Q 01/05

How long is the River Thames?

A) 190 miles

B) 100 miles

C) 150 miles

D) 215 miles

Answer · why

D) 215 miles

That makes it the longest river entirely in England, though the Severn, which starts in Wales, is longer overall.

Q 02/05

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

A) The Thame

B) The Churn

C) The Isis

D) The Cherwell

Answer · why

C) The Isis

Victorian mapmakers insisted the whole river was the Isis down to Dorchester, where it meets the Thame; Ordnance Survey maps still label it 'River Tha...

Q 03/05

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

A) Wiltshire

B) Gloucestershire

C) Oxfordshire

D) Berkshire

Answer · why

B) Gloucestershire

It lies near Kemble in the Cotswolds and is a winterbourne, flowing only seasonally.

Q 04/05

The rival source at Seven Springs would add 14 miles to the Thames and make it longer than which river?

A) Severn

B) Tay

C) Wye

D) Trent

Answer · why

A) Severn

Measured from Seven Springs the Churn/Thames runs 229 miles against the Severn's 220.

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

It reaches the sea through the Thames Estuary near Southend-on-Sea, Tilbury and Gravesend.