Q 01/05

About how long is the River Thames?

A) 60 miles

B) 200 miles

C) 600 miles

D) 1,800 miles

Answer · why

B) 200 miles

About 200 miles: the usual figure is 215, but the start moves, and in the 2022 drought the first springs dried up and the river began more than five m...

Q 02/05

What is the Thames called as it passes through the city with the university boat clubs and Folly Bridge?

A) The Windrush

B) The Churn

C) The Isis

D) The Cherwell

Answer · why

C) The Isis

The Isis is thought to be a scholars' mistake: they read the river's Latin name, Tamesis, as Thame plus Isis, so the stretch above the Thame's mouth k...

Q 03/05

The usually quoted source of the Thames, Thames Head, is in which county?

A) Wiltshire

B) Gloucestershire

C) Oxfordshire

D) Buckinghamshire

Answer · why

B) Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire: a stone in a field near Kemble marks Thames Head, yet the spring is dry for much of the year, and in dry spells the river begins fart...

Q 04/05

The rival source at Seven Springs would add 14 miles to the Thames, letting it overtake which river as Britain's longest?

A) Severn

B) Great Ouse

C) Wye

D) Trent

Answer · why

A) Severn

Severn: measured from Seven Springs the Thames would beat it by nine miles, and Thames Head is often dry, but maps name that stream the Churn.

Q 05/05

Into which sea does the Thames flow?

A) English Channel

B) Celtic Sea

C) Irish Sea

D) North Sea

Answer · why

D) North Sea

North Sea tides run deep into London: twice a day they lift the river at London Bridge, by as much as 7 metres on the biggest spring tides.