Day 6: Kingston - Shepperton

Yet another beautiful day (I do pick them well!) but thankfully much cooler – the heat wave is now a distant memory. The cooler temperature made the walk go much quicker – I must have been able to maintain a faster average walking speed. Kingston on an early Sunday morning was like a ghost town. Very few people about, mainly because the shops weren’t open. At Kingston the Thames Path cross over to the north bank, or as it is at this point, the west bank. There’s no choice now because since Teddington Lock the path only runs on one bank, although on occasions it does switch over.

We’re now on a pleasant riverside walk that will run around a grand curve in the river leading us around the edge of Hampton Court Park. Not that you can see much of it to begin with because of large trees, hedges and some unsightly fencing. But once your well round the bend, past Raven Ait the bank opens up and you can eventually see through into the park, much of which is used as a golf course.

There are also opportunities to nip into the park at various points along the riverside walk (or as it is known here the Barge Walk). Then suddenly you find yourself right alongside the gardens and the Palace itself. Some of the gardens are to be found high up, over a very tall wall. Access to them requires a ticket during the summer months. Then you get a better view of the side of the Palace and further formal gardens through the iron railings and wonderfully decorated gold leaf gates. I got a photo of a golden thistle, but alas its not possible to get a good shot of the Palace due to the arrangement of double railings at this point.

The path weaves past the Banqueting House (currently undergoing conservation work and wrapped in scaffolding) and brings you to the front of the Palace and the famous front entrance. I didn’t bother venturing inside, but I was great to see this in the flesh for the first time (for a brief moment I felt a bit of a tourist, which in a way I was).

The Thames Path now heads back across the river via Hampton Court Bridge. From here is passes the riverside houses of East and West Moseley. Shortly I reach a stretch of river with lots of house boats on the opposite bank. The one pictured was pretty much the last and was away from the other, but seemed to be associated with an even grander house.

There are some great views to be had here as you start walking through the riverside Hurst Park. Some notable buildings on the north bank include a small domed garden folly, Hampton Church and the buildings of Port Hampton, a compact boatyard. But the view suddenly stop and I’m reminded of the walk from Putney to Barnes where the path felt very claustrophobic. Thankfully this stretch is not as long, but the reason once again is the presence of reservoirs to the south. The path is effectively on a strip of land between these reservoirs and the river. Unfortunately they are behind on old Victorian brick wall and an higher embankment. One interesting feature along here was an old granite City of London coal post. The shield engraved into the stone is that of the City and it is part of an extensive network of other coal and wine posts scattered around the edge of Greater London. They marked the point where duty on either coal and/or wine became payable if it was being transported to the City of London. There are different designs (most are iron) and they were placed in locations where a road, canal or in this case the river first entered the Metropolitan Police District. It was all governed by the 1861 Local Coal and Wine Continuance Act. Apparently this one is something of a rarity in this neck of the woods and was originally erected in at New Haw Lock following the passing of the earlier 1851 Act, then moved to this position just outside Walton-on-Thames in 1861.

Shortly after the coal post we are at another lock system – Sudbury Lock on this occasion. The locks are now becoming a regular feature along the walk and do help break up the journey. The little cafes at some have looked very inviting, and I must make a point of visiting some of them along the route. Close by Sudbury Lock another, more modern, reminder of the City of London outside a small cottage. Two old City litter bins being used as plant tubs.

We’re now on the edge of Walton and there are more moderately sized houses now on both sides of the river. Just around the bend is Walton Bridge, a rather rickety looking structure. There are plans afoot for something new here, but I'll talk about that when I get round to writing the bridge post later.

At this point I now have a choice – either cross the river and take a route away from the Thames through to Shepperton, or follow the southern bank along a straight channel called The Cut. The reason for this is because the river ahead splits up into many different channels, both natural and man-made. The Cut is man-made, an attempt to improve the flow of water in this part of the Thames. The main channel twists and turns to the north, and the official Thames Path book recommends a stroll along the river side path on Desborough Island. But it is longer and to be honest I can’t be bothered today, so I push onto the other end of the island and approach the Weybridge-Shepperton ferry service. Sometimes the ferry doesn’t run so you do need to use the northern route from Walton, but today it was, and a pleasant short cross over the river it was too. Here the path continues westwards towards Staines, but for me it homeward bound and a stroll up through the village of Old Shepperton, back towards the train station.