Trowlock Island facts for kids
Trowlock Island is a small island in the River Thames in England. It's a special place where people live, located about 450 meters (or 492 yards) upstream from Teddington Lock. The island is very close to the northern bank of the river, in an area called the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
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Exploring Trowlock Island
Trowlock Island is about 535 meters (or a third of a mile) long. It has a path running down the middle, with houses on both sides. Beyond the last house, there's a lightly wooded area. Boats can moor here, both on the main river and in a smaller channel behind the island.
The island is home to 29 bungalows, which are small, single-story houses. It also has the clubhouse and gym for the Royal Canoe Club.
Nearby Places
Close to the island is the Teddington Lock's Weir, a big structure on the river. You can find it near Teddington Studios and the Lensbury Club. From the Thames Path that crosses the Lock, you can easily reach Ham. The train stations of Hampton Wick and Teddington are also not too far away by foot or road. Hampton Wick is the closest town center to the island.
A Look at History
The shape of Trowlock Island has changed over many years, just like many other islands in the River Thames. On an old map from 1746 by John Rocque, the island was actually shown as three separate, smaller islands!
The name "Trowlock" comes from the word "Trow." This was a type of barge, which is a flat-bottomed boat, that usually weighed about 50 to 60 tons. In 1910, a boat-building company owned by Harry Gibbs was located on the island.
Getting to the Island
The only way to get to Trowlock Island is by using a special chain ferry. This ferry is unique because it's hand-wound, meaning someone has to manually pull a chain to move it across the water!
How the Island is Managed
Trowlock Island Limited is the company that takes care of the island's shared areas and services. The people who live on the island, along with the Royal Canoe Club, own shares in this company. This means they all work together to manage the island.
The Royal Canoe Club has recently made big improvements, adding new facilities for young people. These include a new gym, boat sheds, and a training area. As part of these changes, they also have a plan to help nature thrive on the island. This includes encouraging different kinds of wildlife, like bats (such as the pipistrelle and Daubenton's bat), water birds, and rare plants.
Wildlife on Trowlock Island
The island and the surrounding parts of the River Thames are home to many different kinds of animals. You can often see these birds nesting nearby:
- Mallards
- Herons
- Great crested grebes
- Coots
- Moorhens
- Wood pigeons
- Crows
- Magpies
- Jays
- Jackdaws
- Rose-ringed parakeets
- Greenfinches
- Common chaffinches
- Sparrows
- Blue tits
- Great tits
- European robins
- Wrens
- Long-tailed tits
- Blackbirds
- Thrushes
- Great spotted woodpeckers
- Bats
- House martins
- Black-headed gulls
- Herring gulls
- Cormorants
- Swans
- Canada geese
Some birds are seen less often, but you might spot them:
You might also hear the sound of a Tawny owl at night!
