It's hard to think of a nicer way to spend a sunny Sunday than with a walk along a section of the Thames Path. The full Path goes for 180 miles along the banks of the Thames, starting from the Thames Barrier out past Greenwich all the way out to Kemble in Gloucestershire.
We have done a few sections of the path before, in Greenwich, along the Southbank and in various sections between Putney and Richmond. Although they're all along the same river, each section is always unique with lots of different things to see.
We started in Richmond Village on Sunday morning and wandered along the high road, stopping to look in a few shops on the way, before arriving at the river.
The section we had chosen runs from Richmond, through some very rural looking countryside before ending up in Twickenham.
Richmond Riverside
The first section is paved and takes you past various lovely pubs and cafes along the Richmond Riverside.
After a few kilometres it suddenly feels like you're in the middle of the countryside, with big green fields on one side, and the Thames on the other.
Along the way we took a slight detour to peek through the gates of Ham House. The house was built in 1610 and has beautiful gardens to explore and get lost in. The interior of the house has also been used in a few movies, the most recent being John Carter and Anna Karenina.
We decided not to go inside and instead headed through the fields in front of the house and back towards the Thames.
Down this end of the river, there are no bridges, so if you want to get across to Twickenham on the other side of the Thames, there is a little boat that shuttles people across throughout the day for only a pound.
Upon reaching the opposite bank, we came across several huge houses. We stopped at Orleans House for a wander around the sprawling gardens, and stopped at their cafe for some coffee and cake.
There's nothing more rewarding after a long walk than sitting in the sunshine with a slice of Apple Pie.
After finishing off our cakes, we continued along the path until we came across the lovely town of Twickenham. We wandered through the little streets until we found York House, another huge estate that is currently the Town Hall for the Borough of Richmond.
The gardens of York House are beautiful, with a huge lawn in front of the house that sometimes serves as an Open Air Theatre in Summer, with the rest of the gardens bisected by the road with a little bridge overtop.
In the Gardens there is a big fountain called the Naked Ladies, depicting the Oceanids, the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys from Roman Mythology.
Apparently the fountain is a popular backdrop for wedding photos and it's not hard to see why.
Snapped taking a photo!
After posing in front of the fountain, we headed into Twickenham town centre. The prettiest street in Twickenham is Church Street, closed to traffic on the weekends and full of good looking places to eat and lovely little shops.
In need of a rest after all our exploring, we stopped at a little garden opened for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and dropped into these lovely looking beach chairs.
After resting and warming up in the sunshine we started getting hungry and headed back to Church Street for a late lunch.
We stopped at a very inviting looking pub called The Fox and ordered some Pimms while we mulled over what to eat.
The food was so delicious, we got a steak salad, cheeseburger and salmon fish cakes, all so yummy.
After lunch we headed back along the river towards Richmond. We stopped to explore the gardens of Marble Hill House, built in 1724 for the mistress of King George II. Not too bad for the house of a mistress!
It was great to have a different view from the opposite side of the river as we approached Richmond. We had amazing views over towards The old Royal Star & Garter Home, which provided accommodation and nursing facilities for injured servicemen and women.
We approached Richmond Bridge feeling quite exhausted and proud of ourselves for having explored a new section of the Thames, but ready for some more coffee and maybe an afternoon sleep!
what a pretty picture the painted houses and lovely hanging pots food also is great.
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