somebody called it,
sedately cracking and wisecracking our way
up that often widening always winding channel
between Magdalen and St. Clement’s : the drops from our pole
pipping the popping water, the pattering of these plops
the only cough of sound in all the whispering round,
the only surf on that unruffled surface.
So taking it in turn to punt we made our way
Through all that pearly early morning mist,
now slipping smoothly up the sloping lap
of that slow-moving smooth running stream,
now suddenly mistaking, now making our way
between the now merging now diverging banks.
First it was Magdalen Park ...
1922: Magdalen Bridge, Francis Frith -
1922: Magdalen Bridge, Francis Frith
Map: Magdalen Water
And suddenly you are in a
parkland, a park on the left bank and trees on the right bank.
Beware overhanging branches.
1909: The Story of the Thames J E Vincent -
... a pretty piece of water, shaded by cool, grey-green willows and all manner of trees.
1923: from "Father Thames" by Walter Higgins -
The Cherwell is a very pretty little stream, shaded by overhanging willows
and other trees, so that it is usually the haunt of pleasure,
the place where the undergraduate takes his own or somebody else's sister
for an afternoon excursion,
or where he makes his craft fast in the shade in order
that he may enjoy an afternoon's quiet reading.
A walk through the meadows on its banks is, indeed something very pleasant,
with the stream on one side of us and that most beautiful of colleges,
Magdalen, on the other.
Here as we proceed down the famous avenue of pollarded willows,
winding between two branches of the stream, we can hear almost continuously
the singing of innumerable birds, for the Oxford gardens and meadows
form a veritable sanctuary in which live feathered friends of every sort.
1906: Above Magdalen Bridge, Andrew Lang
1881: Our River, George Leslie, Royal Academician and punter -
I should like to make a remark on the inaccuracy there is generally seen in the punts introduced in river pictures. All boats are extremely difficult to draw well, and I suspect the artists choose the punt, as it is the easiest of representation on account of its beautiful simplicity; but apart from invariably rendering it far too short and dumpy, they generally save all trouble by simply making the sides of the boat quite straight—a mere square box in perspective. Now in no possible view are the lines of a punt straight, the two ends in reality converging very considerably, somewhat like a coffin, and the floor of a punt, at least of a good one, is simply the narrow segment of a large circle, and not a flat box with the ends bevelled up. Artists always make the ends too steep, and quite straight instead of curved. I remember when I was on the selecting committee of the Royal Academy, great numbers of river pieces, with punts introduced in them, passed before us, in none of which was the boat correctly drawn. I trust my brother artists will take my remarks as kindly meant, and believe me that a punt is nearly as difficult to paint as it is to punt.
Addison's Walk, on the right bank
1818: Walks in Oxford: By W. M. Wade -
The MEADOW, insulated by streams of the
Cherwell, lies to the eastward of the Paddock.
Around it, on the river's bank, is carried the umbrageous
and pleasingly varied walk, so well known
by the name of Magdalen College Water Walks.
Many points of this walk afford rich and beautiful
views of the surrounding country. At its
entrance stood, till the year 1789 a venerable
oak of immense size, supposed to have vegetated
there nearly six hundred years. On the 29th of
June in that year it fell to the ground with a tremendous
crash. Its height was 71 feet, its girth
21, and its cubic contents were 754 feet. A chair
made from some of the timber is preserved in the
President's lodgings.
T H Warren, President of Magdalen, wrote this tribute to Addison -
ADDISON'S WALK
Green natural cloister of an Academe
What ghost is this that greets us as we pace
Beneath your boughs, the genius of the place,
With soft accost that fits our musing dream?
Scholar, divine, or statesman would beseem
That reverend air, that pensive-brilliant face,
And lofty wit and speech of Attic grace
Rich in grave ornaments and noble theme.
'Tis he who played unspoiled a worldly part,
Taught the town truth, and in a formal age
Lured fop and toast to heed a note sublime;
Who here had learned the crowning art,
To walk the world like Plato's monarch-sage
Spectator of all being and all time.
E W Hazelhurst, Our Beautiful Homeland, Oxford -
... [ another meadow ] ... highly favoured in its immediate surroundings. It stands
within the ground of Magdalen College, and is bordered on either side by the divided
waters of the Cherwell, before they pass beneath Magdalen Bridge.
Around this meadow is a shady path beneath an avenue of trees, and it is this path
that attracts attention to the meadow; for it is said that it was here that Addison
loved to pace up and down, as in the early years of the eighteenth century he thought out
his essays for the Tatler or Spectator.
