Updates

The riverside path on Hay’s Wharf  downstream of London Bridge is closed for maintenance until Monday 8 April. The closure is between Hay’s Galleria and London Bridge Hospital. The diversion is via Hay’s Galleria and right along Tooley Street. Stay on the right side of the road as the main road divides to be able […]

No need to wait until you reach Shilllingford in Oxfordshire to enjoy Sinodun Cheese with your picnic. It is on sale this week at Neal’s Yard in Borough Market behind Southwark Cathedral. The prize-winning goats’ cheese is made by Rachel Yarrow and Fraser Norton of riverside North Farm below the landmark Wittenham Clumps which are […]

The towpath upstream of Richmond is due to be closed this week during daytime between the Thames Young Mariners’ Bridge and Teddington Lock. The closure for path upgrade work is between 8am and 4pm. The suggested diversion, which is pleasant, runs inland from Ham House riverside car park and along Ham Street. Go right into […]

Walking along Bermondsey Wall East the view of Tower Bridge is suddenly blocked by a huge shed. This is a temporary building on the extended Chambers Wharf where there is continuous working to excavate a shaft for the Thames Tideway project or super sewer. The site was once a giant cold store. The houses at […]

The proposed Nine Elms Bridge has been moved upstream and given a curve. The original landings were at St George’s Gardens in Pimlico on the left bank and Elm Quay near the US Embassy at Nine Elms. The latest suggestion is that the crossing should start at Claverton Street in Pimlico and curve across the […]

Tony Hall has found several important yews along the Thames in his new book The Immortal Yew. We tend to forget that the maze at Hampton Court is now yew since the original hornbeam was repaired with yew fifty years ago. Upstream the yew is much older. The Ankerwycke yew, soon to be accessible by […]

Dianne Setterfield’s latest novel  Once Upon A River is set largely on the Thames upstream of Oxford. It holds the attention of anyone who has walked the river by the roll call of familiar names at the beginning. The story is set in the 19th century and opens at Radcot which is unchanged since well […]

Sunday 13 January is Baptism of Christ Sunday which sees the annual Blessing of the River on London Bridge at 12.20pm. Processions from Southwark Cathedral on the right bank and St Magnus the Martyr on the left bank will meet on the bridge. After prayers and a hymn, a wooden cross will be hurled into […]

The River Thames has pubs which are tested daily by walkers ready for really good refreshment. In today’s Mail on Sunday Tom Parker Bowles  and  Olly Smith publish their list of the 100 cosiest pubs in Britain. Tom highlights The Trout Inn at Wolvercote, upstream of Oxford which he describes as “a beautiful 17th-century pub sitting on the […]

Two lovely paintings by John Everett Millais appeared side by side in The Times on Monday. They are included in the Seen and Heard exhibition at the Guildhall Art Gallery. Both paintings depict the artist’s daughter sitting in Kingston-upon-Thames parish church. All Saints, associated with Saxon kings, is the focal point of the market square […]