As we approach the middle of October, the walkers on the Path have started to dwindle. Despite this, we had some long days last week as we supported a pair that completed the Thames Path Extension. How different the landscape looks around Dartford!
Note that we are no longer taking bookings beyond October 31. We will start again in April (exact date to be determined) but we will be available over the winter to take bookings for next year. Hotels are starting to book up already so, if you are planning something for 2022, you might want to get in early.
It’s been an exceptionally warm and dry October so far and, despite some torrential rain just over a week ago, the Path remains firm underneath. We visited the section around Water Hay this morning and there is no risk of flooding – although the diggers are back out so presumably more path improvements underway.
The Semi-State rooms at Windsor Castle are now open for the winter. The Semi-State Rooms are the private apartments created for George IV. They will remain open until the spring
Tickets for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show are on sale from next Monday (October 18). It will be held from May 24-28. Also on sale will be the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. taking place from July 4-9
Channel 5 have resumed showing Tony Robinson’s 3rd series of the Thames. Episodes 1-4 were broadcast in January. Episodes 5-7 are now available on catch-up. The latest episode features Hampton Court Palace, Eel Pie Island and St John’s church at Inglesham.
As reported previously:
Oakley Court Hotel is hosting a Film and Memorabilia Fair on October 31. The hotel is found next to Bray Studios on the Thames and was host to many horror films.
Marble Hill will host an online talk by London Luminaries on November 11 at 7.30pm.
For a list of scheduled events and festivals, see our events page.
Hospitality
The hospitality staffing crisis seems to be getting worse. The lovely Plough at Kelmscott is now closed not just on Mondays but also Tuesdays! As there is nowhere else to eat in the village it’s best avoided on those days.
Hotel prices next year seem to be quite unstable at the moment. One or two favourites have increased their prices significantly. We are also seeing a number of hotels insist on 2 night minimum stays over weekends which, unless planning a rest day, is not particularly helpful for walkers.
Arts and Architecture
Sunday marked the 140th anniversary of the opening of the Savoy Theatre in London. The production that night was Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience, a parody on the aesthetic movement which included Oscar Wilde who also has associations with the Thames. It was the first theatre to use electric lighting.
The Savoy owner, Richard D’Oyly Carte, owned a mansion on the Thames just past the Shepperton Ferry, now known as D’Oyly Carte Island.
A Closer Look: Around Runnymede
It’s tempting at times to keep your head down and focus on getting to your destination. But walking through Runnymede without visiting the sites would really be a shame. Here we set out what Runnymede has to offer.
After passing the boats of Old Windsor the Thames Path enters the open fields of Runnymede hugging the river. The first site to see is the National Trust Visitors Centre, which straddles the busy A308 a few yards from the river and the Path. Whilst the visitors centre may be unremarkable, the pair of urns next to the centre are definitely worth a closer look. They were designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens who also designed India Gate in New Delhi and the Cenotaph in Whitehall.
From the visitors centre a path leads through the meadow to The Jurors. This comprises 12 bronze chairs decorated with symbols of past and present struggles for freedom, equality and the rule of law. This is a relatively new addition to the Runnymede scene having been commissioned in 2015.
Edwin Lutyens Urns
The Jurors, Runnymede
Within a few minutes downstream (we are now walking about 400 yards parallel to the river) we see a sign pointing to the John F Kennedy Memorial. Dedicated in 1965, two years after his death, it is reached via a flight of 50 steps, each step representing one of the states. The acre of land surrounding the memorial was given as a gift to the American people.
The inscription reads “Let every Nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend or oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.”
The Magna Carta Memorial was unveiled in 1957 and was created by the American Bar Association. Its inscription reads “To commemorate Magna Carta, symbol of Freedom Under Law”
JFK Memorial, Runnymede
Magna Carta Memorial, Runnymede
Before we go any further let’s pause and ask ourselves what all the fuss is about.
Magna Carta was a bill of rights signed in 1215 by King John to assuage the anger of his barons who were threatening to rebel. The document contained 63 clauses, mostly concerning the regulation of feudal rights. The most significant clauses today are 39 and 40:
“No free man shall be seized, imprisoned, dispossessed, outlawed, exiled or ruined in any way, nor in any way proceeded against, except by the lawful judgement of his peers and the law of the land.”
“To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice.”
It was the foundation stone of the laws we have today and also for many countries overseas, particularly in the US where if sculpted the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
The final memorial, aside from the Air Force Memorial which is on top of the hill and a little out of the way (unless following our suggested detour) is a relatively new one and is labelled “Writ in Water”. This flat round building, which seems at odds with its surrounds, actually provides a beautiful interior space where water, sky and light meet. It’s a perfect place and space for reflection and contemplation.
The memorials are conveniently laid out in a sequence of less than a mile, all on a parallel line to the river. Conveniently a footpath leads to the left through the fields back to the Thames Path. You are never more than 0.2 miles from the Path which means that the detour to these memorials is less than a half mile. And, as the Path runs a gauntlet between the river and the A308, this is a much quieter route. All things considered, it would be a shame not to visit these.
That’s all folks. See you on the trail!
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