Clamber
up to the roadway and cross Victoria Bridge keeping on the left hand
side of the road.
The main bridge out of Windsor for hundreds of years was Windsor Bridge.
Victoria Bridge provided a secondary route. It was a ferry crossing
until 1706 when Queen Anne ordered a bridge to be built. It was then
in the castle grounds, (the castle grounds are now on the other side
of the road).
The bridge had a chequered history until the 1840's when the Windsor
Improvement act divided the area between private and public land as
it now stands.
Two new roads were built through the park with the need for two new
bridges to ford the Thames.
The other bridge is the Albert Bridge about 1 km further downstream.
The railways had to stump up for some of the construction costs as
a condition for building the railway into Windsor nearby.
|
|
|
Victoria
Bridge |
After
crossing the bridge, just 50 metres or so on the left further on you
will see our new footpath signposted (see picture below left). Take
the steps down through the vegetation into Datchet Golf Club.
Walk straight
out and in about 20m you will come across a gravel track. Turn left
onto the track, (view below right).
Datchet
Golf Club has been here since 1890.
If you're from a country where public footpaths are not a known concept
- don't worry, you have a right to walk through this private land,
as long as you keep on the path.
The golfers will ignore you as if you weren't there. |
 |
 |
Follow
the gravel track, keeping a sharp lookout for flying golf balls. When
the track peters out keep going straight, keeping a fairway to your
right.
You are aiming for the far end left corner to the left of a tee.
When you get to the corner you will see a weir to your left, with
a railway bridge immediately behind. This is not the Thames but Jubilee
River.
This is a brand new man-made river. Pass under the railway bridge.
|
 |
 |
After
passing under the railway bridge you will see a wooden footbridge
(see above) immediately in front of you. Cross over the Jubilee River
using the footbridge.
The Maidenhead, Windsor and Eton Flood Alleviation Scheme is a new
11.6km man made channel (now known as Jubilee River), plus some five
kilometres of flood banks, designed to help protect people, property,
roads and vital services from flooding.
On average, flooding from the Thames occurs in Maidenhead every five
to seven years. The last major flood happened in 1947, when over 2000
homes were affected. Statistics show that a flood on this scale has
a one in fifty-six chance of happening in any one year. If it happens
again without any flood scheme, the consequences would be far greater,
as development means 5,500 homes would be affected – 12,500 people.
Businesses, roads, railways and vital services, such as electricity,
gas and telephones would also be affected.
The
Jubilee River looks and acts like a natural river, except that its
capacity is controlled so that it will not flood. It has been specifically
designed to replace habitats and breeding areas previously lost
from the Thames.
|
|
