The Thames Path by Leigh Hatts

Oxfam’s Fabric 4 Life campaign, which is encouraging walkers to bring their old outdoor gear for refurbishment and resale, is being promoted by Fiona Lincoln and Mark Stephenson who are walking naked to the Outdoors Show at Birmingham.

You might see them  on the Thames Path between Tower Bridge in London and Oxford where they turn north.

They will miss Claire and Phil who are currently walking in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

They are happy to have ‘guests’ join them on the stages and for other walkers to stop and say hello.

The clothed pair can be followed on their website (http://happythames.wordpress.com) as they fill the gaps. This month they have completed Oxford to Radley.

The difficult sections between Farmoor and Cricklade come next and are probably best tackled as the days get longer and warmer.

I look forward to their comments on the Oxfordshire public transport.

How do you spot them? Look out for the yellow Mr Happy peeping out of  a ruckdack.

This afternoon I had a look at the diversion at Rotherhithe which will last until at least June.

So far Southwark Council has not put up any diversion signs.

It’s complicated because there are currently two closures caused by building work at Rotherhithe’s King’s Stairs. The first, which prevents an early return to the river at the end of the narrowed Rotherhithe Street, will be reopened by the end of this month. It is the blockage to the west at the end of the riverside arcade that is the big problem.

The best temporary route is to keep to Rotherhithe Street as far as King’s Stairs. Turn left (inland) along Elephant Lane. At a junction do not go ahead into Mayflower Street but turn right into a park. Follow the path to a second junction just before St Peter & The Guardian Angels Church. Bear right on a curving path which leads back to the river. Soon you pass The Angel pub.

This problem which has caused numerous walkers to try a dead end behind houses is now annoying residents. The situation is a good example of how closures in London are left to the local council. The national trails office does not have any responsibility for the Thames Path in the capital.

There is more chance of getting information about a sudden closure on a remote Oxfordshire towpath than in central London.

See pages page 25.

The very last stretch of towpath between Lechlade and the Round House near Inglesham has been closed for urgent repair work.

The problem is confined to where the path leaves Wiltshire for Gloucestershire but the only alternative is through the town.

The diversion is across Halfpenny Bridge and ahead up Thames Street to the High Street. Turn left to pass a handy teashop and where the houses end go left down a signposted track which runs south past Willow Tree Farm. At the end is the confluence with the River Colne and the last bridge over the navigable Thames.

The towpath is expected to reopen by Saturday 4 April just before the Easter holidays.

See pages 195 & 196.

Fawley Court just north of Henley has been sold by the Polish Marian order.

The purchaser is Urs Schwarzenbach who owns Thames-Side Court on the edge of Shiplake to the south of Henley. Thames-Side Court is well-known for its narrow gauge railway which can be seen from the Thames Path.

The Fawley Court mansion comes into view across the water from the towpath at Remenham on the last leg into Henley on the Regatta course. The building dates from the 1680s and since 1953 has been in the hands of Polish Marians of the Immaculate Conception who used to run a school there.

For a time it was known as Poland-on-Thames due to the Pentecost festivals held in the grounds and attended by hundreds of Poles.

The house is  contender for the original Toad Hall in The Wind in the Willows along with upstream Hardwick House.

No word yet about the future of Fawley Court. Will Mr Schwarzenbach move there from Shipklake or turn the mansion into a hotel?

See pages 14 , 120 and 131.

The World Pooh Sticks Championships will be held on Sunday 29 March at Day’s Lock close to Dorchester-on-Thames.

The annual event used to be held in January but in 1997 the Thames froze over.

The custom was started in 1984 by lock keeper Lynn David. He often saw walkers dropping twigs into the water and thought of Winnie the Pooh who did the same although in Sussex.

Lynn soon decided that an event would be both enjoyable and a way of raising funds for the RNLI.

The Rotary Club of Sinodun is now in charge and this year’s championships start at 11am with the last entry at 1.30pm.

Family races are at noon.

See page 152 to 154.

After watching the Shrove Tuesday pancake race on the Thames Path in front of Southwark Cathedral I went to the opening of Roni Horn aka Roni Horn at Tate Modern.

My interest was in her Thames photographs called Still Water (The River Thames, for example) 1999.

The 15 photographs are very similar. They are taken from above the water and show only dark swirling water. Sometimes there is a hint of oil.

They could be anywhere but under each print are lots of footnotes addressed to the visitor.

Twice she says “The Thames is us”.  She also compares it with the Hudson.

Other comments:

“I sometimes suspect the Thames of being water.”

“The Thames is a drain.”

“It’s curious how the Thames attracts people from far away.”

Today at lunchtime the river was high and dark when I looked out from this exhibition’s windows.

Interesting but maybe not worth the £7.80 entrance charge. You can enjoy the same view free from elsewhere in the bulding anyway.

Visiting the Van Dyck exhibition this morning I was surprised to find it very crowded. I forgot that it is half term week but this is a very good once in a lifetime exhibition.

