Editing Mapledurham Lock (section)

==Reach above the lock==
The river is in open country nearly all the way to [[Pangbourne]] and has been described by [[Robert Gibbings]] writing in 1939 (''Sweet Thames Run Softly'') as so crowded with views "they might have dropped from the gold frames of the [[Royal Academy]]".

After Mapledurham, [[Hardwick House, Oxfordshire|Hardwick House]] is visible on the northern side of the river. Pangbourne Meadows, owned by the National Trust, lie to the south of the river before [[Whitchurch Bridge]]. This toll bridge crosses the river between Pangbourne and [[Whitchurch-on-Thames|Whitchurch]]. Between the bridge and Whitchurch Lock, the [[River Pang]] joins the Thames from the south.

The '''[[Thames Path]]''' follows the southern bank to Whitchurch Bridge, where it crosses the river. (Although this is a toll bridge, pedestrians are no longer charged).

The artist [[E. H. Shepherd]] who illustrated [[The Wind in the Willows]] made many drawings in this area, and Toad Hall is said to be based on either [[Mapledurham House]] or [[Hardwick House, Oxfordshire|Hardwick House]], home of [[Charles Day Rose]], nearby.<ref>Paul Goldsack ''River Thames:In the Footsteps of the Famous'' Bradt/English Heritage {{ISBN|1-84162-044-0}}</ref>