The last leg – Canary Wharf to Woolwich

The final day then. Rather mixed in some ways, the walk through the Isle of Dogs was a bit uninspiring and the finish of the walk itself was very underwhelming but that’s enough about the negative.

From our overnight stop in Tower Hill we walked back to the riverside by the Tower and picked up a boat back to Canary Wharf. It was a lovely day for that actually. Good fun.

Seeing Canary Wharf from close-up and different angles was fascinating. Walking around the outside of the O2 was surprising. Who on earth stuck an enormous double-decker golf driving range on it? And why did I always think the dome bit of the O2 took up more space right up towards the riverside?

Walking through the Greenwich foot tunnel was unique, and the walk from Greenwich to the O2 which followed felt good.

After the O2, we stopped at what I think was the 39th pub of our walk – an odd little place named the Anchor & Hope where we just relaxed for a bit before the final stretch. Not long after leaving there, we passed the original finish line, at the Thames Barrier.

Then past there took us on a winding Riverside route all the way to Woolwich and the rather anonymous finish line by the foot tunnel. It was great to finish and a real moment even if there was no great fanfare at the finish.

The two gents who we’ve seen numerous times across the past couple of weeks were not seen during the walk, but somehow we all ended up in the same restaurant so got to exchange congratulations and all that – they agreed with us about the underwhelming finish! That was a good way to end really, bringing closure and certainty to that shared experience.

So that’s it. 190 or so miles including missed turns and diversions. I don’t know how many locks, weirs, bridges and pints of beer/glasses of wine. It’s been really special. I’m sure one day soon will require a good look back at it all but for now, relaxation is fine for me.

• Day 18 – Canary Wharf to Woolwich
• 12.94km in 2:44:59
• Total walked 306.86km in 67:02:17

Whole walk statistics and facts

• 17 hotels visited
• 39 pubs visited (3 called the White Hart)
• 65 bridges crossed
• 1 tunnel walked
• 33 locks passed or crossed
• 1 ferry crossing

Clapham(ish) to Canary Wharf

The penultimate walk of our time on the Thames Path should have took us from sort of around Wandsworth to Tower Bridge but in order to make the final day a bit more fun we extended today along to Canary Wharf leaving a glory run tomorrow along to Woolwich.

Today was quite easily split again, this time around around crossings of the Thames. The first bit took us past the London Heliport, into and around Battersea Park which was really just slightly busy parkland.

We crossed the Chelsea Bridge to join the North side and have a break at the Grosvenor pub, the management of which was lovely but clearly struggling with pipes or plumbing of some kind. Nice stop though.

The next bit was slightly away from the Thames until passing the MI5 building to reach Lambeth Bridge.

Then two things happened. We saw the real recognisable sights of London start to come into view. First the houses of parliament then across the water the likes of Lambeth Palace. Back on the south bank again the crowds were far busier than we’d really expected for a random Tuesday in May. Not too uncomfortable but still quite busy.

We crossed the river again at the Southwark Bridge then had a detour around some building work but headed back to the river in time to visit The Banker. A nice little hidden away pub on the outskirts of the City. We had a lovely couple of drinks there.

That more lengthy break refreshed us well before setting off again first on to reaching Tower Bridge where we chose to continue on to Canary Wharf.

Apart from the bodies having to take a bit more mileage, the other downside was the frankly appalling nature of signage in the area. The Thames Path seemed to really mean something in the places we’d seen it during the first couple of weeks but in actual London it’s not really a factor which is both a shame, and a real pain for those of us doing it.

We got on one of the lovely Thames Clippers to head back to Tower Bridge and our hotel a few minutes walk away. One day left and I’m hoping it will be something to really remember.

• Day 17 – Battersea to Canary Wharf
• 17.07km in 3:44:29
• Total so far 293.92km in 64:17:18

Brentford to Clapham Junction

Today was a mixture between some lovely parkside and riverside walks, plus some very tricky street navigation not helped by very erratic sign placement, along with inconsistencies between the National Trails website and what’s actually on the ground. I guess that’s a function of how much building there’s going on in several places.

Our first step was trying to leave the Grand Union Canal and rejoin the Thames. Some lovely sights around.

After crossing Kew Bridge there was a lovely riverside path, although it was very busy with bikes and runners today. Probably just as well we’re not here on a weekend.

We had two stops today – the first at the White Hart near Barnes Bridge. Lovely atmosphere and drink. Our third visit to a pub called the White Hart during this trip.

One thing that struck me about today was the effect of the tides now on the Thames. We’d not seen this before today but this morning clearly at low tide you see so much new beach-type land comes to sight.

The Leg O Mutton nature reserve brought us back to tree lined paths, and then even after that the seemingly enormous grounds of St Paul’s School kept the green vibe going.

On then past Fulham’s football ground and past Putney Bridge for our second stop at possibly the most modern Wetherspoons I’ve ever seen, The Rocket.

That took us towards Wandsworth Park with its very cleverly sculpted tree branches over the path.

The rest of the walk was a little messy as described before with conflicting messages about the route, not helped by a couple of really heavy showers deciding that was the perfect time to arrive.

