THE QUIET THAMES

ILLUSTRATOR ALICE STEVENSON DISCOVERS CURIOUS PLACES AND SURPRISING PERSPECTIVES ON HER TRAVELS, EXPLORING WONDERLANDS WITH AN ARTIST’S EYE

As I look back at New Bridge, it appears squat and not entirely symmetrical from where I’m standing. Its irregularity gives it a naivety, like a drawing of an imagined bridge. Built in the 13th century, this structure between Abingdon and Witney is arguably the oldest bridge across the entire span of the Thames. Hidden on the other side is a cheery pub garden, dotted with bright hanging baskets, and colourful barges moored at the water’s edge beside weeping willows. But looking out westward, I just see a low-hanging, ominous sky over a wide field leading down to the Thames.

I’m following part of the Thames Path in Oxfordshire that runs snugly along an uneven bank. It juts out and then sinks into little bays. I enjoy the way it winds, compared to the river’s wide sweep in my home city of London. The edge is covered with a mini-jungle of wildflowers, weeds and grasses. Hogweed in varying stages of decay rises dominantly from the tangle. It’s a poisonous weed that can cause severe skin burns and is considered by many to be an undesirable scourge on the landscape, yet I enjoy the way its flowers and buds graduate between bright white and a dusky brown and its elegant formations make pleasing silhouettes against the pale sky. The rich purple flowers of rosebay willowherb are dotted here and there – the one bright colour in an otherwise muted landscape.

In this flat, rather undramatic environment, subdued by thick cloud, my eyes adjust to the flatness and seek out beauty and drama within it. On the opposite bank, silver-stemmed reeds emerge from the water. They stand to attention in such a neat, repetitive formation, contrasting with the gentle chaos on my side of the bank. They’re like a tuft of spiky hair emerging from an otherwise flat surface, as they all lean slightly towards the left in the afternoon breeze. I peer more closely at them and enjoy the texture created by their thin stems crossing over each other. Their fluttering leaves are like brushstrokes painted over straight lines. I pass a wheat field on my right, which echoes this pattern on a smaller scale, creating a sea of textures in monochrome, both repetitive but with infinite, subtle variations.

On my side of the path, a crab apple tree is heavily laden with tiny young apples. It’s almost sinking down the bank into the water. This marks the entrance into a tunnel of trees, which I walk through, closely surrounded by detail: branches covered in yellow moss and intricate lichen, burdock bushes adorned with bright red, hairy buds. Gaps in the branches reveal glimpses of the flat, metallic Thames. The water widens slightly and turns as I emerge from this miniature woodland tunnel to an open meadow. From a greater distance, the reeds opposite are even more eye-catching, they form a horizontal stripe above the river’s surface, creating a strip of dark, blurry reflection below them. Above the line of their green leaves, a bleached-out field of long grass spreads softly towards distant trees. Commanding ,white silhouettes of swans glide by, perfectly puncturing the mid tones of their surroundings.

This is a peaceful and forgotten place, yet pylons and the distant shape of a farm, and fence wire wound around with berries, ground it firmly in the human world. I feel very alone, although not unpleasantly so. Across the meadow, hundreds of waterfowl of many species gather, their varying hues of grey, white and brown are a world away from the artificial cheerfulness of the hanging baskets outside the pub. Soon, I meet a large herd of cows and calves blocking my path, it is time to turn back.

From a bank near the New Bridge, I finally enter the river, my feet sink into brown sludge but they eventually find firmness. Weeds tickle my ankles as I swim out over to the other side of the bank. Treading water, I gaze up at my surroundings which now tower above me and a flocking of gulls explodes across the darkening sky.

Follow Alice’s travels on Instagram: @AliceStevo