Day 16: Tower Bridge to the Thames Barrier - 10.5 miles

Monday 4 October 2010

After a delay of a few weeks due to injury (always a risk with well honed athletes) and holidays, we began the final push to the Barrier. The day started with light rain and a walk from London Bridge station to the home of my cousin Claudine near Tower Bridge for coffee and croissants. So it was a little later than usual that we set of on the south bank past the Design Museum and the network of converted Victorian dockland buildings.

As we entered Bermondsey we came across the life sized statue of a Doctor Salter and his daughter. Neither of us had heard of Dr Salter, who it seems was a local benefactor in the 1920s, but he provided a good opportunity for a couple of photos.

Through Rotherhithe the path goes through tall warehouses before opening up around St Mary’s Church. The church was completed in 1716 and designed by John James, an associate of Sir Christopher Wren.

The church has connections with the Pilgrim Fathers, as the Mayflower sailed from Rotherhithe in 1620 and Christopher Jones, Master of the Ship, is buried in the churchyard. Just across from the church there is an eighteenth century school with two carved figures of schoolchildren on the wall.

A little further on is the engine house built by Brunel to drain the Thames Tunnel. The building is now a small museum dedicated to Brunel and the tunnel is part of London Underground.

The area has numerous examples of interesting industrial heritage, particularly some of the bridges around the docks. It was therefore something of a surprise to come across the Surrey Docks Farm in such a built up area. This is a working farm that is open to the public and even has a small cafe. It was a little too soon to stop after our earlier coffee so we pressed on through Deptford towards Greenwich.

Just before Greenwich there is a waterfront statue to Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia who came to Deptford to learn about shipbuilding in 1698. It is a rather elaborate statue, but provided a photo opportunity for your intrepid walkers.

The waterfront at Greenwich, as readers will know, is dominated by the Royal Naval College, built from 1696 as a hospital for seamen and now forms part of the National Maritime Museum. Unfortunately we could not see much of the building as it was being used as a film set for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 due out next year, so the photo below is one from the internet. We failed to spot Penelope Cruz so instead went for lunch.

Lunch today was at the Trafalgar Tavern just along from the Naval College. The pub was built in 1837 on the site of an older establishment and occupies a great spot overlooking the river. Immediately outside is a statue of Nelson. Apparently, the pub was known for its whitebait suppers, with distinguished diners such as Charles Dickens, William Thackeray and Wilkie Collins arriving by river. The wedding breakfast scene in Our Mutual Friend is set by Dickens in the pub. We continued with this tradition and lunched on whitebait and an excellent Cornish Ale.

Beyond Greenwich the path goes through a much more industrial area and there are many diversions around various building works. We even got lost at one point and wandered into a construction site. There is not really very much to report on this section of the river until we reached the Millennium Dome, now known as the O2. This iconic structure has worn well and surrounding waterfront provides great views of the river a Canary Wharf beyond.

Not long after the O2 we got our first sight of the Thames Barrier. We were hoping to see the stainless steel hoods of the barrier glinting in the sun, but as the day remained grey the view was a little different, albeit still impressive.

Just after the Barrier and on the way to the visitor centre there is a mural on the wall showing the entire length of the Thames from the source in Kemble to the Barrier. The total distance is 184 miles and the drop in height 105 metres. Thankfully for us we were walking down hill.

We were met at the end of our walk by Neil and Cynthia, friends of Chris and sponsors of our efforts, and Gill who represented Woking Hospice and the purpose of our fundraising. Neil and Cynthia kindly provided champagne and cake to mark the completion of 16 days of walking (mostly using Nordic poles) and completion of the Thames Path.

By way of a footnote, you may have noticed over the last 7 months, by the difference in writing styles, that this blog has been a co-operative effort and that Steve and I have taken it in turns to write the text.

