Our weekly Thames Path news round-up starts with some positive announcements as the river appears to be coming back to life:
As the lockdown starts to ease, we are sadly witnessing more and more abuse of the rules with large groups gathering for barbecues leaving litter. We have seen this at Mapledurham, where we are based. And the Cotswold Water Park has had to close Neigh Bridge Country Park because of Covid-19 breaches. The Thames Path remains open. Please walk responsibly.
The Thames Path will be diverted away from the river where it passes under the M4 (near Dorney) due to roadworks. This will be from 8pm on June 5 to 6am on June 8. The diversion will follow a stretch of the Jubilee River which means you will not see Monkey Island.
Teddington footbridge has now re-opened. The Thames Path lies on both sides of the river here so walkers can make a nice circular walk making use of the bridge.
The Greenwich tunnel linking Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs is now open. However, some sections of the Thames Path remain closed as the path is too narrow for 2m social distancing. How about a one-way system?
The William Morris Society has launched a virtual exhibition of Morris’s diverse interests and activities: textile and wallpaper design, ceramics, furniture, printing and socialism. William Morris’s connections with the Thames stem form Kelmscott Manor, upstream from Oxford, where he lived for a number of years.
Thames Estuary Partnership has a virtual journey down the tidal Thames. It starts at Tower Bridge and stretches past the Thames Barrier and well into the estuary. There is also a podcast by renowned naturalist Chris Baines.
The Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham has published a series of black and white prints that you can colour in.
We are still anxiously awaiting confirmation and details that hotels can re-open. We anticipate this will be from July, just one month away. If you want to make a provisional booking for the time being, simply create your itinerary and email us. Remember, you need to register to save an itinerary.
A provisional booking means that no deposit is payable. However, we may not be able to fully reserve certain accommodations (those that require deposits) and so these may be subject to change. And provisional bookings must become firm bookings once the easing of lockdown restrictions on accommodation has been announced. The benefit of a provisional booking is that you secure your place in the queue!
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