Sunday Walk 2 – Chinese New Year by the river

Extra Walk 261 (second half only) – Barnes to Putney
Length: About 11 km (7 miles). Toughness: 1/10

11:14 Strawberry Hill (via Richmond) train from Waterloo (Vauxhall 11:19, Queenstown Road 11:22, Clapham Jct 11:25, etc), arriving Barnes at 11:34.

Barnes is in TfL Zone 3 and Putney in Zone 2, so use your Oyster card.

The full version of this walk is rather long for winter so I'm specifying just the second half alongside the river, hopefully attracting those who did the earlier sections in 2016 but dropped out before the end.

Quite early in the walk you'll reach the grounds of Chiswick House where you can admire the elaborate displays of the Magical Lantern Festival, with its Chinese New Year theme of “Explore the Silk Road”. You could stop for lunch here at the Chiswick House Café but I'd be tempted to press on and try one of the five riverside pubs on the stretch to Hammersmith. Rather surprisingly the walk author doesn't appear to have done any in-depth research, so it's a case of choosing the first one that takes your fancy.

If you stay on the north bank for the final leg to Putney you'll be able to explore the grounds of Fulham Palace towards the end of the walk, with its café providing a convenient tea stop if you're not too late. You can return on the District Line from Putney Bridge or the mainline station to Clapham Jct & Waterloo.

You'll need to print the walk directions (with maps) from the Extra Walk 261 page. You can significantly reduce the amount printed by clicking the “Afternoon Walk” option. As most of this urban walk is on firm surfaces, choose comfortable footwear. T=swc.261