The Thames Barge Driving Race under oars' or "sweeps" and ride tidal river currents alone, up river. The event commemorates the skills of lightermen who moved freight this way along the Thames up until the 1930s and in a wider context it encourages ongoing interest in moving cargo via water and as a way to recruit younger people back into river trades.The teams are normally made up of employees of Thames Lighterage companies, Port of London Authority or are sponsored by local businesses. The best places to view the race are Tower Bridge, London Bridge and Westminster Bridge. During the 1970s Britain suffered a major
Halfpenny Bridge is a separate arch in the south causeway, through which the towpath passes, and both parapets carry a central panel with a line on it, to mark the county boundary between Berkshire and Gloucestershire. A local micro-brewery based in Lechlade, The Halfpenny Brewery, is named after the bridge. Halfpenny Bridge Halfpenny Bridge is a bridge across the River Thames, at Lechlade, Gloucestershire, England. It marks the start of the navigable Thames, although if the waters are high, the Thames can continue to be travelled by small and unpowered craft as far as Cricklade, over 10 miles South-west. The bow-backed bridge