Eye and Dunsden

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Farmland and woodland in the parish of Eye and Dunsden Farmland, Dunsden - geograph.org.uk - 1059280.jpg
Farmland and woodland in the parish of Eye and Dunsden

Eye and Dunsden is a largely rural civil parish in the most southern part of English county of Oxfordshire. [1]

It includes the villages of Sonning Eye, Dunsden Green and Playhatch and borders on the River Thames with the village of Sonning in Berkshire connected via multi-span medieval Sonning Bridge (a series of bridges across channels, in sections replaced due to erosion and narrowness). Before 1866, Eye & Dunsden was part of the trans-county parish of Sonning. [2]

Up to 2003, the parish also included the western half of the village of Binfield Heath which was then joined with the rest of that village, previously in Shiplake, to create a new parish.

To the west, it abuts Berkshire's county town Reading. To the east is also the parish of Shiplake, the near part of which on the road to Henley-on-Thames is known as Shiplake Row. Sonning Common and the relatively early 2000s-created civil parish of Binfield Heath around that village rise to the north. In 2011 its population was 366, bar farmhouses, riverboats and caravans all grouped in the above three settlements.

Caversham Lakes, including the Thames and Kennet Marina, Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake, Reading Sailing Club, Isis Water Ski Club, and Sonning Works, are all on the Thames flood plain within the parish. Berry Brook starts close to the Redgrave-Pinsent Rowing Lake to the southwest, running northeast through the River Thames floodplain past Playhatch, under the B478 Playhatch Road near the Sonning Works, before joining the river at Hallsmead Ait. Eye & Dunsden features some ancient wooded parts of the Chiltern Hills and rolling farmland.

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Oxfordshire County of England

Oxfordshire is a county in The Midlands. The ceremonial county borders Warwickshire to the north-west, Northamptonshire to the north-east, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, Wiltshire to the south-west and Gloucestershire to the west.

Caversham, Reading Human settlement in England

Caversham is a suburb in the Borough of Reading, a unitary authority, in the royal, non-administrative county of Berkshire, England. Originally a village founded in the Middle Ages, it lies on the north bank of the River Thames, opposite the rest of Reading. Caversham Bridge, Reading Bridge, Christchurch Bridge, and Caversham Lock provide crossing points, with Sonning Bridge also available a few miles east of Caversham.

Sonning Village in England

Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book Three Men in a Boat as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river".

Sonning Lock

Sonning Lock is a lock and associated weir situated on the River Thames at the village of Sonning near Reading, Berkshire, England. The first lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773 and it has been rebuilt three times since then. There is a weir a little upstream at the top of the island where Sonning Backwater separates from the main course of the river.

Shiplake Lock

Shiplake Lock is a lock and weir situated on the River Thames in England between the villages of Shiplake and Lower Shiplake, Oxfordshire. It is just above the points where the River Loddon joins the Thames and Shiplake Railway Bridge crosses the river. The first pound lock was built by the Thames Navigation Commission in 1773.

The Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake is a rowing lake in the United Kingdom, named after the Olympic rowers Sir Steve Redgrave and Sir Matthew Pinsent. The lake and its boathouse are specifically designed for training use, and provide training, medical, and scientific facities for the GB rowing squad, and for Oxford University in preparation for the Boat Race. The lake is also used by crews from University College, Oxford and Oxford Brookes University.

Shiplake Human settlement in England

Shiplake consists of 3 settlements: Shiplake, Shiplake Cross and Lower Shiplake. Together these villages form a civil parish situated beside the River Thames 2 miles (3 km) south of Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The river forms the parish boundary to the east and south, and also the county boundary between Oxfordshire and Berkshire.

Sonning Eye Human settlement in England

Sonning Eye is a hamlet on the River Thames in the Sonning Common ward of South Oxfordshire, England, in the civil parish of Eye & Dunsden, at what is since 1974 the southernmost tip of Oxfordshire.

