Along the Thames to Kingston

Date: Wednesday 20th June
Route: West Ealing to Kingston-upon-Thames via South Ealing, Brentford, Kew Bridge and the Thames Path
Distance: 11 miles

With no walking last weekend, due to family visits, and the prospect of dire weather over the coming days, today dawned bright and sunny, with absolutely no excuse to stay inside - I used the opportunity to walk a route of various sections that I have walked individually before, but never consecutively.

If you're looking for a beautiful 11-mile walk by the river, I would advise that you walk from Kew Bridge to Hampton Court, using the Thames Path all the way, but since I live in West Ealing, the first three miles of my walk were down to Kew Bridge (not necessarily very scenic all the way, but making me feel quite nostalgic for the days when I used to cycle through the graveyard on my way to work).

From West Ealing, Temple Road leads on to the very quiet residential streets and parkland of Churchfield Road, Culmington Road and Church Lane before emerging at St Mary's Church, a local landmark next to the busy South Ealing road. Cut through the small car park, head right through residential streets and over a footbridge running parallel with South Ealing Road and straight on down, over Popes Lane and down the footpath to the side of the W5 pub, through South Ealing Cemetery, which can be very atmospheric/ spooky in the early morning light.

At the end of the graveyard you cross Occupation Lane and walk down to the busy A4, which you cross. A pedestrian path takes you through the Barratt housing development by the side of the road (can a building really be Art Deco if it has been built from scratch within the past 2 years?) and then a left takes you along a decidedly unpicturesque road by the tower blocks in Brentford, emerging onto the main road near the Kew Bridge Steam Museum (if you take a right here you can also take in the Musical Museum and the Watermans Arts Centre, though the only thing open at 7.30am is the McDonalds opposite the Watermans).

Once you are across the busy road, Kew Bridge is in front of you (opened in 1903, fact fans) and once you have crossed the bridge and admired the view, a right turn brings you onto the Thames Path, which you follow all the way to Kingston (or beyond, if you feel so inclined).

The path is easy to walk on, occasionally stony and sometimes puddled after heavy rain, and is popular with walkers, hearty individuals being pulled along by dogs, runners and cyclists (make sure you keep an ear out for bikes!). Along the way you will see plenty of herons, which nest in the trees to your right, as well as parakeets, ducks, geese and other waterbirds. You may well hear a woodpecker or two and spot a fox on the opposite bank (or as today, two foxes on the small island in the middle of the river near Isleworth). There are also badgers in Kew Gardens, however the chances of spotting one are pretty slim, unfortunately.

The path takes you past Kew Gardens and King George III's palace, with views over to Syon House on the opposite bank (sadly shrouded in scaffolding at the minute), before passing Isleworth to your right (pretty riverside church and pubs in photo above), Richmond Old Deer Park and Richmond Lock.

Richmond is a lovely riverside town, with lots of transport links, shops and great places to eat, plus the huge Richmond Park (setting for the infamous dog-chasing-deer Youtube clip), which boasts plenty of wide open space, ponds, bike hire and herds of deer. You can also catch boats from Richmond down to Teddington Lock three miles away, or even get the boat down here from Central London, which is a great way to spend a lazy summer Sunday afternoon. It's no surprise that this beautiful town attracts famous residents such as Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall, Pete Townsend and Richard E. Grant.

The path after Richmond is initially wider and you will see anglers in various locations between Richmond and Kingston, as well as some very grand stately houses overlooking the river. As with the Kew-Richmond section, there is plenty of greenery beside the route and a few shaded sections. 3 miles outside Richmond you come to Teddington Lock (which you can cross to), then the path continues on for another 1.75 miles to Kingston town centre, passing multiple houseboats and very desirable Thames-side properties (it's impossible to do this stretch without pangs of property envy).

The final section into Kingston takes you along the road and through the park of Canbury Gardens before a left takes you into Kingston town centre (bigger and with more shopping opportunities than Richmond) or you can carry on to the pubs and restaurants alongside the river in Kingston or if you're feeling energetic, cross Kingston Bridge and continue along the Thames to Hampton Court Palace.

