Author: Leigh Hatts

The GMB Southern region which is highlighting opposition to the Nine Elms Bridge plan has called on Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to withhold support.

The cycle and foot crossing would cost around £100m according to opponents.

The union statement follows a written reply by Sadiq Khan to a question in the London Assembly.

The unpopular proposed bridge would be opposite the already controversial new US Embassy at Nine Elms.

One issue is how much attractive open water should be covered by new crossings. This was a major objection to the Garden Bridge at Waterloo which failed to win local support.

The GMB claims that the following now oppose the major landscape change at Nine Elms:

Leonie Cooper, London Assembly member for Wandsworth

Tony Devenish, London Assembly member for Westminster

Sian Berry, Green leader London Assembly

Caroline Pidgeon, leader of Lib Dems of London Assembly

Westminster Labour Group

Wandsworth Labour Group

Westminster Conservative Party

Battersea Labour Party

North Battersea Alliance against the Bridge

Pimlico Alliance

Marsha de Cordova, MP for Battersea

Rosena Alin Khan, MP for Tooting

Ibrahim Dogus, former parliamentary candidate for Westminster South

Mark Field, MP for Westminster South

May Morris: Art & Life exhibition at the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow gives  glimpse of her life by the Thames in London and Oxfordshire.

May was the daughter of William Morris who lived by the river at 8 Hammersmith Terrace in London and upstream at remote Kelmscott near Lechlade.

William founded the Chiswick Press which in 1903 published May’s play White Lies.

Nearby on the river at Chiswick was lived Emery Walker who ran the Kelmscott Press.

May was an active supporter of the Socialist League Hammersmith branch.

But she loved Kelmscott and a long embroidery in the London house featured a view of Kelmscott in middle.

In the country she lived a frugal but self-sufficient life.

A painting shows May in the dining room at Kelmscott Manor as she checks proofs of The Collected Works of William Morris which she spent years editing.

One of the black and white photographs is of May’s funeral at Kelmscott in 1938 when her body was carried on a farm cart.

The May Morris exhibition is at William Morris Gallery, Forest Road, Walthamstow E17 4PP until Sunday 28 January; open Wednesday to Sunday; admission free.

Kelmscott Manor is open in the summer.

 

 

 

 

Eel Pie Island is home to 26 artists and twice a year, in winter and summer, the studios open their doors to visitors who can purchase or commission new art works.

The next open weekend is Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 December 11am to 5pm.

Access is by an old toll bridge from the Twickenham bank.

Tide Tables Cafe at Richmond is easily missed but is probably the best place to stop.

You find Tide Tables Cafe underneath Richmond Bridge. Walking river thames societupstream you can pass through the tunnel under the bridge. There are two more to the left. One is still a boat builders. The furthest inland is Tide Times Cafe.

It’s open all day with good food. My vegetarian lasagne and salad was £10. On weekdays coffee refills are free.

There is  skiff hanging above the counter and magazines available to read include Thames Guardian.

If you need to keep looking at the river, maybe watching the tide, you can site outside on the downstream side.  Blankets can be borrowed from the basket at the door.

 

Hollyhock Café: Also run by the same management is Hollyhock Café in nearby Terrace Gardens. It has  good view over the river from its high position.

To find the little rustic building continue upstream along the towpath from Richmond Bridge. When the houses and gardens end, but before Petersham Meadows, look for Grotto Gate low down on the left. A tunnel leads to steps running up to Terrace Gardens.

Hollyhock Café share the same menu as Tide Times.

This Saturday afternoon 18 November sees the first consultation exhibition for the proposed Rotherhithe Bridge.

The display is at Canada Water Library, next to the station, from 12.30 to 4.30pm.

The plan is to build a crossing between Rotherhithe Street and the Isle of Dogs for walkers and cyclists. It needs to be able to open to allow large ships to reach the Pool of London.

The debates will centre round the need for a crossing and how high, or intrusive, the bridge would be.

Also under discussion is the landing point on the Thames Path. The right bank (south) offers options at Durand’s Wharf or Nelson Dock.

Views can be given online where there is a list of consultation events.

