Thames Path

Coordinates: 51°40′N 1°15′W / 51.667°N 1.250°W / 51.667; -1.250
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Thames Path
Hampton Court, Windsor, Oxford, Lechlade, Cricklade
Hazardsflooding
National Trails
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The Thames Path is a

National Trail following the River Thames from one of its sources near Kemble in Gloucestershire to the Woolwich foot tunnel, south east London. It is about 185 miles (298 km) long.[1][2] A path was first proposed in 1948 but it only opened in 1996.[3][4]

In theory, the Thames Path's entire length can be walked, and a few parts can be cycled, but certain sections are closed for an indefinite period, including Temple Bridge at Hurley and Marsh Lock in Henley (see section below). Some parts of the Thames Path, particularly west of

flooding during the winter. The river is tidal downstream from Teddington Lock and the lower parts of these paths may be underwater if there is a particularly high tide, although the Thames Barrier
protects London from catastrophic flooding.

The Thames Path uses the river towpath between Inglesham and Putney and available paths elsewhere. Historically, towpath traffic crossed the river using many ferries,[5] but few of these crossings exist now and some diversion from the towpath is necessary.

Description and access to the river

The general aim of the path is to provide walkers with a pleasant route alongside the river. The way this is achieved naturally falls into three distinct areas, depending on the nature of the river in the area.

The unnavigable upper river

In the absence of a tow path, the Thames Path uses all available riverside

rights of way between the traditional source of the river in Trewsbury Mead and Inglesham
, but is unable to run alongside the river in several places.

Thames Head

The Thames Path starts beside the monument for the traditional

permissive path alongside the river at Upper Inglesham.[10]

Above Inglesham the river is not

weirs to control water levels, it is often shallow, weedy and swift but after heavy rain flooding of the riverside paths is common. Today the Environment Agency (the current successor to the Thames Conservancy) is the navigation authority responsible for the Thames between Cricklade and Teddington. The navigation towpath starts from Inglesham (just upstream of Lechlade), as does the ability to navigate the river for all but very small boats, although there were once weirs with flash locks to enable passage as far as Cricklade, and there is still a right of navigation up to Cricklade.[11] The navigation above Lechlade clearly must have been neglected after the Thames and Severn Canal provided an easier route by canal for barge traffic[12]
and not all of the river downstream from Cricklade has a footpath alongside.

The navigable river with locks and towpath

The Thames Path uses the existing Thames towpath between Inglesham and

meanders cut off by lock cuttings
, since towpaths were originally only intended to enable towing of barges on the navigation.

Thames and Severn Canal and River Coln joining the Thames with former canal warehouse to left and Round House behind it, covered in greenery

Origin of the towpath

The Thames has been used for navigation for a long time,

17 Geo. 3. c. 18).[12]

From the 1840s, the development of the railways and steam power gradually made redundant the need for horse-drawn barges on the non-tidal Thames, although people were still using the towpath to tow small pleasure boats in 1889.[17] The towpath route has not changed since then, apart from now following Shifford lock cut; however, over time the towpath ferries became obsolete and the last towpath ferry to stop running was the rope ferry at Bablock Hythe in the 1960s.[18]

Cliveden from the River Thames

Deviations

The main exception to towpath access to the navigation between Inglesham and Putney is a stretch of river where the former towpath was removed past

11 & 12 Vict. c. 53), also involving the building of Victoria and Albert bridges and the removal of Datchet Bridge.[19] This accounts for the Thames Path's diversion from the river at Datchet. There are two other short lengths of navigation which have no towpath: one between Marlow bridge and lock (which never had a towpath), and one past Whitchurch lock either side of The Swan public house in Pangbourne (where the towpath has been lost). At both these weirs, lengthy rope winches were required for barges to pass Marlow and Whitchurch in the days before steam power. It is also required to divert around Oxford Cruisers downstream of Pinkhill Lock, even though the towpath is still shown as a public right of way on Ordnance Survey maps.[20]
The remainder of the navigation between Inglesham and Putney has an existing towpath; however, river crossings are now missing at the sites of 15 former ferries and one former lock, so the Thames Path makes 11 other diversions from the remaining towpath because of the lack of a river crossing at their original locations. There is also a twelfth temporary diversion at Hammersmith Bridge, described below.

