The Top Floor Flat

You might be surprised at how difficult it is to find non-city walks easily accessible from London.

Saturday morning I awoke with a irresistible desire to go on a long walk that didn’t involve cross walks and tourist-dodging and so spent the first few hours of my day Googling in the hopes that I would find something that didn’t requite and extended train ride, camping gear or a car. Meanwhile, I was getting progressively frustrated, sitting inside, on the computer, when all I really wanted was some outside time. Finally, after ruling out Kent, Oxfordshire and Wales as inaccessible without a bit more planning, I packed a backpack, laced up my trainers and left the flat heading southwest towards the river.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered a shaded, wooded dirt path along the south bank of the Thames that, despite my rapid pace, continued to stretch out before me into the sunny morning. Feeling increasingly better with each step, I decided to follow the path until I was too tired to go on or something interesting stopped me on my way.

At the time I had no idea I had found the Thames Path, a 184 mile route along the Thames. Of course I was familiar with London’s Southbank and the popular walk passing the London Eye, Houses of Parliament and famous Tower Bridge, but didn’t know that, once the path hits Putney in West London, it becomes a dirt and gravel pedestrian road that winds along the rive through the outskirts of the city towards Windsor, Oxford and beyond. The Thames Path website recommends fourteen days to complete the whole route, with suggested accommodation or camping sites along the way, and promises to send anyone who completes the trip a badge and certificate.

Of course at the time, I was just happy to be getting away from the busy city centre. It wasn’t quite a walk in the woods – the Thames Path wasn’t exactly crowded but pedestrians and bicyclists were also taking advantage of the nice weather – but it was a great deal better than trying to take a walk through the busy streets of Soho. At two points, near the Barnes Bridge and the Kew Bridge, the path merged with the main road and just past the Kew Bridge, the path passed alongside a very unpleasant-smelling waste management facility but aside from those minor inconveniences, it was a comfortable and direct route out of London.

Despite my intention to keep walking west for the rest of the day, I had barely made it six miles before discovering something interesting enough to distract me from the Thames Path – the world famous Kew Gardens. Although I decided to spend the remainder of my day walking around the Gardens, I was thrilled to have found a non-city walk accessible from London with no transport needed. I look forward to exploring more of the Thames path, hopefully doing a weekend walk into Oxfordshire while the weather is still nice.

For more information about the Thames Path, or to plan a trip yourself, visit the Thames Path website.