River Pang
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The River Pang is a small chalk stream river in the west of the English county of Berkshire, and a tributary of the River Thames. It runs for approximately 23 km. Its name was formed by back-extraction from the name of Pangbourne; bourne being a form of burn - a stream or small river.
The river's flow source is near the village of Compton; although in times of high rainfall its effective subterranean source can be traced back to Farnborough, some four miles to the north-east. In these conditions it is joined in Compton by the River Roden, a similar but smaller chalk stream with a traceable source in Roden Downs to the east of the village. At first it flows south from Compton through the village of Hampstead Norreys, before turning east to flow through the tiny villages of Bucklebury, Stanford Dingley and Bradfield.[1] To the east of Bradfield the Pang is joined by the River Bourne and turns north to flow through the villages of Tidmarsh[2] and Pangbourne, eventually entering the Thames between Whitchurch Lock and Whitchurch Bridge.[3] However, possibly due to climate changes and heavy water extraction, the River Pang rarely flows between Compton and Hampstead Norreys at all.
The valley of the River Pang between Compton and Bradfield is rather isolated, penetrated only by narrow country lanes. Because of this isolation, the valley has not become the residential commuter area that is much of Berkshire, and is still largely agricultural.
The Pang hosts a large quantity of wildlife, and plays its own part towards being a part of the community, especially within Pangbourne itself. The river has a good head of wild brown trout (Salmo trutta) up to 3/4lb and is populated by grayling (Thymallus thymallus), indicating the general good condition of the water. A concern in this river is the population of American Signal crayfish, which have displaced the native White Clawed Crayfish species. This was illustrated in an episode of Gordon Ramsay's The F-Word.
In August 2007 a coalition of nature groups[4] called on the British government to adopt the Blue print for Water. To publicise their campaign they highlighted the dangers to sites well known through literature such as The Lake District (Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons and Beatrix Potter's Mrs Tiggy-Winkle), the North Kent Marshes (Charles Dickens's Great Expectations) and the River Pang.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Ordnance Survey (2004). OS Explorer Map 158 — Newbury & Hungerford. ISBN 0-319-23612-9.
- ^ A 29ha extension to the nature reserve at Moor Copse, believed to be the original inspiration for Kenneth Grahame's riverbank in The Wind in the Willows, was purchased by the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust in December 2006 ( Natural World Spring 2007 p10: "Ratty's Paradise joins eight new reserves").
- ^ Ordnance Survey (2006). OS Explorer Map 159 — Reading. ISBN 0-319-23730-3.
- ^ WWF, The National Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Daily Telegraph p11 27/8/07 (issue 47,347)
[edit] External links
- Map sources for the source of the River Pang.
- Map sources for the mouth of the River Pang.
- Pang Valley Countryside Project
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