1931: One September evening three young Oxford Academics, the well known Henry Dyson and the mostly unknown
J R R Tolkien and C S Lewis, went for a midnight stroll along Addison's Walk.
Henry Dyson was a High Anglican and J R R Tolkien a devout Roman Catholic. But C S Lewis was still in
rebellion against the Irish Protestantism of his youth. Dyson and Tolkien tried to help him to come to faith.
And it was through an understanding of the way in which myth enshrines truth that finally he came round -
and became known as one of the greatest Christian writers of the twentieth century. Tolkien talked to
him about the myth of the resurrection.
It is dangerous and sloppy use of language to confuse "myth" and "falsehood". A Myth is a story (in any medium)
which conveys an underlying truth - it is close in meaning to the word "sacrament". Both Lewis and Tolkien
went on to become great myth creators (by which they conveyed important truths)
After half a mile or so you come to a footbridge with a large
pipe suspended beneath it.
River Cherwell Footbridge Map: River Cherwell Footbridge
Beyond the footbridge and its pipe is a T junction; going upstream turn right. (The left turn is the not recommended shallow stream via the Mill to Magdalen Bridge).
Footbridge on left bank
At this next T junction going upstream turn left.
The right hand turn, back downstream under this bridge is
blocked a few yards further on by a pipe across the river under which it is not
possible to go. (If you went back under Magdalen Bridge and kept left
you could eventually reach the other side of this pipe. Not recommended!
The stream is, in parts, not particularly attractive,
going by the back walls of houses.)
Going upstream keep left of the next island.
The right hand channel can be navigated up to
the old King's Mill weir but then the channel back to the navigable stream
above the island is shallow and certainly used to block though it is clearer now.
In 2007 a tree down blocked the main stream for several months - fortunately there is a small island
at this point and the small right bank stream (your left going upstream) was just navigable.
The rubbish which collected on the blockage was unsightly. But why does Oxford not appreciate its rivers
and keep them in good state? Tourism is one of its major industries and the romance of punting
is one of its attractions ...
1900: Punts on the Cherwell -
The Cherwell, 1900
1906: On the Cherwell, Francis Frith -
1906: On the Cherwell, Francis Frith
King's Mill Map: King's Mill
Mesopotamia
Mill on left bank.
After you have passed the King's Mill weir on the left bank the
area is known as "Mesopotamia". It is literally “between - rivers” i.e.
“Meso–potamia”.
The mill stream is several feet above and on the other
side of the dividing bank with its footpath.
from "Barbara goes to Oxford" by Oona Ball -
Towards evening there came a break
in the clouds and the sun set in a blaze of
rosy glory. We wandered down the path which is
called Mesopotamia, for a reason which is,
says Brownie, sufficient to the Biblical
student.
It is such a lovely walk. A narrow
path fringed on each side with willows:
on one hand the main stream of the
Cherwell, scene of my discomfiture of
yesterday [see below], on the other a backwater which
leads to an old mill.
Midway in the walk the water from the
upper stream rushes under a little bridge
into the lower. We leant over the bridge
watching the sun set, the tall tower of
Magdalen against the southern sky, and
the white mists creeping up across the
meadows.
1893: My Flirtations by Ella Hapworth Dixon -
There is the sad-coloured June day - a harmony in soft greys and greens -
when we went to pick fritillaries in Mesopotamia.
It was the day after Commemoration was over, and the narrow, willow-fringed river was deserted.
Afar off we could see the grey spires and towers of the University against the wide, white sky,
while across the fat, buttercup-gilded meadows came the mellow, distant sound of Oxford bells.
As Frank pushed the punt lazily up stream, we seemed wrapped in a mysterious green silence.
We left the punt where the old chain ferry crosses the Cherwell, and plunged into the long new grass.
I carried a basket for the fritillaries,
and Frank had brought an empty soda-water bottle; a proceeding which puzzled me immensely, until I found that all among
the abundant grass studded with June flowers there leapt and danced hundreds of tiny, nimble, gay-hearted frogs,
only lately emerged from the juvenile or tadpole state.
'They are so like undergraduates!'
I cried, kneeling in the long grass and stretching depredatory fingers here and there,
while Frank pretended to be offended, and declared I shouldn't put any of my frogs into his soda-water bottle ...
But in the end we compromised, and Frank was set to gather the queer, spotted, purplish-brown fritillaries,
whilst I crammed the leaping little reptiles into our bottle ...
And so the June afternoon slipped by, until the clang of evening bells warned us it was time to turn homewards.
1926: C S Lewis, Sunday, 9th May -
A bright and beautiful morning. The walks by the Cher as I went home after breakfast are now "tunnels of green" and hawthorn, full of singing, or, rather, shouting birds, and bluebells.