I have personally thoroughly enjoyed walking the Thames Path and never would have anticipated 18 months ago that I would have either attempted it or achieved it. I would also like to add that it has been the greatest of pleasures to walk these 184 miles with Steve who has been the most entertaining and forgiving of companions and has put up with many of my jokes, 'interesting' facts and aches and pains.

We would also like to thank all of you generous people out there who have supported us by donating to Woking Hospice. People in this community will have a more comfortable time in the depths of their illnesses due to your kindness.

So time for us both to hang up our boots and take a well earned rest! Bye for now.

Chris Hacking and Steve Hickford - 8 October 2010.

Day 15: Putney to Tower Bridge, London - 10 miles

Tuesday 24 August 2010

So we started this penultimate stage with a spring in our step and a bright sky. There is a choice of river banks for this section but we chose the south bank as it seemed to follow the river more closely. Putney High Street was noisy and busy as we stepped down on to the relative calm of the Thames path.

This stretch of the river from Putney to Battersea has seen the most amazing quantity of development, mostly residential over the last 10 years and so the riverside walk is generally paved and generously wide.

There are also some lovely green areas, which seemed very peaceful until we were overtaken by a marauding group of young jogging mums, complete with cross country pushchairs and children. Luckily a mounted policeman rode through to keep them in check.

It was interesting to find traces of old London in places, such as the outfall of the River Wandle, which is one of the largest watercourses which run into the Thames in London. Sadly though, it created an air of neglect between the gleaming new tower blocks of apartments.

These 2 views demonstrate the extent of development, but it was good to see that they had incorporated a tidal nature reserve as part of the landscaping.

There are still many old boats and barges moored along the banks reminding us that this used to be a working river. To an extent it still is, as there a few waste transfer stations which transport London's refuse down to the estuary on huge, blunt barges, which are chained together and towed by busy little tugs.

There is one modern architectural point of interest along this stretch after passing the heliport, which is a residential block designed by Sir Norman Foster. It seems me to take some design reference from Gaudi's Barcelona, but one thing is sure - the duplex penthouses looked amazing.

Across the river we saw the entrance to the Grand Union canal with its huge locks and Chelsea Harbour marina and the disused Lots Road power station. The ornate Albert Bridge signaled that we were entering Battersea park. Albert bridge sports a sign ordering all troops to break step when they cross. Needless to say we couldn't wait to see if soldiers were crossing today!

I hadn't realised how big and grand Battersea Park is. We paused a while at the Peace Pagoda to shelter from a nasty rainstorm which blew up out of nowhere and whistled towards the City.

The forlorn hulk of Battersea power station forced us to cross the river at Chelsea Bridge as there is currently no riverside path across the site. It is sad that this iconic building has seen off at least 3 well intentioned developers and may be destined never to become a thriving destination. I hope it does at some time.

We had a modest lunch at the Grosvenor, before crossing back to the south bank over Vauxhall Bridge.

So finally we reached my most hated building in London, the Vauxhall Cross residential scheme. I'm sure it has made pots of money for the developer and possibly for the architect too, but it really is a terrible blot on the river.

But having ranted and railed at the ugliness of that building as we crossed the river, the sun broke through the clouds and our spirits lifted as we finally saw the architypel view of London known around the planet.....the Houses of Parliament. Designed by Charles Barry in 1835 it has become a symbol for the nation. This is what I had walked over 170 miles to see!

It was getting rather busy as we passed the London Eye - a far cry from the lonely wet and windy field at the source. Anyway it was time for afternoon tea and we rested for a while on the terrace of the Festival Hall looking slightly out of place in our walking gear amongst the hordes of tourists.

The South Bank is now a thriving entertainment area, but is also a great vantage point to view the many famous buildings on the north bank and to appreciate what a grand vista the Thames provides.

The Millenium bridge still makes me marvel at how slender it is. It has opened up a wonderful view of St Pauls and engineered a new connection to the Tate Modern and the Globe Theatre.

