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"The one exception was a brief stint walking around the South Bank, which was full of bland office spaces with little ground-floor retail or neighborhoods" As
by flurdy 8y ago
"The one exception was a brief stint walking around the South Bank, which was full of bland office spaces with little ground-floor retail or neighborhoods"
As indicated in her update elsewhere in her notes, the best waterfront bank in London is the South Bank, and the best way to see the South Bank is to walk along the actual waterfront bank, i.e. along the river.
The northern side of the river is a mess of blocked off stretches and vehicle roads. Whilst the South Bank is a lovely continuous pedestrian stretch with plenty of food places and small parks along it.
I frequently walk from Waterloo station along the bank to either Millennium Bridge, or onwards all the way to the Borough Market by London Bridge. Lovely stretch of the river.
There are some other nice parts of the South Bank, and I can see on her map she walked through the Cut, but I agree apart from the actual waterfront bank the rest is mostly dire.
- Brakenshire 8y agoThat’s an easy route to take for tourists, it’s what three miles from London Bridge to the Eye, and along the way there’s Southwark Cathedral, the Golden Hind, Borough Market, Tate Modern, the Globe, the National Theatre, Heyward Gallery, Festival Hall, and the British Film Institute. I think planners have put a lot of emphasis on getting public rights of way running along the rest of the Thames, but maybe at the cost of real public spaces for sitting and enjoying yourself.
- rwmj 8y agoThe Thames Path is another beautiful way to see the Thames, albeit to the west of London rather than in London itself. https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/thames-path https://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/thames-path Edit: Apparently TfL thinks the Thames Path continues in London: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/thames-path https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/walking/thames-path
- scatters 8y agoThe Thames Path runs from the Thames Barrier (London's flood protection barrier, a few miles downstream from the centre but still within the city proper) to Thames Head, the (traditional) source of the river in the Cotswolds. Through much of London it's actually two paths, one on either bank.
- flr03 8y agoHammersmith has a lovely path along the Thames, with pubs and restaurants. It is truly great, especially in summer. Definitely not the most touristy area but it's a gem for locals like me.
- phillc73 8y agoFrom Putney all the way to Richmond is my favourite part of the Thames Path, within London.[1][2] Try to avoid a Spring tide! [1] https://www.thames-path.org.uk/thames_putney_richmond.html https://www.thames-path.org.uk/thames_putney_richmond.html [2] http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/RoutesLinksWalks/putney-to-richmond-river-walk-walking-route http://www.gps-routes.co.uk/routes/home.nsf/RoutesLinksWalks...
- darrenf 8y agoSurbiton to Richmond gets my vote. It's peaceful and beautiful and one time I did it Gloriana just happened to be going past. https://spark.adobe.com/page/LYVR3/ https://spark.adobe.com/page/LYVR3/ Edit: actually, Hampton Court to Richmond would get my vote. I have walked or run the path between Kingston and Hampton Court bridges more times than I care to count, and feel very lucky to live around there.
- phillc73 8y agoI lived in Twickenham for many years. Eel Pie Island to Richmond Bridge is also one I've done more times than I can remember, usually involving stops at multiple pubs along the way.
- shrikant 8y agoI'd run between Putney and Twickenham for my marathon training solely because the incredible beauty would make the pain and loneliness so much more bearable. Also great as a cycling path - Putney to Hampton Court Palace and back!
- Zenst 8y ago
- kmonsen 8y agoI walked the Thames path (in stages) from the barriers to Windsor. Super strongly recommended.
- _kyran 8y agoMight just leave this here for others to read a bit more about South Bank and the risk it faces: http://www.llsb.com/theproject/ http://www.llsb.com/theproject/
- auxbuss 8y agoWhile walking along the Thames, you can also partake in mudlarking (i.e. scavenging in the river mud for objects.) Ancient things are always turning up. Here's the twitter account of the London Mudlark community: https://twitter.com/LondonMudlark https://twitter.com/LondonMudlark Rules and regs: https://www.pla.co.uk/Environment/Thames-foreshore-access-including-metal-detecting-searching-and-digging https://www.pla.co.uk/Environment/Thames-foreshore-access-in...
- pasbesoin 8y agoEven decades ago, I recall from memory a gorgeous nighttime view of parliament, lit up in gold-ish tones, with an emerald green lighting the bridge underside in the intermediate foreground. I'm pretty sure I have a couple of slides of it, somewhere... When I see pictures and video now, I wonder how much the view behind me would have changed. Walking London was a cornucopia of experiences, from being treated by an erstwhile stranger to a great dinner on the backside of Chinatown, to being scammed out of 20 pounds -- and getting off lucky it was only that much. (After a cold winter in Germany, it was a bit like being let out of the pen -- and into an abnormally gorgeous week of April good weather. Although, in reality, my German friends expressed a closeness, and -- I can actually use the word -- Gemuetlichkeit, that a frenetic London could not entirely substitute.) -- P.S. This was back when, IIRC, the well-known book had rising to "London on £15 a Day". Or maybe it was £10 -- that sounds right. Anyway, £20 was substantially more than an inexpensive dinner -- or even shared lodging with an English breakfast. Ah, well -- lesson learned, and without physical injury.