I was second-screening during the programme today. Before doing an interview about possible job losses at a Berkshire village called Compton, I googled the word ‘Compton’ to find out what sort of village it is. And there I learned that it has two rivers running through it – the Pang and the Roden. Both of which are winter bournes. That’s a stream or river that is dry through the summer months, and only flows after a healthy drenching in winter rain.
So that’s why so many (hundreds of) villages throughout the UK are called Something-Winterbourne!
