The Thames Path has been closed again between Bay Wharf and Lovell’s Wharf on the Greenwich Peninsula. The Environment Agency is repairing Morden Wharf which will require the closure to be maintained until September. The alternative route is: At the end of Bay Wharf the path is a little away from the water as it […]

Barry Mason, manager of Surrey Docks Farm, has died in Spain whist going for a swim in the sea. As tributes indicate he was much more than his recent lasting achievements at the farm. He was a cyclist who of course cycled on the Thames Path. But he was always alert to any closures. When […]

I have just enjoyed Sunday lunch at Surrey Docks Farm where ten days ago Frizzante took over the cafe. This is an Italian team who already do the catering at Hackney City Farm. Arriving after 1pm I found that the roast was finished but two of us managed the last two fish pies. For pudding […]

There is good news of  a possible improvement ti the route at Maidenhead. After crossing Maidenhead Bridge walkers turn right into Bridge Gardens but then find the way blocked by Bridge House. Thanks to the persistence and local knowledge of East Berks Ramblers’ footpath secretary Margaret Bowdery  the Royal Borough has published plans for a […]

Some of the lock staff you meet this summer will be local volunteers. BBC South Today ran a piece on Thursday evening about the Environment Agency’s call for volunteer lock keepers on the Thames. Seasonal help is not unknown but now the plan is not to pay those coming forward. This does seem to be […]

St Peter’s Church at Wallingford, with its candle snuffer spire, is the riverside landmark. Lawyer Sir William Blackstone is buried there. The key to the redundant but lovely building on the Thames Path can be borrowed from the Tourist Information Centre at the Town Hall in Market Place. Meanwhile, the Churches Conservation Trust is hosting […]

The Nag’s Head on Abingdon Bridge closed in January and despite local concern it remains closed. It appears that the decision to close was taken by Punch Taverns who were not the building’s owners. See page 172.

If you are on the Thames Path at Greenwich this Easter Monday you might see traditional chair-lifting at lunchtime. The Church Times reminds us that the Blackheath Morris Men have been maintaining this Midlands Easter custom next to the Cutty Sark for the last twenty years. Girls are invited to sit in a decorated chair […]

The huge iron railway company insignia on the remaining south end of the old Blackfriars railway bridge has been dismantled. The two 150 year old London, Chatham & Dover Railway crests will be restored and repositioned back to back  at one end of the abutment. The London SE1 website has an explanation and pictures. See […]

Last Sunday’s Countryfile on BBC1 was trailed as featuring Windsor Great Park and the new rowing course on the opposite side of the Thames. A surprise inclusion was a piece on Hurley Lock and boat building with additional shots of Temple Lock and Temple Bridge. The programme, which has wonderful shots of Windsor Castle, can […]