Updates

What has changed since the pandemic hit us? On the Thames Path it is mainly the pubs which have been most affected. A good stop just before reaching Oxford Station and crowded tourist eateries is now The Punter pub on Osney Island. You pass the door shortly after walking through Osney Lock and over its […]

Fifty-one figures looking like giant skittles are standing in Southwark Cathedral churchyard this week. Gratitude is a public art installation honouring the ongoing courage and dedication of NHS staff and key workers during the pandemic. The exhibition is curated by Southwark-based Dame Zandra Rhodes and continues until Saturday 10 October.

Spanish tapas bar Brindisa has a strong presence behind Southwark Cathedral in Borough Market where it was founded. From Wednesday 13 October walkers will find another Brindisa fifteen miles upstream at Richmond. It will be difficult to miss with its distinctive awning and logo on the restored 18th-century Holtham House. Inside there is an open […]

A Northern Line Underground station has opened 200 yards from the Thames Path in Battersea. Battersea Power Station now has a station at the end of a new Northern Line extension. The spur runs off the line just south of Kennington to serve Nine Elms with a new station as well as Battersea Power Station. […]

Lara Maiklem has an exhibition of her finds at Southwark Cathedral. The new display of found objects from the Thames beach coincides with the publication of her new book A Field Guide to Larking. Lara is giving a talk at the cathedral on Thursday evening 19 August. The Thames Path passes the door of Southwark […]

This coming weekend will see the 25th anniversary of the Thames Path’s inauguration writes Leigh Hatts. On 24 July 1996 I joined David Sharp to walk downstream through Greenwich to the Thames Barrier. As we turned into Crane Street, behind the Trafalgar Tavern, we found that the narrow passage had been decorated for the occasion. […]

Caroline of Brunswick, wife of George IV, died 200 years ago by the River Thames. The Queen’s final home was Brandenburg House which stood in a rural setting on the edge of Hammersmith. Work on building Hammersmith Bridge was four years away. Here Thames watermen had gathered on the river in 1820 to show support […]

The River Thames is so long, varied and winding that its source is found beyond six counties. One is Wiltshire which means that the new Pevsner features riverside buildings. The Wiltshire Buildings of England is the first new edition since 1975 when Bridget Cherry revised Nikolaus Pevsner’s text. Now Julian Orbach has updated the invaluable […]

Last May as we battled Covid most of us missed the 250th anniversary of Thames Conservancy’s predecessor. Where Smooth Waters Glide is an online exhibition by the Berkshire Record Office which holds the archive of the Thames Conservancy. There are fascinating documents and pictures as well as a clear explanation of river governance. Thames Navigation […]

The Anglo-American Mayflower anniversary celebrations came to a quiet end on the River Thames in central London on Friday. By coincidence this was the same day as President Biden was Britain agreeing a New Atlantic Charter. A much reduced flotilla escorted the Edwardian from Rotherhithe to the Houses of Parliament to deliver a copy of […]