River Bourne, Chertsey

The River Bourne or the Chertsey Bourne is in Berkshire and Surrey; it runs from sources in Windsor Great Park and Swinley Forest through to the River Thames.

After gathering considerable streams flowing from north, south and west into Virginia Water Lake the stream coalesces as one large stream for the rest of its course. The lake is largely created by a steep boulder cascade with eastern embankments (close to small car parks at the side of Windsor Great Park, on London Road, Virginia Water which is the A30 road). The Chertsey Bourne flows through the north of the notable landscaped Wentworth Estate (residential 'golfside' mansions/large houses estate dating to periods since the 1920s) where a further weir creates the much smaller Wentworth Pond which is the lake of the Wentworth Club clubhouse. Before Wellington Bridge across the course, the Wentworth Brook rising in Sunningdale Golf Club joins. After this the brook is less exposed to view forming a wide, wooded divide in Virginia Water lined with a walk.

The land either side of the River Bourne below the Lake and west of Virginia Water railway station is owned by Runnymede Borough Council as trustees of the Cabrera Trust, named after Spanish noble Ramòn Cabrera who owned and developed a wide landscape at Wentworth.

The bridge nearest the source is an old girder bridge. It is a curiosity and its origin is obscure. Old maps show the valley as wet pastureland, probably suitable for cattle, so a strong bridge would have been necessary.

Near the second bridge downstream from the source, there is a colony of mandarin ducks. They were introduced to the River Bourne in 1929–30. The colony is probably the largest in the United Kingdom and is of international significance due to the rapid decline of mandarin ducks in its native Asia.

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