Our hotel somewhere near the borders of Battersea, Wandsworth and Clapham had an ok location but some of the least friendly reception staff we’ve encountered this trip. Never mind – two days to go!

• Day 16 – Brentford to Battersea
• 14.16km in 3:07:56
• Total so far 276.85km in 60:32:49

Rain again – Kingston to Brentford

Not really got a lot to say about today’s walk – the 8.3 miles to Brentford. It rained gently at the start and got progressively wetter as the day went on.

We passed Teddington Lock where there was a monument marking the start of the tidal Thames.

We pushed on through Ham then onto Richmond. It was quite busy out today with a lot of bikes on the route which was just something else to break the rhythm up a bit.

We stopped at a pub in Richmond and had a break for a couple of drinks hoping the weather might turn a bit. If it did, it didn’t get better!

We crossed the river at Richmond Lock today which itself was nice but it wasn’t really a good day for enjoying the architecture!

The next bit was quite a messy route through residential and industrial spaces and then a complex bit trying to navigate parts of the Grand Union Canal but eventually we saw the Thames again just before turning away from it again towards Brentford High Street where our hotel is tonight.

All in all, it was a really tough day despite the shorter distance but the distance did mean our bodies have had time to recover. Only three days to go though.

• Day 15 – Kingston-upon-Thames to Brentford
• 13.57km in 2:54:25
• Total so far 262.69km in 57:24:53

Staines to Kingston-upon-Thames

Today was stage 14 of our walk and the last properly long challenge to be undertaken – being 15 miles.

We set out this morning from Staines seeing a lot of runners around and it turned out to be a changeover point for a 220 mile relay race around the green space around London.

We probably saw runners for the next hour or so and most of the way up until Shepperton when we caught the ferry across the river. Across a rather narrow bit of the river it must be said, but the ferry crossing was on the path so it is what it is really.

This shot has both ferry stops in it and the ferry itself heading back

We then had a brief meadow based section before arriving into Walton-on-Thames and then our first stop at the Anglers. That was a lovely place for a break and we were energised again for the next stretch.

The next couple of miles were ok, up until we arrived at Hurst Park heading towards Hampton Court.

There was a diversion there of about half a mile which was annoying particularly as it wasn’t marked very clearly which meant a little extra distance on top of that but it wasn’t too bad really.

A little stretch later saw us come into Hampton Court for our second stop at the Mute Swan. That seemed to be absolutely heaving but we managed to grab a table for a sit down and wine. After that we stumbled across what seemed to be a really big rowing event complete with screaming supporters. Good fun to see all the same though. Then the walk to Kingston itself was quite uneventful but still tough at the end of a long day.

In a way today was something of a compilation of things that have gone before – there was some town walking, some country tracks, some bits at the side of a meadow and lots of people enjoying the river. I enjoyed it, apart from the whole walking 15 miles thing anyway!

• Day 14 – Staines to Kingston-upon-Thames
• Includes river crossing on Shepperton Ferry
• 25.12km in 5:03:38
• Total so far 249.12km in 54:30:28

Windsor to Staines

Today was another walk best broken up into little sections, most of which did not seem to feature the Thames very prominently.

Having left Windsor Castle behind we first came across Windsor Home Park which featured an enormous number of transporters, trailers and notably many horses. Mainly because this was the location of the Royal Windsor Horse Show going on at the moment. I think we were out a bit early to see the Queen though.

We then walked through Datchet – mainly along a main road – and into Old Windsor – largely along the outskirts of a field where we barely had enough width to walk between the stinging nettles and the barbed wire. Not the most welcoming place.

We stopped for a little rest at Old Windsor Lock before making our way towards Runnymede and specifically the Magna Carta National Trust site. We visited the JFK monument, a couple of art installations and the Magna Carta monument all of which was a very worthwhile deviation from the Thames Path itself.

The last couple of miles took us past Runnymede Pleasure Ground and then eventually into Staines itself before a bit of hunting around for today’s finishing point the London Stone.

Tomorrow is the final really long day of our challenge – 15 miles to Kingston-upon-Thames.

• Day 13 – Windsor to Staines
• Detour through the Magna Carta National Trust site
• 14.31km in 3:11:42
• Total so far 224.00km in 49:26:50

Marlow to Windsor

The 12th stage of our challenge took us 14-ish miles along the Thames and put us within a week of finishing. That fact in itself has been a little challenging with us allowing a few thoughts of this adventure coming to an end.

However, we’re not there yet though and today was always going to be a challenging distance with much of the walk being remote.

The first bit of the walk, at least having left Marlow, saw a return to the meadows but at least we only had to navigate one field of cows. Some pretty sights out there though.

One thing taunting us today were benches – all appearing at the oddest times, such as just across the water from Cliveden House the gardens of which we’d run around a few years ago.

In Maidenhead, we visited a café that wouldn’t sell us wine because the licensee wasn’t in today then somewhere else that only sold large glasses of wine. The latter was more acceptable by far.

Nice to see the youth of Maidenhead enjoying an old gag!

