RRS Sir David Attenborough, known to many as Boaty McBoatface, was in Greenwich this week ready for Ice Worlds Festival. This research ship is designed to carry out missions in the Arctic and Antarctic. This shot was taken by Carolyn who was lucky enough to finish her Thames Path walk on the day the boat passed through the Thames Barrier.
Despite the increasingly wet weather, we’ve had no reports of any problems with the Path. If you are on the Path and you find any issues, do email us. Or, better still, join our Facebook Group and tell us there.
If walking downstream this summer from Clifton Hampden, you will have noticed some serious excavation works close to the river. This is the River of Life II project which is building backwater channels and ponds for wildlife. The project is run by Earth Trust who have released a very helpful video of their work including some great aerial footage of the Thames and surrounds.
You may recall we recently reported on a pillbox that had been painted, just a little further downstream from Benson as you approach Wallingford. We were able to get to see this feature this week and it really is quite spectacular. See photo below.
On November 8-19, the Path will be closed between Leg O’Mutton Nature Reserve and Hammersmith Bridge at Barnes due to felling of dangerous trees. You will need to follow Lonsdale Road which will take you to The Bridge Hotel and then Castelnau to Hammersmith Bridge. Alternatively choose the left bank option.
We’ve started making some changes to accommodation on our route planner. The Red Lion at Cricklade has moved from bronze to silver status. The gold, silver and bronze statuses reflect the price of accommodation and not necessarily the service – although in the case of the Red Lion it is richly deserved. We’ve also added Mollie’s Diner (bronze) which sits about 2 miles from Tadpole Bridge, thus providing a more affordable alternative to the Trout; and the Ethos Hotel in Oxford (silver).
A new exhibition at the Stanley Spencer Gallery is opening on November 4 entitled “Mind and Mortality, Stanley Spencer’s Final Portraits”. It focuses on some of his work as the artist approached the end of his life in 1959.
As reported previously:
The Museum of London Docklands, part of the Museum of London, has a new exhibition entitled London: Port City, exploring how the port shaped the city, its people, places and language. The exhibition is free and runs until May 2022. The museum can be found close to Canary Wharf on the left bank of the Thames.
Goring Gap Wildlife are hosting a series of owl photography workshops throughout November and December. The workshops are held in a private garden near Didcot, Oxfordshire and feature Barn, Tawny, Long-Earred and Little Owls.
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.
And finally…
You may have seen on the news the journey of Little Amal, the giant puppet walking across Europe raising awareness . Well, this week she arrived in Oxford where she met up with Alice in Wonderland. Watch the footage of their meeting at the Botanic Gardens. Alice was created in the mind of Lewis Carrol just a few miles upstream of Oxford at Wolvercote whilst picknicking on the Thames.
We’re unlikely to see you on the trail this week as we are away at the moment in the Wye Valley, a part of the country we’ve never explored.
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