Thames Path: Staines-on-Thames to Richmond

 

We are not sure exactly the message trying to be conveyed here or how to solve the problem. Unfortunately, that isn't necessarily territory we don't live in every day!

---

The Thames is as inexhaustible a subject as English history itself.---Jonathan Schneer

Overall, this part of the journey was flat and held a few surprises around some corners and a palace, but generally was riverside parks, a meadow scattered here and there and finally, the outskirts of London. 

First lock of the day: Penton Hook Lock. I have to retract my prior statement regarding no public bathrooms being available at locks. There was one here and it was clean. 

Chertsey was established by Saxon Kings, pillaged more than once by Vikings and the home to an Abbey, St Peters, established in AD 666 (not sure if the Catholic Church was concerned about this annum since Irenaeus in the 2nd century might actually have screwed it up...those scribal errors! and other documents report the antichrist numerically as 616.) From the river, we could not see the abbey, but as close as it is to Hampton Court (ala Henry VIII), it's probably gone. But there are some humorous balcony decorations on the fancy houses in the 'hood. 

Hard to tell, but it's the Blues Brothers on the upper deck

Your friendly neighborhood life-size polar bear statue. 

There aren't very many ferry crossings on the Thames Path, but we ran into one near Shepperton Lock. It's pretty obvious for anyone who might have anxiety about finding it. There's a bell on the waterfront, you ring it, and a teenager comes out and gives you a 90 second ride across the Thames. It's all easy, efficient and not terribly expensive.

Ferry cross the Thames operated by a 16-year old. He was good at it. 

Shepperton Lock Keeper's House. None too shabby!

Shepperton might be recognizable to some dystopian sci-fi fans as the long-time home of 1960s-1990s novelist, J G Ballard who even had some of his novels adapted to film, such as Crash and High Rise . We didn't knowingly see anything associated with him on our traverse along the Thames, but this seemed to be a wealthy area with lots of fences, so maybe?

East and West Molesey followed the almost imperceptible Walton-on-Thames (but it does sound nice). Molesey Lock just proceeds Hampton Court. 

Lock Keeper's house at Molesey

             In the process of reaching Hampton Court, we ran into two things we hadn't yet encountered on this trip:  1. Hoards of Englishpersons (mostly ladies in my age range in flowery apparel) cramming the trains and sidewalks for the annual Hampton Court Garden Festival and 2. Rain. We have been so fortunate as to have hardly experienced even a single drop in the first 145 miles of the walk, but this is, after all, England and that was bound to end. And it did. We ran into several very wet moments, but were rescued once by a nearby restaurant and the second time by the overhang of Richmond Lock. 

This event is a crowd-pleaser with plenty of people in attendance! Many of them bought plants at the gathering. 

Paul and I had the pleasure of a long private tour of Hampton Court in 2022 and highly recommend going there. Henry VIII and the story of his feud with the Catholic Church and his unsuccessful search for an heir (and heads rolling, etc.) is known to most of us, but there were other kings who lived here and the tennis court, a big different than the one of Wimbledon, but still serviceable, is still in use today. The gardens are indeed stunning.  Please make time to go there if you are in the hood. 

Although we didn't partake in much of the history, our next town was Kingston-on-Thames. Many argue that this is the start of London, although that remains a controversial statement. King Egbert in 838AD held a council here and the "king stone" was the site on which at least seven Anglo-Saxon kings of Wessex were crowned. The actual stone can be seen outside the Guildhall. There is also a museum of the history of Kingston for interested parties. 

We were more interested in the next town, Teddington. And why? After about 150 miles of walking, this is the site where the river Thames become TIDAL. And some argue that Teddington is the beginning of London. 

The footbridge at Teddington Lock where the Thames becomes a tidal river. 

At this point, a walker has to make a decision: North Bank or South Bank for the walk? We chose the south, because it is a bit more scenic and has less road-walking. We passed Ham Lands Nature Reserve and made a detour to Eel Pie Island. Eel Pie Island was famous for hosting many great bands in the early British music scene, including the Rolling Stones, the Who, Pink Floyd...you get the picture! It is not a very big island and is now home to an artist community. In fact, unless you live there, you are NOT allowed to come onto Eel Pie Island except for two weekends a year... and we happened to be passing by on one of them!  One interesting thing that happened on our detour and reiterated the change in the Thames was that we had to wade through the rising waters in the streets to get to the island as we came at the very peak of the tides. Overall, there wasn't all that much to see there, but a few artists did have their studios open. Some of the housing, as you might expect, was very creative. 

Paul gazing at the ever-widening Thames

Teddington Lock

Artist home on Eel Pie Island (with an ice cream on top!)

A lovely garden and cottage on Eel Pie Island, now an exclusive artist community

There were some very old trees along the nature preserve on the Thames. We were grateful to them during rainstorms. England has been around for awhile, and most large trees have been cut down for various uses. The dearth of large trees is a great contrast to home. 

We ended this part of the journey at Richmond Bridge---which some argue is the start of London as it holds the oldest modern bridge built in the 1770s. It's also the end of the District Line tube. And the last lock on the Thames. 

Richmond Lock and Bridge. For around two hours each side of high tide, the sluice gates are raised into the footbridge structure above, allowing ships and boats to pass through the barrage.  For the rest of the day the sluice gates are closed and passing river traffic must use the lock alongside the barrage.

From here forward, we will officially be journeying the Thames through London proper for the next 23 miles to the Barrier. 

"The Thames is dear to the Londoners. It is the scene of half their pleasures. In the summer season it is ever in their thoughts, and they are often on its bosom. He who in treating of the mighty metropolis would omit to devote a chapter to the Thames, would, in Cockney estimation, betray as great a want of judgment as the itinerant player who proposed performing Shakespeare's tragedy of Hamlet without the character of Hamlet himself."  ----William Blake

Paul's Ponderings:   The walk continues and we finally reach metro London!   From here on, the transport options get much better.    Likewise the weather has turned to be much cooler, albeit with minimal moisture thank goodness.   We've had some time off and our minor foot blisters are much better.   The walking path has gotten much improved as well.     While it is still "path" and not paved, it is not head high overgrowth, which would be much more miserable in this weather with the low level dampness.      As an aside, we've had quite a bit of great food on this trip so far.    We are well over 120 miles into this walk and are moving right along.