Weir on left bank
Following along you come to two weirs from the Mill Stream onto the navigation stream which are trivial matters to pass at summer levels but can become impassable in flood. Rest content - if they are impassable then so will the rollers be.
In 2006 the dry summer helped a restoration of this first weir - which
I think may have blocked the river on occasion. Clearly a lot of effort is
going into maintaining the Cherwell. Neither side weir was running at all.
Note that in passing a side current in a punt you will be
pushed one way as the front of the punt is deflected, but then also pushed
back onto course as the back is deflected. The overall effect is a
sideways movement (as long as you do not try to
compensate for these course changes). So
allow for the side movement and punt straight on.
Weir on left bank
(Dry in June 2004)
In the next section some care will be needed to avoid
bushes, under which the current will attempt to push you.
Your passengers, who will be
scratched before you are, will advise, sometimes quite loudly.
1907: R.T.Rivington, Punts and Punting quotes part of this from Barbara Burke
(Oona Ball), in her novel “Barbara Goes to Oxford” -
We set off early this morning for the
lower river, that is the part below
the town, where we hoped to hire a
punt. Long afternoons on the water
were to bring us that peace with an
Oxford flavour which is what we have
come here to seek. A punt seemed to
answer all our requirements — for me
exercise, for Brownie perfect rest, combined with such absolute safety as should
satisfy an anxious aunt.
Mrs. Codlicott told us that we could arrange to keep it
at Parsons' Pleasure, the bathing-place
on the River Cherwell ; there it would
be within five minutes' walk. Evidently
Providence is arranging this jaunt for us.
Could any tourist agency have managed it so well ?
We went to Parsons' Pleasure
and shouted aloud for 'Mr. Cox!' as
Mrs. Codlicott had instructed us to do.
We could hear the joyous shrieks of the
bathers behind a row of wooden sheds.
We made our little plan, and then we
went on down by the college barges.
Here we engaged our punt, a charming
light one with ample cushions. The
Pons Asinorum was ours to have and to
hold as long as we chose to keep her. I
suppose one does speak of a punt as
"she" in spite of its very unfeminine
appearance ?
I punted along in my very best manner.
On we went past the barges, turned into
the Cherwell and skirted Christ Church
meadows, lying golden in the sunlight.
Then up such a lovely reach ; Magdalen
walks on our left, on our right a lush
green meadow, beyond that some low
green hills.
The stream was very narrow and winding as we came out by the path which is
called Mesopotamia; we were in the midst
of an argument, the mud was thick and
deep, the punt pole long and slender.
I remember a moment of horrible uncertainty as to whether the pole belonged
to me or I belonged to the pole, — and
then, I went — plop — into the water.
An opportune waterman rowing down the
stream picked me out of the mud and
set me on board again. He turned
about and came up to Parsons' Pleasure
with us and helped to drag the punt
over the rollers, by means of which
one gets from the Lower to the Upper
Cherwell. Here we tied up our craft
and stowed away our cushions, and I
dripped slowly homewards feeling very
wet and silly.
Wooden Footbridge
Concrete Footbridge
Under a footbridge a weir pool with, straight ahead of you,
the only means of passing it, the boat rollers.
River Cherwell Weir and Boat Rollers Map: River Cherwell Weir and Boat Rollers
1885: Cherwell Boat Rollers, Henry Taunt
Cherwell Boat Rollers, Henry Taunt, 1885
© Oxfordshire County Council Photographic Archive; HT4824
1910?: Postcard -
Cherwell Boat Rollers, 1910?
2003: -
Cherwell Boat Rollers, photographed in 2003.
At summer levels the rollers should be dry, but recently at anything above summer levels there has been water flowing down under the rollers. They can still be used with care.
Get everyone out on the concrete landing to the left of
the rollers and if you have a punt or canoe run it up onto the rollers and make
your way up as best you can. It is
possible for one person to take a heavy punt up single handed, but so much
easier for more than one! Take your time
which may not be easy if other people are waiting to use the rollers.
A long rope is the best means of pulling a heavy boat
because it gives the straightest pull.
Otherwise you find yourself spending much
time on the rollers pushing the boat sideways.
Do not succumb to temptation and let the punt run off the rollers.
It can easily take on quite a lot of water
and you will feel rather silly having to swim for it, and above the weir it
could be dangerous.
(See Site of Medley Weir for further thoughts on this.)
