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HMS Belfast closed: visitors disembark by ferry

HMS Belfast, moored in the Pool of London, has been closed to the public after the gangway plunged into the river at lunchtime on Tuesday.

The Thames Path outside Southwark Crown Court was closed to enable emergency vehicles to be brought to the riverside.

Visitors on board the ship had to be ferried to the nearby pier.

See London SE1 report.

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Thames Path reopens at Blackfriars Bridge

The Thames Path route will return to the riverside at Bankside next Monday 5 December.

From early morning it will be possible to walk from in front of Tate Modern to Oxo Tower Wharf without leaving the waterside.

Thameslink railworks have for some time forced walkers to go inland into Southwark Street.

The new access to Blackfriars Station from the south bank opens on the same day.

Page 34.

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Thames Tunnel and Thames Path

Proposals for the new Thames Tunnel to intercept untreated sewage overflows have raised construction problems.

The west to east underground route is roughly below the River Thames with access points.

The good news is that revised plans for the works leave the Thames Path largely untouched.

Worksites on the key right bank (or south) have been moved or even set back from the river.

So, for example, the towpath at Barn Elms is now unaffected.

The biggest objections have been downstream of Tower Bridge where the green grass of King’s Stairs Garden at Rotherhithe was to have been closed for some time. Now the work will be just upstream on Chambers Wharf. This is a ‘brownfield’ site so far not opened up to the Thames Path.

At present the wharf is built out into the river but after tunnel work is complete the wharf would be reduced in size with provision for the Thames Path. This must be a good decision even if some local people are opposing it.

There are two worksites off Nine Elms Lane but the Thames Path will still briefly return to the river at Tideway Walk by Nine Elms Pier.

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Dr Salter: Daughter & cat removed to safety

Southwark Council has removed the statue of Dr Salter’s daughter and the cat on the river wall for safety.

Last weekend the sculpture of Dr Alfred Salter was stolen overnight.

Meanwhile the council is offering a reward for the return of the much-loved figure.

Anyone with news of the whereabouts of the sculpture should phone 020 7525 1501.

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Greenwich path found to be open

Darryl of Greenwich has the latest news on the peninsula’s western path between the Dome (O2) and Greenwich.

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Dr Salter has been stolen

Southwark Council leader Peter John has confirmed that the Alfred Salter sculpture has been stolen and not just removed for maintenance.

If anyone has any news of its whereabouts let us know.

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Dr Salter ‘stolen’

Disturbing news that the much-loved Dr Alfred Salter statue on the path between Rotherhithe and Tower Bridge may have been stolen.

It was not there last night and local opinion is that it was been stolen.

Dr Salter was the local doctor and MP in the first half of the 20th century who pioneered better living conditions.

I believe that his daughter and cat sculptures are safe so far.

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CAMRA: Hammersmith’s Dove & Cricklade’s Red Lion

Adrian Tierney-Jones new book CAMRA’s Great British Pubs includes two Thames pubs among his 200 reviews.

The well-illustrated paperback (CAMRA Books £14.99) has The Dove at Hammersmith down as maybe having “reputedly one of the smallest bars in the kingdom” although that could challenged by The Rake in Borough Market.

The Rake is also featured and could almost be a Thames path pub being just one road back from Southwark’s Clink Street.

The surprise in the book is the Red Lion at Cricklade described as a “rambling town inn”. The entry concludes with: “Five en suite rooms available, from £75 per night, including breakfast.”