Graham Pearcey

The route:

• N.B. ferry (£1) operates from 10am to 6pm or dusk if earlier, except in lightning: late January - February, weekends only; March - October, Friday - Wednesday; November - early January, closed.
• Park at The Coach and Horses, 8 Kew Green, TW9 3BH. (Free unrestricted parking around the centre of Kew Green, and in and off Priory Road.) Food is served all afternoon until 10:30 PM Mon-Sat and 10:00 PM Sun.
• From The Coach and Horses, follow Kew Bridge Road across the green and, as it passes between the Caxton building and the ASK building, ensure you are on the left-hand pavement. Cross the river via Kew Bridge then turn left down a staircase to reach the towpath on the far side of the Thames, turning right to proceed upstream. After passing houseboats, your route continues riverside of flats, then descends a ramp and ascends steps to reach High Street opposite the Musical Museum.
• Turn left on High Street but almost immediately return to the riverside via Watermans Park and continue riverside of the Arts Centre before a gate (designated “Fire Assembly Point”) returns you via more steps to High Street. Turn left. After passing a parade of shops on the opposite side of the street, turn left into Goat Wharf and right at the river. After the Pappadums restaurant on Ferry Quays, turn left to continue past luxury apartments along the river until being forced to return to High Street for a third and final time.
• Turn left on High Street. After just one block, turn left again down Dock Road to pass the dock and reach the picturesque Grand Union Canal. The Thames Path follows the left bank of the canal for a short distance, and then crosses a footbridge to continue on the right bank. Immediately after passing under a railway arch, double back left onto a slightly obscure path that twists and turns with the canal until it ascends to London Road.
• Turn left. After passing two pubs and a newsagent, turn left again to follow the pedestrian route all the way to Syon Park. Maintain direction at the car park. Alongside the visitor centre, bear left and follow the gravel footpath to the exit gateway from the park. Turn left and pass in front of Isleworth Parish Church (All Saints) before continuing a short distance along the road and reaching a small bridge. Immediately after the bridge take the path on the left (unmarked) that continues along the river. One block beyond the Town Wharf pub, at the “no through route” sign, turn right. Before reaching The Castle pub, turn left into Richmond Road. Just after the small bridge, turn left into Railshead Road to reach a riverside park. Pass the decorative Richmond Lock footbridge, Twickenham Bridge and a railway bridge; then proceed along Ducks Walk to reach Richmond Bridge.
• Here turn left, as though to cross the river, but half way up the slope carefully cross the road in order to head down steep and narrow steps and continue upstream along the towpath. After passing luxury flats, an old house, Cambridge Park (opposite a small island midstream) and part of the Marble Hill grounds, look carefully for a slightly obscure entrance gate, with a sign indicating Marble Hill House. Enter the gate and proceed along the main path, passing a black walnut tree (reputedly one of the largest in the country) on your right and Lady Suffolk’s Grotto on your left. Continue on the main path. Take the second path on the left (unmarked) to pass in front of Marble Hill House and an ice-house on your left and the former Coach House (sometimes open as a café) on your right before emerging onto a lane opposite Park Cottage and The Garden Cottage. Turn left and beware cyclists. When you arrive back at the towpath, turn left and in a short distance reach Hammerton’s Ferry. Take the ferry back to the south side of the Thames.
• On disembarking the ferry, turn left to follow the towpath back to Richmond Bridge - a walk of about 1.25 miles. Along the way the former Royal Star and Garter Home appears on your right, perched high on Richmond Hill.
• From Richmond Bridge, continue along the towpath, passing the railway bridge and Twickenham Bridge that you earlier passed on the other side of the river. (Just after Twickenham Bridge, you cross the meridian line and note a sign inviting you to spot the King’s Observatory.) Pass Richmond Lock footbridge on your left, the Old Deer Park on your right (this part of the Park is now the Royal Mid-Surrey Golf Club), and later look for Syon House on the north bank. About a mile after this, Kew Palace, in the Botanical Gardens, comes into view on your right. The path along this route is shared with cyclists, so again beware. After passing the backs of various properties, you reach Kew Bridge. Turn right after the arch to reach the Caxton building, then retrace your steps to The Coach and Horses pub.

This route was last walked on 22 August 2008, and the directions were accurate then. Please e-mail me if you find any errors, if you would like a copy in Word format, or if you would prefer a version that starts and ends at Kew Bridge tube station.

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