Harefield Gazette

Quirky islands in the stream

- By Martin eLVERY London Stories Writer @myldn

THE numerous islands that dot the River Thames are quirky little places with a myriad of stories surroundin­g them.

They are great fun to explore and to investigat­e. One of them is so special in fact it actually has the accolade of supplying the Queen with electricit­y!

Yes, according to author Miranda Vickers who spent four years exploring the islands, Romney Eyot which sits in the Thames near Eton is actually two very long thin islands separated by a weir at a place called Toll’s Hole. The islands are covered in trees and grassland but have always been connected by some kind of bridge between them.

A popular spot for fishing, there were once plans to build a railway along the island, but to prevent this, Eton College which sits just upstream decided to buy it. Even to this day on June 4 every year, Eton College boys celebrate the memory of King George III for supporting the school with a big fireworks bash on the island.

It’s part of a much bigger celebratio­n on the river described in the book ‘The Eton Book of the River’ by L Byrne.

It describes how the fireworks tradition started in 1891 when the death of the school’s head forced the usual celebratio­ns to be postponed and the firework display to be transferre­d to Romney Eyot from a smaller island called called “Fireworks Eyot”. Apparently, this change proved so successful that the new location stuck.

Most interestin­gly though, two giant Archimedes screws were set up next to the island in 2011 at the weir to generate electricit­y for the Royal family at Windsor Castle. This was in an attempt to lower their carbon footprint.

The Weir at Romney Eyot

In 2013 the BBC reported the screws, which are connected to a gearbox, were producing enough electricit­y to power Windsor Castle and more at some 200 kWh per hour. But the amount of energy from the screws engineered by Southeast Power Engineerin­g does depend on river conditions. The state-of-the-art screws weigh 40 tonnes each and are connected to generators which deliver 320kW per hour at peak flow. Next to them, there’s a fish tube so that salmon, trout and eels can bypass the screws without getting chewed up.

The traditiona­l “Fourth of June” day being celebrated at Eton College with speeches, cricket matches, procession­s of boats and a fireworks display in 1952. Here three of the college boys bring up ice cream in keeping with the good weather Having explored the island, Miranda says it’s a great place to walk especially because of the sound of the water rushing through the weir combined with the sound of wind through the leaves of the large poplar trees at the ends of the island. She says the central channel between the islands also forms a lagoon which is quite beautiful.

Like many of the islands, it’s a fascinatin­g mix of history, tranquilli­ty and innovation. It definitely sounds like one to explore if you are near Eton any time soon!

 ?? ?? Romney Eyot is a lovely place to wander
Romney Eyot is a lovely place to wander
 ?? GETTY IMAGES ??
GETTY IMAGES

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