Walkers can visit the lengths of river navigation not on the Thames Path using the current towpath, except for two isolated sections of towpath not connected by any public path (or ferry) at either end. The first is a short section of path on the north bank opposite Purley-on-Thames; this is still shown on Ordnance Survey maps but is inaccessible except by boat, caused by the lack of two ferries formerly diverting around Purley Hall.[21] The second and furthest downstream is a particularly picturesque section of towpath (again shown on OS maps) within the National Trust grounds of Cliveden; here the lack of three ferries accounts for the Thames path's diversion from the river at Cookham.[22]

When Cookham Lock was built in 1830, Hedsor Water became a backwater and lost its towpath. Around 1822, Clifton and Old Windsor locks were built, with lock cuttings which cut across river meanders; here the towpath was rerouted along the lock cuttings and there is no public riverside access to these river meanders. However, some stretches of river bypassed by navigation cuttings still retain public footpath access: firstly at Desborough Island (formed by Desborough Cut); secondly, parts of older towpath accessible at Duxford (towpath now follows Shifford Lock cut); and lastly, the river meander at Culham. The Culham meander is accessible, even though only parts are designated as public footpath (towpath now follows Culham Lock cut) and there is also riverside public footpath along the ancient causeway past Sutton Pools.[23]

Temple Footbridge, built in 1989 for the Thames Path (currently closed)

Closed sections

Certain sections are closed indefinitely for reasons such as bridge failures. The closure between Shiplake and Henley involves a diversion of 2.7 miles (4.3km), taking about 1hr 15 minutes to walk.[24] The bridge at Hurley is also closed. Details of all closures are shown on the trail's interactive map.[25]

Changes to crossings

Historically, there have been replacements for towpath ferry crossings with bridges at Goring and Clifton Hampden and the path across the weir at Benson Lock (the towpath ferry was upstream).[26] In recent times, crossings have been created for the Thames Path; the Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry was restarted in 1986, Temple Footbridge near Hurley was built in 1989, a footpath was attached to Bourne End Railway Bridge in 1992 (the ferry was upstream),[27] and Bloomers Hole Footbridge was built in 2000. No other replacement river crossings have been created for lapsed ferries, so the Thames Path must divert away from the river and the towpath to cross the river elsewhere, leaving some sections of towpath not on the Thames path.

Penton Hook Lock, which has City of London arms on the original lock-keepers house

Locks

Many walkers visit the

locks on the River Thames and in summer some have facilities open for visitors. A few have small campsites. The locks at Cookham and Whitchurch are not on the Thames Path and require some effort to visit. Whitchurch Lock cutting was built through an island in the river and public access to the lock over the weir from Pangbourne or across the millstream at Whitchurch-on-Thames was closed in 1888 to avoid the loss of tolls on Whitchurch Bridge; as a consequence, Whitchurch is the only Thames lock that is inaccessible by foot – it is only accessible by boat.[28] Cookham Lock is still accessible although it is not on the Thames Path. The Thames divides into several streams here and the towpath does not connect up without ferries; access to this lock requires a 10-minute walk across Odney Common on Formosa Island and the Lock Island (incorporating the former Mill Eyot) to Sashes Island.[29] Marlow Lock
access requires a short walk through town back streets. All the other locks have obvious access from the Thames Path.

The lock islands at

Boulters Lock and Shepperton Lock can be visited, as can Penton Hook Island which is a meander cutoff formed when Penton Hook Lock
was built. Any public footpaths that cross or go along any of the other small islands formed by construction of the Thames locks only allow access to the path alone.

Lock building by the Thames Commissioners had improved the whole river navigation from Inglesham to the upper limit of the tidal reach at Staines by 1789. On the tidal Thames below Staines, six new locks were built by the City of London Corporation to improve the navigation between 1811 and 1815. The Thames Conservancy was established in 1857 to take over duties from the City of London because of falling revenue from boat traffic; it also took on the duties of the Thames Commissioners in 1866.[16] Provision for pleasure boating was now the main purpose,[17] and although the Thames Conservancy rebuilt many locks, upgrading some from flash locks to pound locks, and made navigation and towpath improvements, it only built one completely new lock on the non-tidal Thames, at Shifford in 1898.