The show is at riverside Tate Britain which is appropriate for many of the characters depicted lived along the Thames in London. Indeed Van Dyck’s studio was opposite Tate Modern.

The one disappointment of the exhibition is the rather poor Thames map which is vague about the exact location of the studio at Blackfriars. This is important for many went to the studio for their sittings. They were required to sit still for an hour at a time and afterwards colour approved by the master would be filled in by assistants whilst the next subject settled in the chair as if visiting the hairdressers.

Even Charles I, who paid for the house and its new landing stage, called several times. My understanding is that the building was just inside the mouth of the River Fleet which means that the Royal Bank of Scotland in New Bridge Street is the approximate site.

The King came on the Royal barge. Lord Arundel could have come on foot, crossing the Fleet by the bridge at the end of Fleet Street, for he lived just above today’s Temple Station.

The Earl of Northumberland and his sister Lucy both knew Syon House as home but probably came from the family’s London residence Northumberland House at Charing Cross where the garden ran down to moorings on the Thames.

Included in the show is the picture of Archbishop William Laud which fell off the wall in Lambeth Palace in 1640 and gave the Archbishop a fright. Queen Mary of Modena used the ferry outside to cross the Thames to exile in 1688. We see what she looked like thanks to a portrait by Peter Lely in the manner of Van Dyck.

The really famous pictures of Charles I are here having been borrowed from the Queen. In one group of Charles I and his family look as if they are posing for a quick snap in Hello! magazine. But it is a painting undertaken of course at Blackfriars rather than riverside Whitehall Palace although in the background is Westminster Hall rising above the water.

Van Dyck And Britain exhibition is at Tate Britain until Sunday 17 May; admission £12.20.

The Thames Barrier was closed today which must have been a good idea. The water was still very high at Waterloo Bridge this afternoon.

The Environment Agency has issued flood warnings all along the River Thames. You should check its website or call the flood information number 0845 988 1188 before going on the Thames Path.

Today’s public inquiry in Purley-on-Thames may result in the present ridiculous route around the village being dropped in favour of the original recommendation.

Because of a dispute with the owner of an orchard next to Purley Church in the 1780s the towpath was put on the opposite bank for 3/4 mile. This involved maintaining two ferries. The failure of the commissioners to carry through a threat of compulsory purchase 230 years ago has led to today’s inquiry.

The Thames Path cannot be placed by the water on the ‘south’ bank due to the railway. Whilst one must obviously cross the line and briefly join the main road there is no need for the present very long road detour.

I can recall working on the ‘Thames Walk’ proposals in the early 1980s when a shorter route using an existing tunnel under the railway to return to the river was suggested. Indeed Berkshire County Council made early provision for part of this stretch of path by including it in a planning agreement.

Unfortunately the developer of the properties in what is now called Hazel Road never implemented the conditions of the planning consent. Now three Hazel Road residents are against creating the path which should already have been on the ground. 

A stretch in Purley Park, although not accessible, has been agreed with the landowner.

Nigel Hiscock for Natural England said: “This is the proposed route agreed 20 years ago by the Secretary of State and therefore we are actively looking to complete the route to the agreed plans.

“The current temporary route covers a lot of residential roads and does not take in enough of the scenery and points of interest of the Thames.

“However the new route through Skerritt Woods and up behind the homes in Hazel Road does meet more of our standards and would be more suitable for a national path.”

There have been 72 objections from villagers including one from Thames Valley Police claming routing the Thames Path behind Hazel Road “would increase the risk of criminal activity in the area”.

West Berkshire councillor and rambler Tony Vickers said: “I think it’s clear that the path will benefit both walkers and residents, given the choice between a shortcut or the long way round, I think almost everyone would pick a short cut. I think you have to weigh up the security issues up against whether it is convenient and needed, and I think the advantages far outweigh the objections.”

Jayne Kylie of West Berkshire Ramblers, said: “I’m fully behind the council, it will open up a whole new walk for the public and in my opinion the land behind the houses in Hazel Road has always been accessible if someone really wanted to get in behind there.”

See page 130.

Good to hear that the intervention of the Open Spaces Society has persuaded South Oxfordshire District Council to withdraw an order to divert the Thames Path at Wallingford. 

The row involves a swing bridge being installed on the line of the path at the marina to the south of the town which has been taken over by Oxford University Boat Club. 

OSS Oxfordshire representative Chris Hall says: “We have had assurances from club officials that the opening of the bridge would be very infrequent. But this is not good enough. The society is concerned about the long-term future of the path. What happens if the club’s premises change hands and a commercial marina takes over with more frequent use of the bridge?

“The society has suggested to the club that the order to divert the path onto the swing bridge should contain binding conditions that will remain in force under any future ownership of the land. These conditions would limit the times and lengths of opening the bridge (ie obstruction of the path) and guarantee an alternative route for walkers through the club’s premises. Unfortunately the club has not followed up this proposal.”

There has long been a launch dock here. Let’s hope talks between the parties and the council result in the path remaining by the water. These battles are important.

See page 144