Jubilee Weekend in London

On Friday evening I took a train eastbound from Bristol, whilst Steve took a train westbound from Canterbury and we eventually met up with Richard at Waterloo Station in London ready for our walk through our Capital City.
Richard had worked out a route that would take us west, from where he lives in Earlsfield, to meet up with the Thames and then we would walk back along the river. The ordnance survey map of London was understandably a mass of grey with a blue line snaking it's way across the middle of it. However there were several pockets of green along his chosen route which promised a varied days walking.

Pedestrian crossing Wimbledon style

At 7.30 in the morning, after some great bacon sandwiches, we set off under grey cloudy skies with light drizzle falling, which actually made for good walking conditions after the heat of the last few weeks.

Initially our route took us along the streets through Earlsfield and then into the leafier area of Wimbledon where we admired the large, palatial, luxury homes. Even the pedestrian crossings indicate a different style of life in the area!

Wimbledon Common

After passing close to the All England Tennis Club we came to Wimbledon Common which we crossed with no sightings of the elusive Wombles ( I believe that they may be nocturnal!).


Deer in Richmond Park



After crossing the busy A3 we were now in Richmond Park. This is the largest of the eight Royal Parks in London, covering about 2500acres. It is home to wild deer and we were lucky enough to see some lying in the bracken keeping a watchful eye on us. You wouldn't even realise you were in the heart of a major city.

When we emerged from the other side of the park we were actually in Richmond and had so far covered 8miles (13km) so we made a quick stop in a cafe to treat ourselves to a fruit smoothie and a cake each.

By now we had reached the Thames and were greeted with views across the river towards Twickenham Rugby Stadium and the countryside beyond. Apparently, on a really clear day you can see Windsor Castle on the horizon.
At Richmond Bridge we were pleased to stumble across the Queens Royal Barge which was being prepared for the Royal Jubilee Pageant due to take place with 1000 boats on the Thames the next day.


The Royal Barge



The Royal Barge





We followed the Thames River path along its southern shore through Kew, Barnes and on into Putney. The path is extremely popular with joggers, cyclists, walkers and people just out for a stroll & it certainly was today. We passed lots of boat houses, each belonging to a different rowing club. This is a very busy section of the Thames for this sport and everyone was clearly building up for a big weekend on the water for the Jubilee. In fact many of the 1000 assorted boats that had travelled here for the Jubilee Pageant were mustering on the river ready for the event.


Rowing Boats on the Thames

After a quick visit to Waitrose in Putney to buy some lunch, we sat in a park to eat it before continuing along the river. The path by now was normal urban pavement and we passed apartment block after apartment block. Many of them had union flags hanging from their balconies or bunting flying from the lamposts ready for the weekends celebrations. London was certainly gearing up for the party. Earlier we had seen many streets with flags and bunting stretched across them in readiness for street parties. Lets hope the weather would be OK for them.

Eventually the time came to turn back inland and we walked across Wandsworth Common to find ourselves back in Earlsfield with a total of exactly 23miles (37km) on the RunKeeper App on my phone with an average pace of 17.38mins/mile

No significant injuries were suffered apart from Steve getting a small blister from his new boots and the blister I still had from a few weeks back was a little uncomfortable later on in the walk. Overall we all felt the benefit of our previous walks as aching legs weren't an issue. Great news, maybe we are actually getting fitter after all. Still a long way to go though and time is ticking on!
Neil

Swan & Cygnets, Richmond Park

 

Our Route