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THE THAMES

walk the Thames Path
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Walk

THE THAMES

logo walk the thames

Walk

THE THAMES

logo walk the thames

Thames Path News Round-Up
March 3, 2023
Approaching Castle Eaton

We’ve had a busy two weeks taking bookings for the upcoming season which is now just a month away. May is looking very busy and accommodation is booking up fast. However, there’s one oddity: the first week of May is exceptionally quiet. Is everyone staying at home on May 6 to watch the Coronation?

Route News

We did a quick check on the path towards the source. Despite the flooding in January, the Path is now in an excellent condition considering the time of year. For a full list of problem spots that we are aware of, please refer to our route alerts page.

We were in Richmond lately and were able to visit the statue of Virginia Woolf who lived there for a while. Take a few minutes to sit alongside her and admire the view over the river.

Tower Bridge was raised last week to welcome HNoMS Nordkapp, a warship of the Norwegian Navy serving under NATO. She is now berthed next to HMS Belfast. You can see a clip of her arrival here.


Other diversions currently in place:

The weir at Benson Lock has been temporarily closed due to strong currents and debris creating a risk of damage. You will need to follow side roads through Crowmarsh Gifford. The route is well marked. The closure is likely to be in place until well into the spring.

Diversions remain in place around the closed boardwalk upstream from Marsh Lock, Henley. If walking downstream, there seems to be a sign missing: if you get to the fenced off boardwalk leading to Marsh Lock then you’ve missed the turn. There is a path leading to your left about 20 yards before the boardwalk. 

Virginia Woolf looking down the Thames

Webinars 

We are now halfway through our webinar season.  We had our first webinar on The Ridgeway last week which will be repeated on March 28. The next one is our Thames Path overview. Webinars are held every Tuesday at 8pm (GMT) and are completely free. However, you will need to register to be get the dial in details. The remaining schedule is below.

March 7 Thames Path overview (repeat)

March 14 Thames Path: Reading to Staines

March 21 Staines to Thames Barrier

March 28 Ridgeway overview (repeat)

All webinars are via Zoom and last for one hour. And you don’t need a Zoom account to join!

The beautiful Ridgeway, subject of our most recent webinar

Events

Plans are underway in Henley to turn the river at Marsh Meadow into a bathing area. There would be steps into the river and the section would be zoned off from boats by way of buoys. Not a bad way to end a walk to Henley. Marsh Meadow is found between the end of Marsh Lock boardwalk (presently closed) and the River & Rowing Museum. If they made the bathing area large enough perhaps we could swim past the boardwalk and avoid the detour!

Dorchester Abbey has a number of performances during spring. It starts with Grieg’s Piano Concerto and Rachmaninov’s Symphony No 2 both on March 11, featuring the Orchestra of St John’s. Elijah by Mendelssohn follows on March 18 performed by the Benson Choral Society. And finally Mozart’s Requiem is performed again by the Orchestra of St John’s, this time on April 7. Full details can be found here. 

Reading is hosting a walking festival between May 10 and 14. The festival will include local walks as well as a guided walk along the Thames Path as far as Goring. More details here.

Repeated:

A new exhibition has opened up at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Entitled Labyrinth, Knossos, Myth & Reality, the exhibition explores the myth (or reality?) of the labyrinth that contained the minotaur at Knossos on the island of Crete. The exhibition runs until 30 July.

The Stanley Spencer Gallery in Cookham has a winter exhibition running until 26 March entitled “Most Loved Works”, featuring paintings chosen by the volunteers. Presently the gallery is open from  Thursday to Sunday only and from 11am to 4.30 pm

The Globe Theatre has published its summer schedule which features A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Comedy of Errors, and As You Like It. For those unfamiliar with the Globe, this is a replica of what Shakespeare’s original theatre would have looked like and sits directly on the Thames Path between Westminster Bridge and Tower Bridge. More details can be found here.

The Gunpowder Plot, an “immersive experience” held at The Tower of London and running until at least September. This will transport you back in time to 1605 and the plot by Guy Fawkes to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Tickets are available as early as 11am so can be included within a walk.

The Tate is hosting an exhibition of work by the Rossetti family: Dante, Gabriel and Elisabeth. Readers may be aware that Dante Rossetti shared Kelmscott Manor with William Morris.

Outside the River and Rowing Museum, Henley
Map Resources

You may have noticed that our online shop has looked a little depleted lately. There’s a good reason for that. Previously Harper Collins produced an excellent 1:25,000 OS-based strip map of the Thames. It went out of print towards the end of the year as it was due to be replaced. Unfortunately the replacement turns out to be a miserly 1:250,000 which is of no use to anyone.

So a good substitute is the 1:25,000 booklet which is included in the Leigh Hatts guide published by Cicerone. Unfortunately that is also out of print awaiting updates, although is expected in mid-March so should soon be available.
Harper Collins’ new Thames Path map. Don’t expect to navigate using this!
Hospitality News

You may be interested to know that The Trout at Tadpole Bridge has recently changed hands. This former Cirrus Inn is now part of Butcombe Breweries, a relatively young west country brewer. Let’s hope they keep the high standards of the last owners. It does seem that all the bookings have successfully moved across. 
The Trout at Tadpole Bridge; under new ownership
 

And finally, we couldn’t keep from commenting on what has become one of the most talked about programs on television this year: Clarkson’s Farm Series 2. No matter what your views are of this “marmite” personality (some of his comments on “ramblers” are quite offensive), the issues covered are very real: badgers and bovine tuberculosis, crop choice, planning permissions, and trying to make farming pay. And if none of those are of interest, there’s always the views of the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside and its wildlife, shot not a million miles from the Thames Path. 

That’s all folks. See you on the trai!

March 2023
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