Buck Ait is an island in the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is on the reach above

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 cross ...

near

Sonning 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". Geogr ...

. The island is uninhabited and tree-covered. It lies low, acting as a

water-meadow A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water-m ...

in times of flood, opposite houses with large river frontages. Its shape shows the cumulative effect of the locally curved stream, its

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

and deposition make the upstream end almost joined to the bank; the downstream end, broken into islets. The island derives its name from the eel bucks or traps that used to be placed here. Late 19th century

Thames Conservancy The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of the that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines. Nine years la ...

records state they caused considerable hindrance to navigation. Eel bucks were set in

St Patrick's Stream St Patrick's Stream or Patrick Stream is a backwater of the River Thames in England, which flows into the River Loddon near Wargrave, Berkshire. It leaves the Thames on the reach above Shiplake Lock near Buck Ait, downstream of Sonning. It is be ...

on the bank opposite upstream also; perhaps once a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage ...

of the mouth of the

Loddon Loddon may refer to: *Loddon, Norfolk in England, UK *Shire of Loddon in Victoria, Australia (since 1995) **Bridgewater On Loddon, Victoria in Australia *River Loddon, flows into the River Thames near Reading *Loddon River, flows north from south of ...

which became a

distributary A distributary, or a distributary channel, is a stream that branches off and flows away from a main stream channel. Distributaries are a common feature of river deltas. The phenomenon is known as river bifurcation. The opposite of a distributar ...

of a foreshortened Loddon when water levels rose by the building of Shiplake Lock and its heightened weir. Buck Ait is positioned towards the Oxfordshire bank of the river.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buck Ait Islands of Berkshire Islands of the River Thames Uninhabited islands of England Borough of Wokingham

See also

References