Singing to Source

Singing to Source is an act of love for our rivers imagined by Oxford Community Goddess Temple and Thames Headwaters Bioregion. We are inspired by our ancestors, who held water as sacred and protected the headwaters of their drinking water both practically and through ritual.

On Saturday March 14th we invite you to come out on the land and honour the sources of the rivers of the Thames Headwaters, at the Thames, Churn, Cherwell, Evenlode, Ock, Ray, Windrush, and Boundary Brook.* In the morning, we will walk to the source, leave offerings and sing together.

Singing is one way to show our love and care. See below for a video of song we will sing simultaneously at midday. You don’t have to be ‘a good singer’ to take part in this. It’s not about performing for the benefit of other people. It’s a simple way to show our thanks to the place.

Waters of the world, waters of our bodies

We see you, we hear you,

We thank you for our life.

We thank you and we’re sorry.

Waters of the world hear our song.

How / Where / When to Join In

See the joining details for each location below. We aim to sing at midday but as some walks are longer than others, the meeting times vary.

We invite you to WEAR BLUE and BRING AN OFFERING (something biodegradable and / or friendly to the local wildlife. e.g. water, dried petals, flowers, corn / grain etc)

Please come prepared for all weather possibilities and wear / bring sturdy boots – waterproof if possible. A flask of tea and a snack would be a good idea too.

There is no need to book. Some organisers would prefer you to email to say you are coming. For some you can just turn up. So see below for specific instructions. If you have a specific question you can email one of the facilitators below, before the day of the gathering. In order to prevent spam, we have not printed the organisers’ complete email addresses here, so you will need to copy and paste the email address, replacing -at- with @.

* NB If you live near another source and would like to go there instead, please let us know and we can include your details here.

Donations: There is no charge to join, but donations to the emergent Oxford Community Goddess Temple are very welcome. (Live link to https://www.goddess-in-oxford.co.uk/)

Saturday 14th March 2026

Source of the Boundary Brook with Clara Simon (clarasimon555-at-gmail.com)

11am Meet at the Lye Valley Path entrance on The Slade (165 The Slade, Headington, Oxford OX3 7HP) From there we will walk along the footpath to the confluence of the Lye and Boundary brook. Please note the footpath is steep and can be muddy and slippery in places. This walk is not suitable for everyone. Walking poles recommended. Transport: Buses number 15, 600, and 100 stop at the Peat Moors bus stop on the Slade. Parking: There is very limited parking in the area so we suggest using the Thornhill park and ride (Bus number H2 and 10 go to the Old Road crossroads). No need to email in advance – just turn up.

Source of the Ray with Tony Currivan (urieltony-at-gmail.com)

11.30am Meet at the lay-by on A4361 to Avebury just south of Wroughton (What3Words losses.stuff.safe) The entrance to Markham Banks Reserve is about 50m back towards Wroughton. We will walk along the public footpath to the source of the Ray (about 10 minutes). If the weather is looking good, we invite you to bring a picnic. Please get in touch with Tony nearer the time Transport: 49 bus runs from Swindon via Wroughton to Devizes. See timetable at https://tiscon-maps-stagecoachbus.s3.amazonaws.com/Timetables/West/2024/Swindon/49_250124.pdf.

Source of the Cherwell with Jackie Singer (jackie-at-thehummingbirdlodge.com)

11.15am Meet at the Red Lion at Hellidon, Stockwell Lane, Hellidon, Daventry, NN11 6LG for a half a mile walk to the source of the Cherwell. Waterproof boots recommended as the land can be boggy. Transport: Nearest public transport would be Banbury or Daventry. We will try to coordinate lift-shares

Source of Thames with Fanny Mae (song.of.the.earth.uk-at-gmail.com)

11am Meet at Kemble Station Car Park, Station Rd, Kemble, Cirencester GL7 6AW for a short walk to the source. Feel free to bring a flask of tea and snacks. Remeber to wear blue, and bring an offering for the rivr (eg petals) Transport: 10.31 am from Swindon (9.32 from Oxford) arrives 10.45am. We will try to coordinate lift-shares.

Source of the Evenlode with tbc

11.20am Meet at Moreton-in-Marsh train station. Transport: Train from Oxford 10.46, Charlbury 11.02 (arrives 11.18) to walk to the source of the Evenlode.

Source of the Thame with Phil Pritchard (Phil-at-oxfordcityfarm.org.uk)

11.30am Meet at the Church Tower, Chapel Lane, Long Marston HP23 4QT. There is no parking in Chapel lane, so park on Station Road and walk down (5 mins).

Source of the Windrush with Antony Melville (antonymelville–at–gmail.com)

11.20 am park in Taddington GL54 5RY where there should be room for three or four cars. Meet at the North end of the village at the footpath sign pointing East, for a 15 minute walk up to the head of the River (pond on the map) Find the spot on What3words ///dentures.owns.cherubs Google maps pin https://maps.app.goo.gl/n94qZ4ebuvc1eaiY9 We can give 2 people a lift from Oxford, and I’m happy to broker lift-sharing.

Source of the Ock with Chris Park (Beekeepinghistorytrust-at-gmail.com)

11.20 am meet at the White Horse Hill car park (SN77QJ), leaving at 11:30 to be by the springs and ready at 12.

Sadly we have had to cancel singing at the source of the Churn.

These are some pictures from 2024 and 2025 – at the Boundary Brook, the Ock and the Ray