The tidal river

There is a Thames Path on both sides of the river downstream of Teddington Lock, the southern path including the original towpath as far as Putney Bridge.

The Boat Race, viewed from Chiswick Bridge, looking at the crowds on the southern (Surrey) bank towpath

Because of the locks built by the City of London, the river is now tidal only downstream from Teddington Lock, although during spring tides flood warnings are sometimes issued upstream towards

Richmond Lock to improve the navigation by maintaining water level upstream to at least half-tide level. Today, the Port of London Authority is the navigation authority that manages the tidal river, including Richmond Lock and barrage. Wharfs and jetties are generally confined to the northern (Middlesex) bank between Richmond and Putney. This stretch of tideway (known as the Upper Rowing Code Area) has special navigation rules to accommodate the activities of a number of rowing clubs, and includes the course used for The Boat Race. Chiswick Eyot is on this section and is notable as being the only tidal island on the river
.

Since August 2020, the towpaths on both banks have been closed under Hammersmith Bridge because of cracks in the structure; walkers and cyclists must therefore divert from the river at the bridge until they reach the adjacent road (Castelnau on the south bank, Hammersmith Bridge Road on the north) and then cross the road at the nearest safe point before returning to the river.

Millennium Footbridge with St Paul's Cathedral
in the background

Historical records state that the towpath started at Putney.

watermen and passengers access to the tidal river.[31] Thames steamers became more common for transport on the tidal Thames from 1815 until the railways dominated public transport. Falling income from river traffic and disputes over the construction of Victoria Embankment because of Crown Estate ownership of the tidal riverbed[32]
led to the City of London's seceding management of their part of the river to the Thames Conservancy in 1857; and the section below Teddington was further passed on to the Port of London Authority in 1908. Construction of riverside buildings and structures often meant
docks, most of them downstream of Tower Bridge
.

In

strategic walking routes.[34] The Thames Path Cycle Route is a black-signposted route that follows the river between Putney Bridge in the west and Greenwich in the east. It mostly follows the Thames Path, but diverges in various sections, especially where the path follows a footpath-only route. It also links National Cycle Route 1 (east of London) with National Cycle Route 4 (west of London).[35]

Route

The route of the Thames Path can be divided into these sections:

  • Upper Inglesham because of the lack of a public path alongside the river until reaching the towpath at Lechlade (23 mi or 37 km); from Lechlade to Oxford there is only one significant diversion from the river, at Stanton Harcourt as there is now no ferry at Bablock Hythe.[36]
The Shepperton to Weybridge Ferry reopened 1986

Thames crossings

Bloomers Hole Footbridge, built in 2000 in commemoration of the Millennium for the Thames Path

The list below gives the points where the Thames Path crosses the river between Cricklade and Teddington. Above Cricklade, the Thames is a stream and in some places there may be no water except after rain. Below Teddington there are paths on both sides of the river until the Greenwich foot tunnel, after which the path is only on the south.

The list is in downstream order. The letter in brackets indicates whether the path downstream of that point takes the northern or southern bank (using north or south in reference to the river as a whole, rather than at that specific point).

Bridges and ferries are listed in full under

Crossings of the River Thames
. The river can be crossed at about a third of the locks, although some of these crossings are not part of the Thames Path.

