A walk along the Thames Path from Hampton Court to Weybridge, on 31 March 2018.
The Thames Path leaves Greater London at Hampton Court bridge, and river crossings are now further apart than before. This was the first genuinely new section of the path for me, as I hadn’t walked any of today’s route before. Here be dragons?
Today was a bit damp, with light rain following on from heavy rain yesterday. The river was pretty high, and suprisingly fast-flowing. Which would become a bit of a problem later…
I’ve been surprised at just how many rowers I’ve seen from the tow path.
There are some distinctive houseboats on this stretch of the Thames, perhaps more floating houses than boats made into houses.
A rowing sculpture near another boat house.
The Hampton Ferry doesn’t run at this time of year, not that it would be much use for following the Thames Path if it did.
Port Hampton on Platt’s Eyot has some interesting buildings, where military motor boats were once built, and with the tower and cranes looks a bit like something from a model railway layout (without the trains).
It might not be spring weather, but the daffodils are starting to appear.
Some wartime anti-tank cubes and a hairpin rail.
And a type 1 coal tax post: number 97 on this list of them all.
Sunbury Lock.
And time for a quick one at The Wier.
A wave from the crew of a baby narrow boat.
Riverside buildings.
Feeding the birds.
Boats for sale. This could have come in handy later…
There is no risk of getting lost today – simply follow the river bank.
Walton Bridge hasa complicated history, being the sixth bridge here since the first was built in 1750.
D’Oyly Carte Island.
Quite an ambitious set of directions; turn left for Stranraer and Galway, or right for Nice.
Oh bother.
FERRY NOT RUNNING TODAY DUE TO RIVER BEING IN FLOOD!!
Admittedly the river clearly was very flast flowing, although there were some boats out. Time to sit down on the nearby bench, eat my sandwiches and study the map to decide what to do next.
The only option is to return the same way I came as far back as Walton Bridge, cross the river there, and then take the Thames Path alternative route along roads to rejoin the main path. But that is quite a long walk to end up only a short distance in a straight line from here. And it looks like it might rain again. And only a mile or so away there is a station with fast trains back to London. What to do?
Aha, just around the corner is the answer to that question. The section of the path Staines will have to wait for another – drier – day.
And next time, I will check whether the ferry is running before setting off.
