Author: Leigh Hatts

There is a flood alert for  central London today Monday 4 November which means that potentially affected locations around 1.45pm are Greenwich, Mayflower pub at Rotherhithe, Angel pub at Bermondsey Wall and Bankside.

Work on rebuilding Whitchurch Bridge continues after discovery that the piers are in a worse condition than expected.

Next month navigation will be closed for the winter.

Walkers continue to be able to cross the river by using at temporary footbridge on the upstream side.

There will be a towpath diversion at Grafton Lock from Monday 28 October.

The lock gates are being replaced and work should be completed by March next year.

Grafton Lock is between Radcot Bridge and Kelmscot.

A year ago Dushan Salwathura opened the long closed Nag’s Head on Abingdon Bridge.

Now it has now been named as Oxfordshire’s Best Pub of the Year in the CAMRA awards.

A CAMRA spokesman described it as “an astounding achievement”.

The Oxford Times has a disturbing story about a woman being shot whilst walking between the Appleford railway bridge and Culham.

The gunman was on the right bank and fired across the water.

This is  a most unusual incident. People are usually only injured when jumping into the water.

Deptford Dockyard and the adjoining Sayes Court Garden have been highlighted the World Monuments Fund 2014 Monuments Watch.

The announcement was made in New York today by WMF President Bonnie Burnham who presented a list of diverse cultural heritage sites at risk from Venice to Aleppo in Syria.

The inclusion of Deptford highlights the historic importance of the site now due for controversial redevelopment.

The first ever national online pub guide has been launched by CAMRA.

The guide is called whatpub.com and has been compiled by thousands volunteers.

A test on Lechlade brings up The New Inn and The Crown as one would hope.

This site is handy for bed and breakfast searches as well finding  a pub with food and real ale.

CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide is of course also a good pub guide with always good suggestions for which pubs on the Thames Path are worth stopping at for lunch.

The 2014 edition just published confirms well-known pubs such as The Waterman’s Arms at Eton, which is on the path, and The Crown in Lechlade.

The Thames Path seems to get more mentions this year.

The most handy listing must be for The Bounty on Cock Marsh near Cookham where opening used to be vague. Indeed the address has always been difficult as it is just over the railway bridge from Bourne End.

Before the footbridge was attached in 1993 you had to ring a bell and be rowed across from the station side. The delight is that the pub cannot be reached by car.

Editor Roger Protz has nailed down some opening times: 12 to 11pm in summer and weekends only 12-dusk in winter.

The Thames Path in London has been named the second best urban walk in the world.

Lonely Planet’s 1,000 Ultimate Adventures (£15.99) published this month has the 32 mile walk through the British capital ahead of the Great Coast Walk in Sydney and the Berlin Wall Trail.

Top trail is the Tijuca rainforest in Rio de Janeiro famous for Mount Corcovado and the huge statue of Christ the Redeemer.

London’s Thames Path allows the visitor to see the Thames Barrier, Docklands, Greenwich, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Southwark and St Paul’s cathedrals, Borough Market, Tate Modern, Parliament, the Boat Race course, cattle at Richmond and Ham House stately home and the ancient town where Saxon kings were crowned.

The Daily Mail has the best pictures including one of a conservancy gate which will be familiar to those walking beyond London.