With 6 miles left, we passed Bray then Dorney Lake (or at least a small amount of it because most of it is hidden by copious amounts of trees and foliage), passed Monkey Island where a heck of a party seemed to be going on (at least in the DJs own head because there were no punters there) and finally passed Windsor Racecourse where nobody was today.

The walk into Windsor was quite a lengthy drag with not much to see really because while tree lined paths are certainly pretty they can get a bit dull when you’re trying to be somewhere. The appearance of Windsor Castle on the horizon was very welcome.

After a long day today, tomorrow is shorter so hopefully a chance for a bit of recovery before a long day on Saturday.

• Day 12 – Marlow to Windsor
• 22.95km in 4:46:20
• Total so far 209.69km in 46:15:08

Rain, rain and Henley to Marlow

The quick summary of today was wet. Very wet. Not torrential and vile rain, but just very constant steady heavy drizzle all day, almost without break.

A very draining day because of it despite the slightly lighter distance travelled.

We wore very good waterproof kit which kept us and our bags more or less dry, however, it also made it quite hard to hear each other at times and the plastic visor on my one made visibility above ground level pretty blurry.

We had another lovely mid walk break, this time at the Flower Pot in Aston which was a lovely old fashioned place with wooden decor and a slightly odd focus on taxidermy. Nice beer though. And the company was great too not just from my wife, but also from another couple of walkers who had broken the path into several sections over a period of time.

The highlight of the day though came shortly after in a private deer park nearby. We saw dozens of them largely sheltering from the rain but it was a real pleasure to see them.

The rest of the walk into Marlow was a bit grim really as the weather got a bit worse and the cows got a bit more interested in what we were doing. But the sheep led us to safety. It was a good day though.

This evening we had a meal away from our hotel – actually we had a late lunch in the pub attached to the hotel which was a lovely club sandwich – visiting a rather lovely pub in Marlow named the Two Brewers where they were serving cod and chips with fish big enough it must have it’s own post code. Delicious too.

• Day 11 – Henley to Marlow
• 13.98km in 2:58:19
• Total so far 186.74km in 41:28:48

Reading to Henley

The 10th leg of our journey was one in which we had a new section of the path plus a diversion around a lock bridge which had been closed in the days leading up to our start.

Of course leaving Reading meant still walking through an area I know well. There was a vague recognition of some of the route along parkrun at the start and then Thames Valley Park. All good stuff except it started to rain around then.

The rain really continued all morning on and off but we were well prepared. There was a bit of a moment where the rain eased but then came down here again but it was all ok in the end

Sonning was about as far down the river I’d ever run previously from Reading and it took longer than I thought to get there but again all very uneventful. We didn’t see any of the celebs of Sonning unfortunately.

We had a nice stop at a pub named the Baskerville which was then followed by the lengthy lock-avoiding diversion but it did give us a nice woodland walk. What we discovered later though was that it was just as well we’d prepared knowing the diversion route. We didn’t think it was marked up and sure enough there was literally no warning right up until the closed section meaning people who didn’t know where to turn had to double back to the diversion point.

We finished our day at the Angel on the Bridge which was a place we’d tried to go to previously but was always busy. Turned out a bit of a disappointment really but we’ve been lucky enough to say we’ve not had many of those. Despite the rain, another good day.

• Day 10 – Reading to Henley
• Detour from path through Harpsden due to bridge closure
• 17.40km in 3:57:34
• Total so far 172.76km in 38:30:29

Goring to Reading

Today was a return to exercising in Reading but obviously a very different exercise to the many, many times I’ve run around there in the past. But there was about 10 miles to go before we’d got near Reading which sort of broke down into sections.

The first bit from Goring was along the usual meadows, aside from a diversion which we didn’t know about. All pretty good.

Then we turned away from the river a bit taking the Thames Path route towards Whitchurch and Pangbourne. This was very much an expected hilly section but perhaps the gradient in places was far greater than actually expected.

Then downhill again towards Pangbourne and a break at the Swan after having spent five minutes trying to find a member of staff to make it clear that the pub was open and not just deserted. The view and weather were worth it though.

The rest of the walk today had been done by us before at one time or another. We’d had a long walk from Mapledurham to Pangbourne and back again previously and today we just had the walk back.

There followed the climb up from Purley to Tilehurst which for some reason had been ignored by all the guidebooks but I knew about it well having run this far out of Reading a couple of times before (once on Christmas Eve 2018 apparently, as you do…)

Then it was “just” the final stretch along from Tilehurst station to wherever we were going to choose to finish the day which hadn’t been set in stone – we knew the Thames Path around Reading well enough to know we had a few different options depending how we felt and which pub we might be prepared to put up with when arriving in Reading.

The first bit down to Reading City’s ground was a lot longer than expected, probably showing we’ve not been past there actually on the path very many times. Then the next stretch down to the Thames Promenade was quite comfortable.

Then things started to feel tough but at Reading Bridge, we decided to go on to where the Thames is joined by the River Kennet. Unfortunately, that turned out to be about a mile away which was much further than expected. Even so, we got it done and that’s going to mean a little bit less distance tomorrow.

With how my feet feel now that’s a very good thing!

• Day 9 – Goring to Reading
• 20.13km in 4:26:45
• Total so far 155.36km in 34:32:55