On Saturday, after more than 3 months of closure, we finally welcomed back our pubs, restaurants and hotels.
We have been contacting all our accommodation partners to check their individual re-opening dates. Around 90% are opening in July or, latest, August. Of those that are not re-opening, one or two are still refurbishing and haven’t committed to a date yet. The route-planner section of our website has been updated to show these details. We continue to chase the remaining few hotels and B&B’s for updates.
Fortunately none of the hotels we have spoken to have gone out of business. The closures are mostly small B&B’s, some of which are run by people who need to shield. We are sourcing new partners to replace those we have lost.
Many pubs, restaurants and hotels re-opened and these are too many to mention.
Today the National Trust announced the re-opening of its 125th garden and parkland. Whilst Bodnant Garden in North Wales might be far from the Thames, there are plenty others that are both open and nearby. These include Cliveden, Basildon Park and Ham House.
The National Gallery will re-open this Wednesday July 8. Built in 1824 and overlooking Trafalgar Square, this is a must-see for anyone with just the slightest interest in paintings. Completely free it houses works by all the great masters from Botticelli to Monet. The gallery is open daily and is free (although there are usually special exhibitions which require a fee).
The Historic Royal Palaces are also re-opening: The Tower of London is open from July 10 and Hampton Court Palace from July 17 (the gardens are already open).
And all Tate galleries will re-open on July 27 including two in London, both on the Thames Path: Tate Britain (left bank), and Tate Modern (right bank). They’re both absolutely free!
All of these sites can be found on our route planner maps.
Last week should have been Henley Royal Regatta. You can rewind the clock and watch the highlights from previous year’s races on You Tube. Even if rowing does not float your boat (sorry!) there are glorious views of Henley and the surrounding countryside.
Katie, from Look Up London, is a “Blue Badge Tourist Guide” and has posted a series of virtual tours on her website. Well worth a look.
At this time of year the Thames valley is ablaze with crops. There is nothing quite like the sight of wheat or barley blowing in the wind. Other important crops that can be easily spotted are rape, corn and beans. The pictures below were taken near the Thames between Wallingford and Goring.
Later this week our first walkers since the lock-down will set off. We wish them a wonderful walk.
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