Our guide was very changeable, even capricious, taking us in one direction and then another. Our guide was the River Thames and led us from the docklands of east London to the leafy settlements of Buckinghamshire.
The Thames Path is 184 miles long and you can walk it from the source, in Gloucestershire, to the Thames Barrier; or do it the other way round as we did. Some people walk the whole path in a couple of weeks; others chop it into weekend jaunts. We decided to hike half of it and save the second half for a further holiday the following spring. The Cicerone Guide to The Thames Path by Leigh Hatts proved invaluable in planning our trip and follows the path upstream. If walking downstream I would recommend The National Trail Guide to The Thames Path by David Sharp. We also used the relevant OS 1:25,000 maps.
City highlights were numerous, and we were struck by one iconic landmark after another, all illuminated by glorious May sunshine. A familiar capital presented a different face to the workaday one, and by our first evening a holiday mood was definitely upon us, as we ate by twinkly riverside lights on Butlers Wharf, close to Tower Bridge.
As we journeyed westwards from Putney, the river took on a lusher, greener aspect and meandered more lazily. Bridges punctuated it less frequently and eventually gave way to islands. Surprisingly, there are over 100 islands in the Thames from sea to source. Eel Pie island in Twickenham is perhaps the most well known, being one of the longest and not surprisingly named after the dishes served up to boating parties.
However, when you get into ‘Three Men in a Boat’ territory, past Hampton Court Palace, you will see Tagg’s Island. Here Stan Laurel and Charlie Chaplin learned how to get laughs in Fred Karno’s hotel. You can find out more in River Thames – in the footsteps of the famous, by Paul Goldsack.
Rowers glided past providing a steady rhythm and we ended our adventure in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. A sighting of the Chiltern Hills whetted our appetites for a final hike to the source next year. The following day we reluctantly bade farewell to our guide and caught a train home.
Author: Stephen Edwards
Date: 24 July 2008
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