This first public consultation is open until Monday 8 January 2018.

The White Cross pub in Richmond often has  a flooded frontage but today there was a wide beach by the towpath.

This afternoon the river next to Petersham Meadows was unusually dramatic with people walking on the river bed. Glover Island was accessible from the Twickenham bank.

There is good news for anyone setting out on the Thames Path this half term week.

When you reach Inglesham in Wiltshire you will not have to call a taxi to avoid a dangerous road walk. You can now follow the river.

Until this autumn the way upstream from Inglesham Church involved a detour of almost two miles which included a mile long walk on a main road to Upper Inglesham.

This road had become increasingly busy since the Thames path opened 20 years ago.

In quieter times the Thames Path passing through Upper Inglesham at least had the advantage of being handy for a now closed YHA hostel.

Isolated Inglesham Church, just outside Lechlade, is delightful and unspoilt thanks to William Morris who stopped unnecessary restoration.

So on reaching the lane at Inglesham many walkers go right for a short distance to look inside.

Turning right will now be normal. No need to go left for the main road.

On leaving the church go down the churchyard steps to cross the quiet lane and take a wide mature grass path opposite.

After a stream/ditch go right to the river and turn upstream.

New signage and gates help to make the way easy to understand.

The new route turns inland along the Bydemill Brook to join the existing line from the end of the long path out of Upper Ingelsham.

This is the point where the path fords the brook.

The new Inglesham riverside path avoiding the main road was discussed 35 years ago and backed by the Ramblers’ Association thirty years ago.

This is a major and very welcome improvement to the Thames Path.

Lombard Wharf in London’s Battersea is now open.

The new building on the site is a controversial 28 storey Barratt Homes tower block. But there is  planning gain.

The wharf is on the upstream  side of Battersea Railway Bridge.

Walking upstream from central London along Albion Quay you come up against the railway bridge. In the past you had to turn inland and briefly join the main road.

Now you can keep away from traffic by passing under the railway bridge and walk directly on to Lombard Wharf where there is a wide new stretch of Thames Path.

 

NEW DIRECTIONS after the Old Battersea House entry on page 45:

The path passes along Albion Quay before running under Battersea Railway Bridge.

Battersea Railway Bridge opened in 1863 to                                           carry both standard and GWR broad-gauge trains                         between Clapham and Willesden junctions.

Walk along Lombard and Regent Wharves to pass Oyster Pier. Cross a drawbridge leading to a Falcon Wharf and follow the path inland down the side of Battersea Heliport,

 

The entry into Marlow always requires leaving the water early to find Seven Corner Alley where the towing horses were led into the town.

Until next March walkers are leaving the water even earlier.

There is a temporary diversion beginning just after you have gone under the Marlow Bypass.

Instead of staying by the water on  a narrow towpath by houses go right inland to reach Gossmore Lane at a gate.

Turn left along the residential way to find the road becoming Mill Road where the Thames Path usually joins.

Also, upstream opposite Bishop Abbey until the beginning of October there is a minor diversion parallel with the towpath to allow for surfacing work.

Rotherhithe has a new feature.

Public toilets, famous for having Ladies and Gentleman boards in Norwegian, have given way to an extended space  in front of the Norwegian Church.

St Olav Square was inaugurated this month by Princess Astrid who also unveiled a bust of King Haakon VII.

Haakon brought his exiled government to London during the Second World War. His wife was Maud, daughter of Edward VII, who died shortly before the outbreak of war with Germany.

Today quiet Rotherhithe is preparing for another significant occasion.

In 2020 there will be celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of The Mayflower sailing with the Pilgrim Fathers to America.

The ship left from a jetty behind today’s Mayflower pub which in 1620 was called The Shippe inn.

Captain Christopher Jones, who took The Mayflower ship to America via Southampton and Plymouth, returned and is buried in St Mary’s Church.

Another focus in 2020 will be the striking Christopher Jones figure in the churchyard. The statue by Jamie Sargeant was unveiled in July  1995.

The Mayflower left for Southampton in July 1620 and the many possibilities for the July 2020 programme includes a visit by President Donald Trump who will be completing his term of office.