A stone plaque beside the springs reads "Hic tuus o Tamesine Pater septemgeminus fons" — "Here, O Father Thames, is your sevenfold spring." The claim is serious: the River Churn, which rises here, flows south through Cirencester before joining the Thames near Cricklade. If you measure from Seven Springs to the sea, the Thames is 229 miles long — 9 miles longer than the River Severn, making it the longest river in the United Kingdom. The official source at Thames Head near Kemble is both lower (110 metres versus 215 metres) and seasonal — those springs often run dry in summer. Seven Springs flows year-round. The debate has raged since at least 1546, when the scholar John Leland declared Thames Head as the source. It even reached Parliament, with MPs from rival constituencies arguing their case. In 2012, Coberley Parish Council diplomatically posted a notice stating that Seven Springs is "certainly one of the sources" and "held by many to be the ultimate source." Standing here, with water reliably bubbling from the ground at the head of a valley that eventually reaches the heart of London, you may form your own view.
“Seven Springs flows year-round.”
