This was the second week of ASLEF’s overtime ban meaning the earliest I could get to Staines station by rail with an off-peak ticket today would be midday. That was going to be no use to me, so as much as it broke my heart, I paid more than double the price to get there 2 hours earlier. It would have been still more had I not used Tickety Split (www.ticketysplit.co.uk) to identify how to break the trip down into 3 separate journeys and save money. How ridiculous is this that you have to go to so much effort to get the cheapest prices! All I can say is “Well done sites like Tickety Split!”.
So, after catching the 07:19 train from Huntingdon I reached the delightful Staines station at 09:45 – the final train was late of course!
Putting the hit to my pocket behind me I made my way back down to the Thames Path and very soon I was heading downstream towards Shepperton. It was a lovely morning. For the first mile of the walk the path is graveled, with flats and houses to the left and across the river, bigger houses, many with private moorings.
The river took a 90 degree bend to the left and very soon I reached Penton Hook Lock at Laleham. The lock here cuts off a really large meander of the river – almost a full circle. When dug, the lock cut created Penton Hook Island (in fact 3 islands). With weirs connecting the islands you are able to explore them all if you want; I did this a couple of years ago but I can’t say I was exactly overwhelmed.
After the lock, the path continued alongside a road imaginatively called Thames Side. Again, there were houses left and right but it was still quite pretty. Thames Side continued for 2 miles, passing under the M3 and eventually reaching Chertsey Lock. Just beyond the lock was the mighty handsome Chertsey Bridge and it was time to get the drone out. It’s a shame that the centre of Chertsey itself is more than a mile from the river – too far for me to investigate today.
The landscape changed after Chertsey Bridge with far fewer houses and a more rural feel but after another mile or so it was back to houses on both sides; very nice houses of course and no doubt very expensive with it.
I was approaching Shepperton Lock now but before the lock in the middle of the river was Pharaoh’s Island – a small island, only accessible by boat, on which 20+ properties have been built. Most of the houses have Egyptian names. The most expensive, Sphinx, last sold in 2021 for £2.1 million, so a little out of my price range.
At Shepperton Lock there are 2 options for continuing to Walton. For most of the year the fun way is to get on the ferry across to the Weybridge side of the river and then walk down the long and it has to be said, rather boring, Desborough Cut to Walton Bridge. When the Desborough Cut is flooded, walkers are forced to stay on the Shepperton side of the river and roughly follow the original course of the river to Walton Bridge, where they can cross the river. The Desborough Cut route costs £3 (up from £2.50 last year) and is 1.2 miles. The alternative route is free but is 2.4 miles.
By now the pain of paying full price for my train tickets had reduced a little and I forked out the £3 for the ferry. A couple of weeks earlier I’d paid £2 to cross the river from Benson Waterfront to Benson Lock and got a considerably longer ride! I had to resign myself to accepting I was having to pay London prices!! 🤣
After disembarking from the ferry, I continued along the cut in the direction of Walton Bridge. In previous years I’ve walked past a locked metal bridge leading onto an island and a derelict, quite creepy mansion. This is D’Oyly Carte Island, so called after Richard D’Oyly Carte. D’Oyly Carte was a producer who first brought Gilbert and Sullivan together. He also founded the Savoy Theatre, Royal English Opera House and built the Savoy Hotel. He bought the island and built a large house on it, named Eyot House. His intention was to make the house a secluded annex to his Savoy Hotel. However, he couldn’t get a drinks licence, so it remained as a private residence. The house is now Grade II listed.
When I walked the Thames Path last year, I noticed electricians feeding power cables alongside the bridge and onto the island, so I knew the latest owner was hopefully going to begin restoration of the house. This year I got a bit of a surprise as I saw people crossing the bridge and quite a few more waiting patiently by a new entrance gate onto the bridge. I asked the staff member standing at the gate what was going on. She informed me that in partnership with Café Benedict, the owners had in the last 2 weeks opened a new outdoor café on the island called “D’Oyly’s”. Judging by the length of the queue of waiting people I decided I didn't have time to stop today, so continued my walk; definitely somewhere to stop another time though.
The 6th incarnation of Walton Bridge is really handsome and is one of the newest bridges across the Thames. It opened in 2013.
Between Walton Bridge and Molesey it has to be said that the path is a bit ‘samey’ for about 3½ miles; it continues, sandwiched between tall trees whose branches often meet to form a canopy. Every now and again there is an opening to see the river. It also has a few good riverside pubs!
Sunbury Lock is about halfway along this section. It’s interesting in that there are 2 lock keeper’s cottages. The first one you come to is built on the site of the original lock and has been a private residence for a long time. Something I’d never noticed before is that there are actually 2 locks at Sunbury – one next to the other. The older lock is still hand operated. The weirs here are very popular with kayakers.
At Molesey the path opened up onto Hurst Park, a large open recreation space, very popular with families. In the middle of the river is Garrick's Ait (an ait is a small island). This was named after the actor David Garrick. It has 20 houses on it and can only be accessed by boat.
Between Molesey and Hampton Court Bridge is Tagg’s Island, home to some of the most expensive house boats along the Thames.
I reached Hampton Court Bridge just before 3 o’clock and crossed over the river towards Hampton Court Palace. It was a warm afternoon and definitely time for an ice cream. The fingerpost by the bridge confirmed I was 147 miles from the source of the river, Teddington Lock my target for today was 4½ miles away and Tower Bridge was a mere 29 miles downstream.
After passing the Palace my next target was Kingston. Whilst you can take the Thames Path that more or less hugs the river, there is a slightly more interesting (in my eyes) route and ‘Yes’ I admit is a little bit shorter, that takes you through Hampton Court Park AKA Home Park. I like going this way because if you’re lucky you get to see some of the many deer in the park. You also get free views of the Palace gardens and a walk along the The Long Water.
To take this detour, there is a gate alongside the Palace wall, about ½ mile past the Palace. It’s called the Jubilee Gate. It’s very heavy and may appear locked but it isn’t. You have to cross a couple of fairways of Hampton Court Palace Golf Club but then you’re free to walk where you like. As long as you have a reasonable sense of direction you eventually emerge from the park at the point the Thames Path reaches Kingston Bridge. On this occasion I got to see just one lone deer in the distance who'd got separated from the herd.
After crossing Kingston Bridge, the Thames Path continued up through a lovely 14 acre park called Canbury Gardens. There were loads of people out enjoying the fine weather. Before I knew it, I could see the weir gates of Teddington Lock in the distance. Depending on which way you’re going, Teddington Lock sees the start or end of the tidal Thames. I reached the lock at about 4:30 and my left foot decided I should end today’s walk here.
There are 2 footbridges here, separated by a small island ,that enable you to cross from the Ham side to the Teddington side of the river. Teddington railway station is about ¾ mile from the lock. However, there’s a much closer bus stop about 200 yards away and feeling lazy, I waited here for a bus. A few minutes later the R68 turned up and this took me to Richmond station. As Richmond has more trains than Teddington to and from Central London, I decided that for my next stage, I would get back to Teddington Lock using this same method. A top tip if you don't want to walk from the station to the lock!
With another 17 miles under my belt I remained confident that I’d be able to reach the Isle of Grain in 5 more stages.
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