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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.

Saturday 29 December 2018

North Greenwich to London Bridge - a wander along the Thames Path "Sowth of the River"

The Greenwich Peninsular, Greenwich, Rotherhithe, Shadwell and the Pool of London


How to get there:
Catch a Jubilee line tube or appropriate bus to North Greenwich tube station.

What tickets to buy:
Use your Oyster card or buy a ticket that covers your starting zone, zone 1 and North Greenwich tube which is in Zone 2+3.

Meeting point and time:
The main station atrium at the top of the station escalators for 10:30 am.


Walk Options:
There are three drop out points on this walk, so if you're planning to take up walking in the New Year, or you are a regular walker, there should be an option here that suits you.

  • North Greenwich to Greenwich Town  5 km (DLR station)
  • North Greenwich to Surrey Docks Farm 9 km  (C10 bus to Rotherhithe)
  • North Greenwich to Rotherhithe  12 km  (Overground station) 
  • North Greenwich to London Bridge 15 km (Tube and National Rail)


If the London Bridge option doesn't cut the mustard, you can continue along the South Bank to the Tate Modern where there are free exhibitions by Christian Marclay (The Clock) and Jenny Holzer (Artist Rooms)

Walk highlights:
The walks starts by circling the Greenwich Peninsular alongside the O2 arena where there is artwork by Antony Gormley (Quantum Cloud),  Gary Hume (Liberty Grip), Richard Wilson (A Slice of Reality) and an interesting piece on the Greenwich Meridian Line by Thomas & Graighead (Here) to exercise your brain cells.
There is a small diversion as the walk approaches Greenwich which takes walkers past the The Old Royal Naval College Chapel of Sts. Peter and Paul.  Well worth a visit if time permits,  The Painted Hall, Old Royal Naval College opposite will re-open in March 2019 and that too will be well worth a visit then. You may find other points of interest in the TFL guide (see the link below)

Lunch Options:
If you are intending to end the walk at Greenwich, there are a good selection of pubs, food stalls in Greenwich Market, the Tai Won Mein noodle bar and many more establishments.
Further on there is:

The Piccalilli cafe at Surrey Docks Farm at 9 km.

The Mayflower t: 020 7237 4088 at 12 km (about three hours into the walk) so you may wish to book a table for 1:30 - 2:00 pm there

The route:
Leave the station following signage to the O2, but keep straight and slightly to the right towards Wagamama. Turn right here and continue alongside some parkland on your right for about 160 metres until you reach Edmund Halley Way. Turn left here and pass the Emirates Airline on the right until you reach Olympian Way. Turn left here keeping the river on your right. In about 150 metres the Quantum Cloud Sculpture can be seen on the right.
Generally, you now "keep the river on the right"  as you walk towards the City of London.
However there are sections where you need to divert inland  and these are detailed in the GPX route. There are also many Thames Path signs to assist too.  Bear in mind this is an ever changing landscape so be on the lookout for recent alterations to the route.

TFL's Thames Path Booklet may be downloaded Here

The GPX route (helpful) may be downloaded  Here
T=swc.245

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you to Mike for posting and leading us on this walk,
very atmospheric.

PeteB said...

n=14 on this urban Thameside ramble. I have walked this area for over 30 years and the transformation from 1980s ruined industrial landscapes to bright modernist buildings/urban dystopia (delete as appropriate) is startling.

With the tide out there were a few shoreline mudlarks and dectectorists out and on the route itself artwork to enjoy and information notices to peruse.

One SWC stalwart recovering from an Xmas illness stopped at Greenwich where we had popped into a gallery. 10 of us went on to the Surrey Docks Farm where the cafe is now sadly permanently closed. Here the group took an er... faster mode of transport than Shanks's pony to reach the splendidly atmospheric Mayflower pub. I was 80% sure there was another pub not bfar away en route so I walked on and I was right. I had a solo lunch at the Blacksmiths Arms and then met up with the others at the Mayflower. Here most ended their walk whilst 3 of us walked on with 2 having a quick snifter in the Angel before continuing on to Tower Hill and London Bridge (me) for the journey home.

A grand half-day out and it was lovely to meet up with and chat with some old SWC salts. Weather w=cloudy-and-mild.