Rollers to Bardwell Road
Introduction
Estuary
PLA
QEII Br
Barrier
Tower Br
Custom Ho
London Br
; Frost Fairs
Cannon St Rb
The Great Stink
Southwark Br
Millenium Br
Blackfriars Rb
Blackfriars Br
Waterloo Br
Charing Cross Rb
Westminster Br
Lambeth Br
Vauxhall Br
Victoria Rb
Chelsea Br
Albert Br
Battersea Br
Battersea Rb
Wandsworth Br
Fulham Rb
Putney Br
Hammersmith Br
Barnes Rb
Chiswick Br
Kew Rb
Kew Br
RICHMOND
Twickenham Br
Richmond Rb
Richmond Br
TEDDINGTON
Kingston Rb
Kingston Br
Ditton Slip
Hampton Br
MOLESEY
SUNBURY
Walton Br
Desborough Cut
SHEPPERTON
Chertsey Br
CHERTSEY
M3 Br
Laleham Slip
PENTON HOOK
Staines Rb
Staines Br
Runnymede Br
BELL WEIR
Magna Carta Is
OLD WINDSOR
Albert Br
Datchet
Victoria Br
Black Potts Rb
ROMNEY
Eton
Windsor Br
Windsor Rb
Windsor Slip
Elizabeth Br
BOVENEY
Dorney Lake
York Cut
Summerleaze Fb
MonkeyIsland
New Thames Br
BRAY
Bray Slip
Maidenhead Rb
Maidenhead Br
Below Boulters
BOULTERS
Cliveden
Hedsor
COOKHAM
Cookham Slip
Cookham Br
BourneEnd RFb
Quarry Woods
A404 Br
MARLOW
Marlow Br
Bisham
TEMPLE
HURLEY
Medmenham
Culham Ct
Aston Slip
HAMBLEDEN
Temple Is
Fawley Ct
Remenham
Regatta
Phyllis Ct
Henley Slip
Leander
Red Lion
Henley Br
Angel on Br
Landing
Hobbs Boatyard
Hobbs Slipway
MARSH
Hennerton
Bolney
Wargrave
Shiplake Rb
R.Loddon
SHIPLAKE
Sonning Br
SONNING
Dreadnought
K&A Canal
CAVERSHAM
Reading Br
Caversham Br
Reading Slip
Purley
MAPLEDURHAM
Hardwick Ho
Whitchurch Br
WHITCHURCH
Hartswood Reach
Gatehampton Rb
Goring Gap
Goring Br
GORING
Swan
CLEEVE
Moulsford
Moulsford Rb
Papist Way Slip
Winterbrook Br
Wallingford Br
BENSON
Shillingford Br
R.Thame
DAYS
Burcot
Clifton Hampden
Clifton Church
Clifton H Br
Barley Mow
Long Wittenham
CLIFTON
Appleford Rb
Sutton Courtenay
Sutton Br
CULHAM
Culham Cut Fb
Abingdon Slip
Abingdon
Abingdon Br
ABINGDON
Nuneham Rb
Nuneham
Nuneham Park
Radley Boats
SANDFORD
Rose Island
Kennington Rb
Isis Br
Iffley Mill
IFFLEY
Oxford Rowing
Isis
Donnington Br
Riverside Slip
Boathouses
Punting
Lower Cherwell
Upper Cherwell
Islip
Head of River
Salters Steamers
Folly Br
Bacons Folly
Oxford Fb
Osney Fb
Weir stream
Osney Rb
Bullstake Stream
Osney Marina
OSNEY
Osney Br
Four Rivers
OLD RIVER
CANAL
Medley Weir Site
Medley Fb
Bossoms
Perch
Trout
GODSTOW
Godstow Nunnery
Godstow Br
Thames Br
KINGS
River Evenlode
EYNSHAM
Swinford Br
Oxford Cruisers
PINKHILL
Farmoor
Stanton Harcourt
Bablock Slip
Arks Weir Site
NORTHMOOR
Harts Fb
Rose Revived
Newbridge
Maybush
River Windrush
below Shifford
SHIFFORD
Shifford Fb
Tenfoot Fb
Trout Inn
Tadpole Br
RUSHEY
Old Mans Fb
RADCOT
Radcot Cradle Fb
Swan Inn
Radcot New Br
Radcot Old Br
GRAFTON
Eaton Hastings
Kelmscott
Eaton Fb
BUSCOT
Bloomers Hole Fb
Trout Inn
St Johns Br
ST JOHNS
Halfpenny Br
Marina Slip
LIMIT
Inglesham
Hannington Br
Kempsford
Castle Eaton Br
Marston Meysey
A419 Br
Cricklade
SOURCE?
THAMES HEAD
SEVEN SPRINGS