References

  1. ^ "Thames Path". National Trails. Walk Unlimited. Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  2. ^ "Thames Path National Trail". The Long Distance Walkers Association. Archived from the original on 9 August 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  3. ^ "Thames Path". The Ramblers Association. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Thames Path". Transport for London. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  5. ^ Thacker, Fred S. (1968) [1920]. The Thames Highway: Volume II Locks and Weirs. David & Charles. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019 – via Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide.
  6. ^ "The Thames Path, Ewen and Somerford Keynes". The Cotswold Gateway. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Walks in and around Ashton Keynes". Ashton Keynes. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  8. ^ "Latton Basin". Latton Basin. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Cricklade to Lechlade". THames Path. Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  10. ^ "New route in place between Upper Inglesham and Inglesham". National Trails. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Cricklade". Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  12. ^ a b c Thacker, Fred S. (1914). The Thames Highway: Volume I General History. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019 – via Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide.
  13. ^ John Eade. "Limit of Navigation". Thames.me.uk. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  14. ^ "Inland Waterways association – River Thames". Waterways.org.uk. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  15. ^ Hall, Mr and Mrs S. C. (1859). "The Book of the Thames from its Rise to its Fall". Arthur Hall, Virtue and Co. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019 – via Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide.
  16. ^ a b "The River Thames — Its management past and present". Floating Down the River. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  17. ^ a b c Jerome, Jerome K. (1889). Three Men in a Boat.
  18. ^ "Bablock Hythe: Ferry could reopen". Thames Path. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Windsor castle: History". A History of the County of Berkshire. Vol. 3. Victoria County History. pp. 5–29. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021 – via British History Online.
  20. ^ "Oxford to Northmoor". Thames Path. Archived from the original on 26 August 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  21. ^ "New Route between Purley and Tilehurst". National Trails. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  22. ^ Pauling, Keith. "Cliveden". Thames Pathway. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  23. ^ "The Thames Path – a walk along the path from Culham Cut Lock to Wallingford". Thames Path. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  24. ^ https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/en_GB/short-routes/thames-path-marsh-lock-footbridge-closure-and-diversion/?trail=thames-path
  25. ^ "Trail Information". National Trails. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  26. ^ "Towpath ferry from Rivermead to upstream of Benson lock". Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  27. ^ "Spade Oak ferry". Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide. Archived from the original on 23 July 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Whitchurch Lock". Whitchurch Web. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  29. ^ "Cookham Lock and Weir". Thames Valley Guide. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  30. ^ Walton, A. (1834). A Tour on the Banks of the Thames from London to Oxford, in the Autumn of 1829. London: T. W. Hord. Archived from the original on 20 February 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019 – via Where Thames Smooth Waters Glide.
  31. ^ "Home page". The Company of Watermen and Lightermen. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  32. ^ "Around the Coast". Crown Estate. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  33. ^ Shenker, Jack (24 February 2015). "Privatised London: the Thames Path walk that resembles a prison corridor". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 8 July 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  34. ^ "Thames Path". Transport for London. Archived from the original on 14 July 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
  35. ^ "London Borough of Bexley : Thames Cycle Route". Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  36. ^ John Eade. "Bablock Hythe ferry". Thames.me.uk. Archived from the original on 13 October 2018. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  37. ^ Ferry Weir near Swift Ditch entrance http://thames.me.uk/s01525.htm Archived 19 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ towpath ferry upstream of Shillingford http://thames.me.uk/s01352.htm Archived 13 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  39. ^ Littlestoke ferry http://thames.me.uk/s01310.htm Archived 13 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  40. ^ Moulsford ferry http://thames.me.uk/s01290.htm Archived 13 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  41. ^ Gatehampton ferry (Basildon ferry) http://thames.me.uk/s01235.htm Archived 13 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  42. ^ Purley Hall ferries http://thames.me.uk/s01180.htm Archived 13 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  43. ^ Lashbrook ferry http://thames.me.uk/s01052.htm Archived 23 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  44. ^ Bolney ferry http://thames.me.uk/s01050.htm Archived 13 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  45. ^ Medmenham ferry http://thames.me.uk/s00862.htm Archived 13 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine
  46. ^ Aston ferry http://thames.me.uk/s00860.htm Archived 2 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  47. ^ Chalmore Lock http://thames.me.uk/s01320.htm Archived 23 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine
  48. ^ Cookham ferry; http://thames.me.uk/s00770.htm Archived 2 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine
  49. ISBN 978-1-84868-967-1
  50. ^ My Lady ferry (Cliveden ferry); http://thames.me.uk/s00748.htm Archived 15 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine

51°40′N 1°15′W / 51.667°N 1.250°W / 51.667; -1.250

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