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This Week's Walks - Archive

Please see the Saturday Walker's Club This Week's Walks page.

This is an archive of walks done by the Saturday Walker's Club. You should only need to use this page if the SWC website is down.

Thursday 2 March 2017

Thursday Walk: Thames Path - County Hall to Greenwich


Extra Mid-Week Walks - Explanation 

Since the start of the New Year our Wednesday (mid-week) walks have become popular, despite the winter weather, and numbers indicate the possible need for an additional walk during the week. Rather than post two walks on a Wednesday (an option) we thought we would experiment during the month of  March by posting an additional mid-week walk - one week on a Thursday, the next on a Tuesday.
If come April numbers attending these additional walks are low, we will terminate the experiment and revert to Wednesdays only.  But let's see how it pans out.


Thames Path Walk - County Hall to Greenwich

Length: 11 km (6.8 miles)
Toughness: 1 out of 10 (but hard on the feet)

Meet: on the Embankment, Lambeth side of the River, beside County Hall, just below the steps leading down from Westminster Bridge, at 11 am.

Return: from Greenwich: Suggestion: we take the river boat back to County Hall. Those wanting to walk further: take the foot tunnel under the Thames to the north bank of the river (Mudchute), then head back towards the City, via Millwall Docks, Canary Wharf, stopping when you have had enough, or continue all the way back via Limehouse, Shadwell , Wapping and St Katherine's Dock ( a 15 mile extravaganza).

 Footwear:  recommend well cushioned trainers, not walking boots, as you will be walking on hard surfaces all day.

Lunch: we will find a pub near Rotherhithe for a lunch stop.


A respite from muddy country walks, and a "sister" walk to our Thames outing on 02 February when we ventured from the Monument to Putney, today we head eastwards along the Thames Path on the southern side of the River towards Greenwich. We do not criss-cross over bridges like we did on the Putney walk but we stay on the southern side of the River, at times heading inland where the Thames path does not hug the river. The touristy and busy bit of the walk is at the beginning, from the London Eye to Tower Bridge. Thereafter, you experience a fascinating lesson in sociology as you walk beside new (expensive) blocks of flats with river frontages and lots of security, and ex-GLC blocks of flats, often with playgrounds twixt tween - used by neither communities.
The walk dips in and out of the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and, finally, Greenwich.  The river boat back to the Embankment should make an enjoyable, relaxing end to your day.

Next Tuesday 07 March: Book 1, Walk 4 - Pangbourne Circular





9 comments:

Marc Ricketts said...

Now I might do the Walk on Thursday. But I can't Guarantee I will. But to meet up. Where do we meet. And if we take the Boat back. How much does it cost?

Anonymous said...

Great idea - Wednesdays don't always work for me!!!

I won't do this one because I'm only a fan of country/seaside walks, but I'll definitely be at others.😊👍😊

Marcus said...

Hi Marc
We will meet on the Thames embankment beside the former County Hall, just down from the steps from Westminster Bridge, Lambeth side of the river.

The river boat costs circa £ 8-50 for a single, Greenwich to Westminster, possibly less with a travel card.

Anonymous said...

Thank you to those taking on the extra work. I would like to do country walks on Thursday. Not keen on tarmac walks. I wonder if we could switch the tarmac walks to Tuesday and the country walks to Thursdays?

Marcus said...

Although as a matter of principle I don't usually reply to "Anonymous" postings, I will make this exception to explain today's walk is a one-off, to complement our Thames-side walk in early February. All future Tuesday and Thursday postings (and probably all Wednesdays,too) will be country or seaside walks. Again, today is a one-off.

Anonymous said...

good idea Marcus -to post more walks on different weekdays + thanks for doing extra work

David F said...

With all due respect to "anonymous," the logical approach is to rotate walks, so that someone who can only do Tuesdays (and not Wednesdays or Thursdays) isn't penalised in any way. A range of walks should be scheduled on all three days.

Marcus said...

Four of us set out from County Hall and like all good Pied Pipers we soon gathered more SWC walkers en route until come lunchtime we numbered n=9. The weather became increasingly w=sunny-with-a-breeze-at-our-backs making walking conditions most pleasant all day. We stopped for lunch at the cosy Mayflower pub in Rotherhithe where four of us enjoyed excellent meals and drinks, and our sandwichers enjoyed their drinks in the comfortable pub surroundings. After lunch two went their own way, leaving seven of us to continue the walk through parts of London seldom frequented by SWC walkers. The only dull bit was the detour from the Thames path into Deptford via the Pepys Estate, but we were soon back beside the Thames as we proceeded to Greenwich. Now down to a group of six, four headed for the foot tunnel and the LDR, leaving two of us to enjoy the Thames clipper river launch ride back to Westminster. I believe all enjoyed their day which was a bit different to the normal SWC experience - and it was nice to be mud free.

Anonymous said...

Lovely walk, great company.
Thank you Marcus.