Old Moaner Travel
I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list
River Thames: Putney to Thames Barrier
Section Length: 19 miles (30.5 km)
Time Taken: 7 hrs 23 mins
Dates Walked: 5th & 12th October 2017
Logistics: This section was covered in two legs.
Leg one was Putney to Tower Bridge, (10 miles)
Catching train to Putney High Street afterwards, which has several trains an hour from Clapham / London and other suburban areas. At Tower Bridge there are underground, DLR and mainline stations nearby
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Leg two was Tower Bridge to the Thames Barrier (9 miles), the Thames Barrier is near Charlton, whose station is about a 20 minute walk away, alternatively there is a bus from near the Barrier to North Greenwich.
This a frustrating section as there are many diversions from the path due to major construction works, to the point this was the most frustrating and least enjoyable part of the entire walk, indeed had I not walked so far to reach this point I would quite happily have given up and called it quits.
The diversions start at the very beginning of this section as some convoluted walking through Putney is required to reach the river near Wandsworth Park, although once past the park it’s, once again, time to come inland to bypass some building work and a waste transfer station before re-joining the river, although it’s only a few hundred yards before it’s inland again to pass Wandsworth Bridge.
Passing by some residential buildings before another bolt away from the river to bypass Battersea Heliport.
The path, more or less, follows the river before coming to, arguably, reaching one of the most attractive bridges in London – Albert Bridge.
Albert Bridge sees the beginning of Battersea Park. There has been a formal park at Battersea since the 1860’s but the park came into its own in 1951, when it was a major site for the Festival of Britain.
It was home to a famous funfair until 1974. Now it’s popular with walkers and families. It is home to a small zoo and a Peace Pagoda, completed in 1985 and this can be seen next to the river.
Another major diversion takes you inland past the site of the old Battersea Power Station, now being redeveloped and the famous Battersea Dogs Home.
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The route stays inland, bypassing Vauxhall Bridge, passing the headquarters of MI6 before re-joining the river approaching Lambeth Bridge.
After the bridge is Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury. There is also a delightful Garden Museum, housed in a disused church.
On the opposite bank is the Palace of Westminster, otherwise known as the Houses of Parliament before passing Waterloo Bridge.
It now gets very busy as you pass Old City Hall – home to several, overpriced, attractions – , the London Eye and Jubilee Gardens, this are is always very busy whatever the time of day and watch out for pickpockets.
The South Bank Arts centre is next, look out for a brilliant second hand book market.
Various pop-up stalls appear in this area throughout the year and there is a very popular Christmas Market.
Gabriel’s Wharf is on the right, an eclectic collection of independent arty type stores and restaurants, including a very good pie shop.
The next interesting building is the OXO tower. There are strict rules regarding advertising along the Thames and Oxo were banned from putting any advertising hoardings on their building. So, very cleverly, they put three windows on each side of the tower. The top and bottom ones being circular with the middle one being in the shape of the cross – spelling out the name OXO.
The high tech Blackfriars Railway Bridge is the next landmark. The station is located on the bridge but what stands out is the roof covered with solar panels, making it one of the greenest railway stations in the country.
The old Bankside power station is next, no longer a power station but home to the Tate Modern art gallery. Whilst the millennium footbridge leads to the western edge of the City of London and St Paul’s Cathedral.
A reproduction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is the next landmark as the attractions now appear thick and fast and the path is a world away from the rural isolation of the earlier stages.
Another diversion inland passes the famous Clink Prison, now a museum before coming to London Bridge.
London Bridge, boringly, it looks just like any other bridge, long gone are the days when there were buildings on either side, like the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. A short walk away are two, contrasting, places worth visiting – Borough Market and The Shard.
The current London Bridge is just over four decades old, with its predecessor now located at Lake Havasu in Arizona – it’s said the American owners were disappointed when the bridge arrived in the USA as had thought they were purchasing the more iconic Tower Bridge – whether that is an apocryphal story or not I don’t know but it sounds plausible.
Ironically the next bridge, after passing HMS Belfast, is the aforementioned Tower Bridge.
Butlers Wharf is found after Tower Bridge. At this point you will get stunning views of Tower Bridge and from the opposite direction than the usual photographs, which are normally taken from the Tower of London side.
If you’re feeling peckish there are a number of restaurants here. I’m also going to be contradictory here as, after bemoaning the path often not following the river I’m going to suggest a dive inland here.
Running parallel to this section of the path is a street called Shad Thames, the path actually joins it a few hundred yards before Tower Bridge.
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This is a lovely cobbled street passing between old, restored warehouses … you can even see the old metal bridges the porters used to get between the warehouses. The area is mainly offices and upmarket flats but it’s also home to some quirky independent stores.
A footbridge crosses New Concordia Wharf and you are in Bermondsey and it’s from here the path becomes very boring as it is mainly through residential areas down normal streets with only fleeting glimpses of the river.
The monotony is broken by an impressive Bascule Bridge at the entrance to Surrey Docks before the path, again, disappears into urban tedium as it passes through Rotherhithe.
In theory the path does, at times, pass alongside the river but, seemingly, some of the developers and residents of the riverside properties have done their utmost to deter walkers.
The next break from the monotony comes as the path passes through Surrey Docks City Farm but the respite is short lived.
Approaching Deptford the path takes another diversion, edging the outskirts of the town but, at least, where possible, routing through a recreation ground.
Finally the path is back along the river as we arrive in Greenwich, home of the Cutty Sark and former Royal Naval College.
The path passes in front of the college but don’t get overexcited about the river view as another diversion appears and the route towards the O2 arena is basically through an industrial wasteland.
There is a brief respite as the path swings around the head of the Greenwich peninsular, past the O2 arena and some housing developments.
However reality returns with a vengeance as the path goes through the most derelict, uninspiring part of the walk through what can only be described as an industrial slum. Even the river, when making a fleeting appearance, looks dirty and unloved.
The occasional glimpse of the Thames Barrier tells you the end is, thankfully, nigh and soon the barrier is in front of you, almost at the end.
A tunnel passes under the barrier workings and you begin to think what an anticlimactic ending to the walk but the tunnel has, along its wall, a map showing the full length of the Thames Path from its beginnings to this point – a lovely reminder of the previous 180 odd miles.
That’s it, no great welcome, no bands, just a signpost pointing to deepest Gloucestershire with the Thames Barrier café providing somewhere to have a nice cup of tea and a bite to eat.
Previous: Windsor to Putney
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