Thames Path 2: Tower Bridge to Hammersmith

Date: Saturday, 5th January 2013

Route: Tower Bridge to Hammersmith Bridge via Thames Path

Distance: 11.5 miles

The second stage of the Thames Path starts on the pavements of the City of London and ends on a gravelly towpath amidst greenery, passing some of the most iconic London landmarks and bridges en route.

The first 45 minutes cover the area from Tower Bridge to Westminster, passing HMS Belfast, the Golden Hinde, the Globe Theatre, the Tate Modern, Southwark Cathedral, the South Bank Centre, the London Eye and many other historic buildings and places of interest. You could quite easily spend a lot more time meandering along this section of the walk and stopping to see the sights, but we were keen to press on today before this busy and tourist-friendly section of the Thames Path became too busy.

Once on the far side of Westminster bridge, the path runs in front of St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth Palace and (rather surprisingly) the MI5 Building before hitting the slightly less picturesque surroundings of Vauxhall and the stretch that leads to Battersea Power Station.

As with the first section of the walk, there are a few diversions around building sites and in front of riverside developments, but there is more greenery too, particularly in Battersea Park and Wandsworth Park. Once past Putney Bridge, the river becomes the domain of rowers and sailors, the path becomes more rough and ready and the roads become more distant, giving you the feeling that you are leaving the city behind, albeit only until the distinctive Harrods Furniture Depository (now converted into flats) and the Hammersmith Bridge come into view.

As you walk from Tower Bridge to Hammersmith Bridge you walk over, under or alongside a variety of road and rail bridges, including London Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, the Millennium ("wibbly-wobbly") Bridge and the delicate Albert Bridge, as well as the ghosts of bridges past, columns sunk into the Thames that once supported bridges but now stand alongside their more robust replacements.

If we only walked the first two sections of the Thames Path, we would have seen a big slice of riverside London, from sights and flats to industry and wastelands - now it feels as though we are about to leave the bustle of the city behind us and get out into the countryside, although the source of the river is still a long way away!

First steps on the Thames Path

Date: 1st January 2013
Route: Thames Path - Thames Barrier to Tower Bridge
Distance: 9 miles on Thames Path + 1 mile to and from path to stations

The start of a new year is always a good opportunity for setting some new walking challenges and the chance to test out some new routes. It's also usually the time of year when we are most motivated to dust off the cobwebs and walk off some of those Christmas calories!

Whilst we have walked various sections of the Thames Path over the course of the past few years, there are quite a few bits that we haven't walked, so when we received book vouchers for Christmas, the Cicerone Guide to the Thames Path, From the Sea to the Source, seemed like an obvious investment.

The path is 180 miles long in total, so it's a nice meaty distance to cover, and since the path runs alongside the Thames it's very easy to follow (the guidebook stayed in my bag for most of the day today). It's also a good walking surface (although we did encounter one big puddle today, as per the photo above, which we had to scramble up a muddy bank to avoid!). And of course, it's relatively flat, so not too strenuous.

The path officially begins at the Thames Barrier, which is a few minutes away from Charlton station (well served by trains from London Bridge). Whilst this section of the walk does go through a fair amount of industrial land, building sites and residential areas, it also passes a number of "sights", making a circuit around the O2 Arena (the building formerly known as the Millennium Dome), passing through Greenwich alongside the Royal Naval Academy and the restored Cutty Sark and finishing at Tower Bridge.

Along the way, the towers of Canary Wharf are a constant feature of the opposite bank for much of the route and there are quirkier sights to encounter, such as the colourful yarn-bombing on various railings, the Emirates-sponsored cable car across the river, the glass-topped buildings at either side of the foot tunnels under the river and the slightly odd statue of Peter The Great (accompanied by dwarf!), who lived in Deptford for a few months at the end of the 17th century.

Whilst circling around many riverside developments may feel a little repetitive at times, there is always something interesting around the corner, with plenty of reminders of the history of the working river. 9 miles down, 171 to go!