Leigh Hatts writes: The Thames Path was inaugurated in 1976 with an opening ceremony at the Thames Barrier which was then the limit of the eastern, or downstream, end.
I recall that the occasion began with the arrival of a small party walking from Greenwich. It included David Sharp, the distinguished Ramblers’ lead on the proposed route. As author of the Countryside Commission’s Thames Walk feasibility study I was invited to join him.
During my eighteen months’ work I had much consulted David and used his initial Ramblers’ report as the base to discover what might be possible to turn a then fragmented route into a national trail.
Landowners on one side sometimes wanted the path to be on the other side.
On that opening day some houses in narrow Crane Street, near the Trafalgar Tavern, were decorated to welcome the walkers.
Marking the 30th anniversary of the Thames Path will be a month long relay walk along the route from the Source in Gloucestershire to Woolwich where the now extended Thames Path meets the new coast path.
On the final day the relay will cover that opening day walk from Greenwich to the Barrier and on to Woolwich.
Information about the joining in the relay is available on the national trail website.
***David Sharp and his wife Margaret are commemorated by a riverside seat at Barnes, a few yards from their home of many years. After the path opening David went on to be the original author the Thames Path guide to walking from the Source (Aurum Press) whilst I wrote Walking the Thames Path (Cicerone Press) for those wishing to start in familiar London and go upstream in search of the Source.