There is a path that runs along the river Thames, from its source near the town of Cirencester all the way to the centre of London. A hundred and eighty four miles long, it takes two weeks to walk the whole path, following the narrow stream as it gradually becomes wider, across the peaceful countryside to finish in the bustling capital city. We often see hikers with rucksacks full of camping equipment, walking along the path on the bank of the river.
There are no bridges near us, so to cross the river we have to walk to Sandford lock. When the lock is closed, you can cross. From there we can follow the Thames path north to Oxford, or south towards Abingdon which claims to be Britain's oldest town, continuously inhabited for more than five thousand years. In both directions there are lots of open fields for the dogs to play in, and they can cool off in the river, so they love going for a walk there.
The river is deep here and there are lots of boats. There are cruises from Oxford to Abingdon for tourists, or you can hire a boat for a private party – we often hear loud disco music as a waterborne hen party goes sailing past! Lots of people go canoeing or kayaking on the river, and you also see groups of people on the traditional Oxford “punts” - a long, shallow boat which you stand up in and push with a pole. Some people also live on the river in narrowboats.
The Victorian writer Jerome K. Jerome wrote his famous comic novel “Three Men in a Boat” about three rather wishy-washy young Londoners who decide they are suffering from “overwork” and take a boating and camping holiday on the Thames. The book was a great success, and remains very popular today. Fans of the book still follow their journey between Kingston-on-Thames and Oxford, and of course make sure they call at all the pubs mentioned in the book!
Vocabulary
all the way = fino a
along = lungo
bank = sponda
bustling = trafficato
claim = sostenere
deep = profondo
equipment = attrezzatura
hen party = addio al nubilato
hiker = escursionista
it takes = ci vogliono
lock = chiusa (di canale)
Londoner = londinese
loud = a volume alto
mention = accennare
mile = miglio (1,6 Km)
narrow = stretto
narrow boat = barca tradizionale usata sui canali
novel = romanzo
overwork = lavoro eccessivo
peaceful = tranquillo
pole = palo
rucksack = zaino
sail = veleggiare, navigare
shallow = basso (non profondo)
source = fonte
stand up = stare in piedi
stream = torrente
suffer = soffrire
Victorian = Vittoriano (riferito al regno della Regina Vittoria 1837-1901)
waterborne = trasportato o trasmesso dall'acqua
wide = largo
wishy-washy = insipido, fiacco, che manca di carattere