There are two different channels from the River Thames that spill over into Swift Ditch.
There is currently a tree with fire damage at its base, across one spillway / weir. I have no idea how that happened.
Back in the 1890s, shown in this picture (possibly by Taunt), the area was much clearer.
Much of Swift Ditch flows under fallen trees and branches. But it makes an interesting walk – along the Thames beyond Abingdon Lock, to Swift Ditch, then back along the farm track by Kingfisher Barn.
If you go over the bridge, over the first stream, you will get to an interesting historical feature.
Between the early seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries Swift Ditch was the main navigation channel with the earliest Pound Lock on the Thames. There is an information board near the spot that tells more. The stones of the lock walls are still in place, but the lock gates are long gone.
