This walk starts at Richmond Bridge on the south bank of the river. It follows the river down to Teddington and on to Kingston-upon-Thames where it crosses to the north bank at Kingston Bridge. From there it follows the river to Hampton Court where it crosses back to the south bank at Hampton Court Bridge. After Hampton it continues to follow the river down to Walton-on-Thames where it ends at Walton Bridge. The official distance covered is 12.2 miles.

 

Sunday 8th May was a cracking day with unbroken warm sunshine for most of the day. After a couple of days since my last walk, I was raring to go again. Starting from Richmond Bridge I took an immediate detour to walk up Richmond Hill to admire the protected view of the river from the viewing point. With all the trees in leaf, it’s was a view well worth the climb.

 

Returning to the Thames Path I continued towards Teddington Lock, passing Ham House on my left and Marble Hill across the river to my right, with Hammerton’s Ferry transporting passengers between the two. On a sunny, warm Sunday, it was noticeable just how many people were out enjoying the river and scenery - walking, running, cycling, sailing and rowing. It was great to see a number of pleasure boats full of people enjoying themselves. I continued down to Teddington Lock and then down to Kingston where I crossed Kingston Bridge and headed towards Hampton Court.

 

Shortly before reaching Hampton Court Palace there is a gate that takes you into Hampton Court Park I took this small detour just in case I was lucky enough to see any of the deer grazing. Well, my luck was in and there were loads of deer who were quite happy for me to snap away with my camera. You can’t get into Hampton Court Palace from where I was, so I retraced my steps back to the Thames Path.

 

At Hampton Court Bridge I stopped for an ice cream, then crossed over the bridge and continued towards East Molesey and Hurst Park. At East Molesey Cricket Club, which is right by the side of the Thames Path, a match was in progress; how quintessentially English I thought! Just before Sunbury Lock I noticed a sign that I’m sure I’d never noticed before; it was a sign for Sunbury Ferry. Sure enough, when I got home and Googled it, I learned that this was a community run service across the river that opened in July 2021 and operates weekend and Bank Holidays between Easter and mid-October. This explained why I’d not seen the sign before since the last time I walked here was in April 2021. Once again it shows that there is always something new to see when you walk the Thames Path!

 

At The Anglers of Walton, knowing I was so close to the end of my walk, I felt it only right that I should stop for a pint. It was sheer bliss, sitting right by the river in the sunshine, thinking what a fabulous day today had been. Continuing, I soon reached Walton Bridge, crossed it and waited for the bus to Walton railway station. This is a really lovely walk!

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