Length: About 12 km (7½ miles). Toughness: 1/10
Meet in the ticket hall of Richmond station at 11:00. Either take the 10:39 Bracknell train from Waterloo (Vauxhall 10:43, Clapham Jct 10:49, Putney 10:53), arriving at 10:58; or the Overground or a District line tube (see the TfL site for times). Richmond is in Zone 4.
There are five trains an hour back from Richmond to Waterloo (at xx:05, xx:09, xx:27, xx:37 & xx:57), plus the Overgrounds and tubes.
This is one of those simple Thames walks: upstream from Richmond on the south bank, cross the river at Teddington Lock and return along the north bank. It's one of the prettiest riverside stretches in the capital with plenty of interesting sights along the way.
The logical place to stop for lunch is at the halfway point, with OpenStreetMap showing a couple of pubs and a café at Teddington Lock. The Walk Notes suggest The Anglers, a large Fullers pub which is doubtless crowded in summer but should be less of a squeeze in February. There are more riverside pubs in Twickenham on the return leg, and plenty of places in Richmond if you need reviving before the journey home.
You won't need the L=short.52 page for the directions but it has some useful information about the places en route. Of the free attractions Marble Hill House is closed for the winter but the art gallery at Orleans House would be worth a detour.
NB. The Walk Notes say that its ‘fly in the ointment’ is a long stretch of road walking between Teddington Lock and Twickenham, but the map shows a newish public footpath parallel to Strawberry Vale which would cut out a third of this (as well as giving a good view of the beautifully-restored Strawberry Hill House: see photo). The Walk Map also shows a simple out-and-back route between the station and Richmond Bridge, but for a small extension at the end you could continue along the Thames Path for an extra 1 km and cross the river at Richmond Lock instead.
4 comments:
Art pass holder can get into Strawberry Hill House for free.
Anyone interested in starting at kew- walking through gardens and along thames to ricbmond to meet the group.I'm a kew member and can take a guest for free..please buzz on 0780852888 to arrange logistics.Colleen
Whoops 07880852888 is my number..colleen
N=17 set off from the station, having been warned there might be muddy and floody bits. There was neither. Just the occasional puddle. Even the promised rain stayed away giving us a day that was w=mainly-sunny. Not much to complain about at all ‘sigh’
All too late, Mr Tiger remembered he didn’t much like walking along the Thames because it tended to be a bit samey. And, indeed, the morning was just that. Samey.
In Teddington, we stopped at the Anglers - for drinks mainly. Nobody ate there, not sure why. Late starter # n=18 caught us up there.
The group resolved to move on to Strawberry Hill House in search of victuals. The afternoon was less samey than the morning, being punctuated by a succession of posh gaffs. Parts of the Thameside route had disappeared under construction sites and some road walking was required. During a long stretch down an alleyway, we lost sight of the advance group and missed the entrance to Strawberry Hill House.
Next thing, we found ourselves in a garden where we were confronted by damsels, in a state of undress, cavorting among the rocks. We delicately averted our gaze. But it was statues.
A tea stop at Orleans House allowed the Strawberry Hill mob to catch up. Some went inside.
Then on.
A small group rounded off the day with a visit to the Old Ship.
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