Last week I took two walks along two different parts of the Thames Path. The first was with a friend, along the north bank from London Bridge to Wapping, the second was from Datchet to Windsor in Berkshire.
The first walk took us over Tower Bridge, but we had to wait because the bridge was open to let a boat through. All the years I have been coming to London, this was the first time I had seen the bridge open and close. As it happened, we saw this happen twice, once going, and once coming back! Amazing.
Once over the bridge we walked to St Katherine’s Dock where we stopped for lunch., sitting on a bench overlooking the water. Afterwards we ambled around the dock admiring all the boats and the apartments. Some of these are old warehouses that have been converted.
Soon we found our way to Wapping. Here there are several good pubs. I have visited the Prospect of Whitby in the past, a pub that has a noose hanging outside its back window overlooking the Thames. Here criminals were executed. The pub is also well worth visiting as it has lots of original features. However, today that pub was further than we wanted to walk. But there was one place I wanted to see, and that was Wapping Old Stairs which run alongside the pub called Town of Ramsgate. The pub dates from the 1400’s and the steps was where the fishermen of Ramsgate (in Kent) brought their catches and landed them at Wapping Old Stairs.
Today we walked down the alleyway and down the stairs. They take you right onto the Thames. Using the handrail is a good idea as the tide comes up over the steps and they can be rather slimy. But it was exciting to stand where fishermen once had hauled their load in here. Crazy that I didn’t take a photo of the stairs themselves, I was that excited! I’m sure I will be going back.
Rather in need of refreshment we thought about visiting the pub, but we walked on a little further until we came to the Captain Kidd pub. This looked like it was closed from the outside. There is nothing much to see, but we walked through open doorway into an alleyway that led to the pub. Here we stopped to have tea (very English!) and sat in the courtyard garden overlooking the Thames. The pub stands on the execution sight of the pirate Captain Kidd, though before becoming a pub in the 1980’s, this building was a workshop and a coffee warehouse.
After refreshing cups of tea, we headed back up river and this time crossed at London Bridge. If you like a pub crawl, then Wapping is a good place to do it! The history of those places wraps around you.
Datchet to Windsor
On Friday I took the opportunity of reasonably good weather to pick up my Thames Path walk upstream. Last time I finished at Datchet. This time I was doing a very short section – a two mile walk along the Thames to Royal Windsor. The day started badly with difficulty getting train tickets as my local train station ticket office was closed. I won’t bore you with all the details, but I ended up running the length of Clapham Junction station to buy a ticket there (having been directed the wrong way to the machines that could not provide the discounts I am entitled to). I caught my train with three minutes to spare. In a little over half an hour I was in Datchet.
The first part of the walk was on the road, which was extra busy (and I was soon to find out why). The path was then easy going between trees and foliage on both sides. I became aware that on the other side of the river there was some sort of horsey event taking place. I Googled it and found it was The Royal Windsor Horse Show.
Coming up the steps and onto Victoria Bridge I admired the horses. However, walking a little way on, I realised that there were barriers up and I had no access to the Thames Path on that side. I stopped someone on the road to ask about it and he said I’d have to use the road. I was beginning to think it wasn’t my day!
So I carried on along the busy main road into Windsor itself. My intention was to spend the day looking around Windsor, as I’d not been here in many years. It took a while for me to remember it.
I have to admit that everything that had happened that morning had left me rather stressed. I saw there was a church open, so I decided to go and pay a visit. Whatever your take on religion, you cannot deny the absolute calm of standing in a church away from the noise of traffic and people.
St John the Baptist church was rather dark (comes out lighter in the photos), but it was lovely and had two great paintings – The Last Supper and Holman Hunt’s The Light of the World. Outside, I sat on a bench in the church garden overlooking the street and ate my packed lunch.
Finally, I made my way down to the river, stopping off in Alexandra Gardens for a cup of tea. The promenade was lovely and teeming with ducks and swans. The sun came out as I walked. This part of Windsor held surprises like the Hawker Hurricane and Baths Island. I actually laid down at Baths Island. It was relaxing with just the putt, putt of boats up and down the Thames.
Slowly, I made my way back into Windsor and decided to head over the bridge and into Eton to see the famous college. Eton has a lovely high street with cafes and independent shops. I went into an antique book shop and almost bought a book, before heading to the college. Wow! What a place. It really is something else.
On my way back I stopped off at a lovely veggie/vegan cafe for tea and cake and sat at a table outside watching the world go by.
Back over the bridge, I walked through another park with a maze and a very gentle game of bowls was taking place. I was thinking about catching the train back home when I decided to walk further along the Thames Path in the direction of Datchet to see how far I could get. As it turned out I almost completed the walk because from this side the path ran alongside the far side of Home Park. However, eventually I came to the trailers and horse boxes and knew I might have to turn around. I came across a nice man with a gorgeous horse and asked him about getting through. He advised me that I could not walk much further before coming to barriers. He suggested I walk through the field of trailers and horse boxes, following the metal road, and out through the security gate. I asked if I would be allowed to do that. He said, ‘Yes, but if not, I’ll see you ten minutes!’ So, I that’s what I did. There was something beautiful about the sounds of neighing and snorted horses (I’ve always loved horses), but I just kept walking and I even had a little banter with the security guard!
Back onto the road, Victoria Bridge was just around the corner and I was back on the Thames Path and was on my way to Datchet. This was not how I’d planned it, but in the end I had walked all but a small section of the river on the original path. I had walked close to ten miles in all!
My London+ 