The coronation of King Athelstan took place in Kingston-upon-Thames on 4 September 925. He was the first monarch to be crowned rather than wear a helmet and became the first king of all England. His was the second coronation to be held in the riverside town perhaps due to its location on the border between […]
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The Thames Path between the Albert Embankment and St George Wharf at Vauxhall has reopened. The lengthy closure with a diversion along the main road had been to allow work on the Thames Tideway, or ‘Super Sewer’, tunnel. Behind Tintagel House the path passes over a line marked Effra Quay where a new wide platform […]
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Next month two Thames Piers will be given new names. Doubletree Docklands Nelson Dock Pier is being renamed Rotherhithe Pier. This was once just Nelson Dock Pier with Doubletree added recently when the 1980s hotel building was rebranded DoubleTree Hotel. Shortly Rotherhithe Pier will be served by Orbit Clipper, the UK’s first fully electric, zero-emission […]
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The 2025 Blessing of the River Thames in central London is on Sunday 12 January. At 12.30pm processions will set out from St Magnus the Martyr Church on the north bank and Southwark Cathedral on the south bank to meet on London Bridge. For just over 125 years the downstream London Bridge pavement ran under […]
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Deconstruction work has begun at Chambers Wharf, a Thames Tideway or ‘super sewer’ site, on Bermondsey Wall. With tunnelling complete, deconstruction involves removal of infill from the temporary concrete cofferdam. This long task is being undertaken by barges sailing to and from Tilbury. The operation is expected to be completed in January. A new river […]
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Twenty bodies found next to Cookham church confirm that the Saxon convent operated as a hospital says Professor of Early Medieval Archaeology Gabor Thomason. He was speaking at the end of Reading University‘s annual dig the west side of Cookham’s riverside church which is the abbey’s successor. “There appears to be a high prevalence of […]
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McDonald’s is celebrating 50 years in the UK. The first branch in the now famous fast food chain opened during 1974 in Woolwich and today it is featuring as the climax to the current anniversary television commercial. To visit the ‘first McDonalds’ from the Thames Path walk through Woolwich Arsenal to Beresford Square and at […]
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Another Thames bridge has closed. The Bloomer’s Hole bridge near Lechlade is closed for repair. The diversion, in place and signed, is a return to the route used until the millennium. The bridge has lasted 25 years. Turn north up the long straight path and then left along a road to cross the tiny River […]
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Walkers will encounter the annual Henley Royal Regatta this week on the approach to Henley. After Hambleden Lock the towpath is soon alongside the Straight Course which was first used a century ago in 1924. This slightly altered the shape of Temple Island and changed the Berkshire bank opposite. Expect crowds and a diversion near […]
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The St Frideswide’s Way is being inaugurated on Wednesday morning when a group of walkers set out from Christ Church Oxford for Reading Abbey. Saint Frideswide, a Saxon princess who died in 727, is the patron saint of Oxford. Her reconstructed shrine is in the cathedral found within the college. Thames walkers may know of […]
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