Description

Raised on its banks and an avid sailor, Caroline Crampton sets out to rediscover the enigmatic pull of the Thames by following its course from the river’s source in a small village in Gloucestershire, through the short central stretch beloved of Londoners and tourists alike, to the point where it merges with the North Sea. As she navigates the river’s ever-shifting tidal waters, she seeks out the stories behind its unique landmarks, from the vast Victorian pumping stations that carried away the capital’s waste and the shiny barrier that holds the sea at bay, to the Napoleonic-era forts that stand on marshy ground as eerie relics of past invasions. In spellbinding prose, she reveals the histories of its empty warehouses and arsenals; its riverbanks layered with Anglo-Saxon treasures; and its shipwrecks, still inhabited by the ghosts of the drowned.

The Way to the Sea is at once a fascinating portrait of an iconic stretch of water and a captivating introduction to a new voice in British non-fiction.

Publisher Review

[A] praise-hymn to the muddy, marshy far reaches of the river... captivating -- Rose George * New Statesman * Short but rich... [Crampton] writes movingly, sometimes with flecks of nostalgia or melancholy, but ultimately her book is a rallying call for greater appreciation of the maligned and overlooked * Evening Standard * Like the Thames itself, this book carries you along on a journey full of rich detail and fascinating insight -- Madeleine Bunting An affectionate portrait of an often neglected landscape... rich and fascinating... Crampton writes beautifully of the area's charms. Her first-hand knowledge of navigating the river gives the book the descriptive power that brings the whole area superbly to life * Sunday Times * Atmospheric and movingly written...rich and haunting * Spectator * In The Way to the Sea, the Thames - from its indistinct origins in a muddy Gloucestershire field, all the way east to the Nore sandbank in the estuary - runs through a lush landscape of personal memories of family sailing trips and Oxonian dunkings, of histories of cities and suburbs that rose and fell on its banks, populated by poets and painters singing the Thames' 'sweet song'. A memorial to Joseph Bazalgette, architect of the Thames' central London embankments, claimed he had 'put the river in chains', but in this tender, often startling, blend of memoir, nature-writing and social and cultural history, Caroline Crampton reveals instead how the river shapes us -- Rachel Hewitt This is a remarkable, superbly researched book, and I was swept along by it from source to mouth. The Thames Estuary has found its chronicler, a young writer who opens a reader's eyes to its mystery, moodiness and downbeat beauty -- Christopher Somerville Caroline Crampton's The Way to the Sea is a re-enchantment of the overlooked, everyday world of the Thames Estuary. A love letter to a place too changeable to define, this seductive journey is both beautifully written and highly recommended -- John Higgs A fascinating, brilliant book that carries you downstream on its quick-flowing current' -- Cal Flynn Fascinating * Bookseller * Lyrically written... this book was a treat * Practical Boat Owner * A beautiful book * Five Books * Deeply literary and well researched... A thoughtful, beautifully-written appreciation * Yachting Monthly * [A] lyrical meditation on the meaning of the Thames...you won't find a more elegantly written guide * Literary Review * [A] wonderful account... [Crampton] writes with the quiet confidence and terminology of someone who has spent plenty of time aboard... captivating * I Paper * What makes [Crampton] a remarkable guide to the story of the Thames is that she sees it in an unexpected way. Instinctively, she writes of the river not from the shore, but from the water. She knows it, and loves it, from the inside * In the Moment * Fascinating . . . Ms Crampton's account of her lifelong relationship with this storied waterway is as elegant and sinuous as the river she loves * Economist * A consistently interesting and lyrical narrative, which seamlessly weaves historical anecdote, personal memoir and gentle warnings about the frailty of the environment into an enjoyable whole * Mail on Sunday * Engaging . . . A rich, resonant history * Sunday Express * Engaging, well researched and beautifully written * William Morris Society Journal *