Gibraltar Islands are a pair of islands in the River Thames

River Thames

The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...

 in England above Bourne End Railway Bridge

Bourne End Railway Bridge

Bourne End Railway Bridge is a railway bridge carrying the Marlow Branch Line, and a footpath over the River Thames in Bourne End, Buckinghamshire, England. It crosses the Thames on the reach between Cookham Lock and Marlow Lock....

 on the reach above Cookham Lock

Cookham Lock

Cookham Lock is a lock with weirs situated on the River Thames near Cookham, Berkshire. The lock is set in a lock cut which is one of four streams here and it is surrounded by woods. On one side is Sashes Island and on the other is Mill Island connected to Formosa Island, the largest on the...

, near Cookham Dean

Cookham Dean

Cookham Dean is a settlement to the west of the village of Cookham in Berkshire, England. It is the highest point of all the Cookhams -Commerce:...

, Berkshire

Berkshire

Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

.

There is a footbridge to one of the islands which is closely connected to the other. Previously the islands were more numerous little aits on which osiers were grown. There are some houses on the islands. The islands are opposite Quarry Wood on the Berkshire bank which is considered to be the basis for the Wild Woods in The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows

The Wind in the Willows is a classic of children's literature by Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. Alternately slow moving and fast paced, it focuses on four anthropomorphised animal characters in a pastoral version of England...

. The woods are also referenced by Jerome K. Jerome

Jerome K. Jerome

Jerome Klapka Jerome was an English writer and humorist, best known for the humorous travelogue Three Men in a Boat.Jerome was born in Caldmore, Walsall, England, and was brought up in poverty in London...

.

See also

• Islands in the River Thames
  Islands in the River Thames
  This article lists the islands in the River Thames, in England. It excludes many of the smaller lock islands that were created when weirs and locks were built, and also some very small islands that immediately adjoin the larger ones. The Isle of Dogs and Isle of Grain are no longer islands although...