I've walked sections of this walk regularly for a number of years and I'm sure I will continue to do so. If you fancy a walk in London that feels as though you are seeing a bit of country and a bit of greenery, this is a great section of the Thames Path to walk - oh, and it's flat too, which makes it nice and easy!

The best walk in the Chilterns?

Date: Sunday 10th June 2012
Route: Hambleden to Henley via the Great Wood and back along the Thames
Distance: 9.3 miles

Having reached a point where we've completed virtually every long circular walk within an hour's drive of West London from the Time Out Book of Country Walks Volumes 1 & 2, The Rough Guide to Walks in London & The South East and the Pathfinder Chilterns & Thames Valley books, this is the walk that we come back to time after time.

It's the first walk in the Time Out Book of Country Walks Volume 1 and it's the perfect introduction to walking - you get out of London easily and quickly, it's not too strenuous, you get plenty of great views over the countryside, some peaceful, sheltered woodland sections, a couple of pretty villages and a long, flat walk along the Thames. You can catch the train from Henley and walk from there or, even better, park in the free car park on the road to Hambleden and start and finish there, giving you loads of choice for places to eat in Henley and getting the bulk of the walk (and all the hilly bits) out of the way before lunchtime.

Whilst I've blogged about this walk a few times previously (see here and here and here (!)), the great thing about this walk is that each time you do it the experience is different - the frequent rain since the last time we walked the route in March has meant that there has been an explosion of foliage and greenery in every direction (as you can tell from the photos).

The blossom and bluebells of earlier in the year have been replaced by dog roses, rhododendrons, irises and foxgloves and today we heard a very noisy woodpecker above our heads in the Great Wood. The village green at Fawley still boasted rather a lot of (rather damp) Diamond Jubilee bunting. The preparations for Henley Regatta are also in full swing, so there was much more rowing on the river than usual today, as well as lots of barges and pleasure boats queueing patiently at the lock and picnickers enjoying the hazy sunshine.

I'm not sure if anyone has ever run a poll on what is the best walk in the Chilterns, but this one would definitely get my vote.*

*(as long as you avoid the actual Regatta dates, 27th June-1st July this year).

In the footsteps of Morse and Lewis

Date: Bank Holiday Monday, 4th June 2012
Route: Oxford Circular along River Isis, Port Meadow, Oxford Canal and River Cherwell
Distance: 9 miles

To make the most of today's Bank Holiday we chose a very flat and easy walk from the Time Out Book of Country Walks Volume 1, which is accurately described as less of a country walk and more of a day out in Oxford. The walk combines three separate sections alongside different waterways on the outskirts of the city before returning to the centre and weaving its way between university colleges.

Although there is a substantial section on tarmac roads and pavements at the end of the walk, it can get pretty muddy and wet in places by the rivers and in Port Meadow, so waterproof shoes are definitely needed.

The walk starts behind Oxford railway station and quickly joins the Thames Path alongside the fast-flowing River Isis, which broadens out with great views across the meadows. Once past Godstow Lock and the ruins of Godstow Nunnery, the route passes the Trout Inn, which is vaguely familiar from multiple episodes of Inspector Morse and Lewis (I'm sure I've seen an episode where a girl's body is recovered near a bridge that we walked over today!).

Then, it's into the lovely though waterlogged Port Meadow, carpeted with buttercups and daisies, picking your way between cows, mud and puddles, over another bridge to the Plough Inn, then on to the Oxford Canal towpath. The towpath passes bridges, barges and clumps of irises, heading back towards Oxford and you can end the walk after the canal section if you do not want to do the more urban section around the colleges.

If you do want to include the college section, there is another river section, this time passing punts on the Cherwell before entering the University Parks and emerging into the university area near Keble College. From there you pass various museums - the Pitt Rivers, the Ashmolean and the Museum of Oxford - as well as the beautiful college buildings of Balliol, New, Queen's, Magdalen, Merton, Christ Church and many more.

This walk is a great mixture of town and country, greenery and history, peaceful waterside paths and busy streets - it may be flat, but it's not boring. A very attractive, highly recommended walk around a historic city.