Wargrave Human settlement in England

Wargrave is a large, historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon. Wargrave is situated in the A321 road 7 miles (11 km) from both Maidenhead and Reading and 3 miles (4.8 km) from Henley-on-Thames. The village is larger than the county average, having a railway station on the Henley Branch Line, off the Great Western main line from London Paddington; the village is quickly accessible to nearby parts of the M4 corridor, particularly Berkshire and Heathrow Airport and local major centres of employment include Reading and Maidenhead, with smaller businesses and additional commercial facilities in nearby Henley-on-Thames and Wokingham. The village has many old listed buildings, two marinas with chandlery services for boats, a rowing club and rises steeply to the northwest in the direction of Bowsey Hill, with higher parts of the village generally known as Upper Wargrave. In Upper Wargrave is a Recreation Ground with a cricket club, bowls club, football pitch and tennis club.

Binfield Heath Human settlement in England

Binfield Heath is a village and civil parish in South Oxfordshire, England, 2 12 miles (4 km) SSW of Henley-on-Thames and 3 12 miles (6 km) northeast of Reading on a southern knoll of the Chiltern Hills. The 2011 Census recorded the parish population as 709.

Playhatch Human settlement in England

Playhatch is a hamlet in the civil parish of Eye & Dunsden in South Oxfordshire, England, about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of Reading, Berkshire.

Dunsden Green Human settlement in England

Dunsden Green or Dunsden is a village in the civil parish of Eye & Dunsden in the South Oxfordshire ward of Sonning Common, about 3 miles (5 km) northeast of Reading, Berkshire. Until 1866 it was in the Oxfordshire part of Sonning parish.

Sonning Regatta is the regatta of the village of Sonning in Berkshire and the hamlet of Sonning Eye in Oxfordshire, England, on the north and south banks of the River Thames.

Caversham Lakes

Caversham Lakes is a set of lakes created through gravel extraction between the suburb of Caversham in Reading, Berkshire and the hamlet of Sonning Eye in Oxfordshire, just north of the River Thames and also refers to the sports buildings and facilities alongside those lakes.

Thames and Kennet Marina

The Thames and Kennet Marina is located at Caversham Lakes in south Oxfordshire, England, just north off the River Thames on the reach above Sonning Lock. It is just to the east of Caversham, a suburb in the north of Reading, Berkshire. The marina is named after the River Thames and the River Kennet which joins the Thames nearby.

Harpsden Human settlement in England

Harpsden is a rural and semi-rural village and civil parish immediately south of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire, Oxfordshire, England. Its scattered centre is set 0.5 miles (0.80 km) from the east border which is the River Thames, marking a short boundary with Berkshire. The parish extends 5 miles (8.0 km) inland and borders Rotherfield Peppard to the west, that is, next to its main sections of woodland in the southern extreme of the Chiltern Hills including an SSSI area of ancient woodland. The village has neither railway station nor shops, but has the main road from Reading to Henley, both of which have grown substantially since World War II into centres of trade, education and general meeting places, such as by their increased number of cafés and restaurants.

Rowing on the River Thames

The River Thames is one of the main rowing areas in England, with activity taking place on the Tideway and on the 45 separate lock reaches on the non-tidal section. The river hosts two major rowing events, The Boat Race and Henley Royal Regatta, and many other regattas and long distance events take place on the river. Dorney Lake in Buckinghamshire was opened specifically as a rowing lake besides the Thames, and has become the venue for a few events that formerly took place on the river. Other lakes adjacent to the Thames are the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake and Royal Albert Dock. Rowing, or sculling, includes skiffing, dinghy racing and cutter racing in which the boats are also propelled by blades.

Hallsmead Ait island in the River Thames

Hallsmead Ait is an island in the River Thames in Berkshire, England. It is on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Lower Shiplake.

Berry Brook

The Berry Brook is a stream close to Sonning Eye in the flood plain of the River Thames, in southern Oxfordshire, England.

Sonning Works human settlement in United Kingdom

The Sonning Works are a gravel works owned by Lafarge, located near Sonning Eye, Oxfordshire, England.

References

  1. "Eye and Dunsden: The Parish of Dunsden". British Towns and Villages Network . Retrieved September 8, 2011.External link in |publisher= (help)
  2. Ditchfield, P. H.; Page, William, eds. (1923). "Sonning with Earley, Woodley and Sandford". A History of the County of Berkshire: Volume 3. Victoria County History. pp. 210–225. Retrieved 5 September 2011.

Coordinates: 51°29′06″N0°55′34″W / 51.485°N 0.926°W / 51.485; -0.926