Thames Path Walk: Part Two

Richmond to Putney Bridge - 14th March 2015

On a bright but chilly Saturday morning, twelve EFOG members set off from Richmond Station on the second leg of the London section of the Thames Path along the south bank. We had completed the first leg from Hampton Court down to Richmond the year before last, but a busy 2014 kept us at bay until now.

Once we hit the path itself, the first bridge we came to was Twickenham Bridge, followed shortly by Richmond Lock and weir, built in 1894 to keep up the water levels between here and Teddington. The path follows the edge of the Old Deer Park and there is plenty of wildlife to be spotted – herons, various ducks and geese, those blessed green parakeets and even the occasional fox. This section of the path feels very much like being in the country, the high rises of London not much in evidence through the trees. Shortly after Isleworth Ait over on the north bank Syon House, built in 1770, with the big lion over the front. The house and park are owned by the Percys, the Dukes of Northumberland, (friend of Edmund Blackadder….!), it is the only great house in London still in private hands. It has very nice gardens and a butterfly house and is worth a visit if you don't mind the noise of planes. On the south bank is Kew Gardens; we had views of the avenues and the Palm House and Kew Palace, home at one time to George 111 and his many children. On the north bank we also noted the entrance to the Grand Union Canal at Brentford.

The path continued through a nice section towards Mortlake, where we came across The Ship public house and made a stop for coffee amongst the very fit teams of lady rowers, for whom this is a popular watering hole. This section of the path is prone to flood at high tide and the defences along the path are very much in evidence . The path goes past a large brewery complex, formerly owned by Watney’s, now by Budweiser. During the week the smell of the operations is pretty atrocious along this stretch. At the end of this narrow stretch of path is Ye White Hart, another hostelry, and very useful for a lunch spot out of any rain.

Passing beneath Barnes Bridge into the town itself there are two blue plaques on the little houses opposite, one to composer Gustav Holst and one to Dame Ninette de Valois, founder of the Royal Ballet. Barnes Reach has also been the where the paddle boarders appear on the river, though they were not about today. The third hostelry, the Bull’s head is also along this stretch, where the group broke for lunch between the chip shop and the pub and the benches for those who brought their own provisions. After lunch, just before the path disappeared into the trees, we stopped to observe two houses on the street opposite – one has a cow on its balcony with the word 'Salt' written on it and across the road there is a spaceman on the balcony….

We passed by St Pauls School and moved on to Hammersmith Bridge, built by Joseph Bazalgette. It's a nice green one with the shield of Middlesex embossed on it, showing the three se-axs, short close fighting swords, from where the Saxon tribe got its name. The bridge is quite low, so one or two of the group had to mind their heads.

All of this stretch is where the university boat race takes place and we passed the finishing point, an innocuous little marker, further back upstream at Mortlake. One of the most recognisable sights for those who watch the race is the Harrods Repository building, now luxury flats of course, and better seen from the north bank, but right next to us on the path.

Just inland at this point is the London Wetland Centre at Barnes, visited by the Group on a number of occasions

The path now becomes very much shared by the walkers and the rowing clubs who populate this stretch and it is possible that we saw the Oxford and Cambridge crews practicing, though there were so many rowers it was difficult to tell. The last refreshment point pub, the Dukes Head, is along this section of road. The walk finishes at Putney Bridge, opposite which is St Mary's Church, site of the parliamentary debate known at the Putney Debates, held by Oliver Cromwell and and his parliamentary colleagues to decide the constitution of England after the civil war. After an end-of-walk cup of tea in the café by the bridge, we crossed the bridge and turned right to Putney Bridge tube station and the end of the walk.

Sue U.  24th March 2015