One final new building before we reached our destination, The GLA building. I like it but as you can see Steve wasn't so sure.

Finally journey's end for the day, Tower Bridge. 174 miles completed. The bridge looked magnificent in the late afternoon sunshine. We carried on to a wine bar and met up with a few friends plus my elder son Simon for drinks. Steve left early to get home (lightweight!) Whilst I later regretted staying late as I didn't get home till about 11pm. What a long day.

So the next section will be the end of our quest. The path ends at the Thames Barrier. More next time.

Day 14: Teddington to Putney - 11 ½ miles

Monday 16 August

This is the first time we have travelled to the start point of our day’s walk by train. The thought of driving to Putney and trying to find all-day parking was just too stressful for us old chaps. The journey worked out well and we were soon on the path and leaving Teddington Lock behind.

Not long after starting we met up with Susan and Richard, an architect ex-colleague of Chris’s who now operate a dog walking business in Teddington (www.thedogsquad.co.uk). From what I could see, architecture must be much easier and less stressful than looking after 7 dogs, and I could not manage to get all of them into the picture below.

We left the dogs and stretched out towards Richmond, passing Ham House along the way. Just below the bustling town of Richmond is Petersham Meadows where cattle still graze in water-meadows that are regularly allowed to flood. The cattle certainly looked healthy and clearly smelt the apple in my rucksack.

After such a close encounter with the local wildlife we were ready for a cappuccino and found a good one in a cafe under the arches of Richmond Bridge.

Shortly after resuming our walk we saw Richmond Lock and the very ornate footbridge. The structure was built in 1894 to maintain a navigable depth of water upstream of Richmond. For about two hours each side of high tide the sluice gates are raised into the footbridge structure to allow river traffic to pass through. For the rest of the tidal cycle the sluice gates are closed, and boats must use the lock alongside.

After Richmond lock we were in open countryside on our side of the Thames as we went past the Old Deer Park. The other bank, however, is much more developed with some fine period houses, particularly around Old Isleworth. The photo below shows buildings around The London Apprentice (a hostelry of my youth) and one of the lodges to Syon Park, a bit further downstream.

The contrast in the two banks of the Thames continued until we reached Kew Bridge. On our side we went past Kew Gardens and the rear of Kew Palace. The Palace was originally the home of a rich merchant and then became a royal home of George III and members of his family.

On the other bank we could see the once busy Brentford Docks, where traffic from the Grand Union Canal and the Thames met. After all this history we were ready for lunch and so pressed on to our planned stop at the Greyhound on Kew Green for a pint of London Pride and a good range of sandwiches.

Starting after lunch is always difficult, but after substantial sandwiches, it was even more so. Still, we managed to get going and set out for Putney. Beyond Kew the riverside is very built up and we came across the old Mortlake Brewery. The main building has been redeveloped, but there are still signs of the past with a cobbled quay and rail tracks to the river. Nearby we spotted a marker for the end of the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race and another photo opportunity.

We passed under Chiswick Bridge and went on to Barnes, which is always regarded as a London village. We were not certain about being a village, and the houses fronting the river had more of a ‘seaside’ feel. Two of the houses had blue plaques informing us of the earlier residence of Gustav Holst and the founder of the Royal Ballet School.

The end of our walk was Putney Bridge. After more than 11 miles and what turned out to be a hot day, we were ready for some tea and found an excellent cafe in St Mary’s Church adjacent to Putney Bridge.

I had a look around the church (Chris could not move from the sofa) and found out that during the Civil War Putney was for a time the headquarters of Cromwell’s army. In 1647 meetings of the Army Council were held in the church, including discussions on the future government that were subsequently published as the “Putney Debates”

We ended the day carrying our poles up Putney high street (it being too crowded for Nordic walking and we might get more strange looks than normal) and getting the train back home.

Next stop Tower Bridge and then just one more stage to reach the Thames Barrier. So please help us reach our £3000 target!