Author: Leigh Hatts

David Walliams arrived at County Hall at about 6.30pm.

Here is the local media’s report.

One of the places on the Thames Path where it is a pleasure to be briefly inland is just upstream of Southwark Cathedral where the route is along Clink Street.

The cobbled way is flanked by the Victorian warehouses of Winchester Wharf and the remains of the great hall of Winchester Palace.

When this was the residence of the Bishops of Winchester it was possible to look out of the windows and see the river. It was a riverside dining room known to both Katharine of Aragon and Mary I.

Bishop Lancelot Andrewes, who chaired the team translating the King James Bible, lived there.

The hall’s rose window survives in the ruin and now the suggestion is to make the exposed cellar into a garden.

The details are here.

London SE1 has Thames Festival pictures.

David Walliams has set out this morning on the tidal Thames from Teddington with the aim of reaching Westminster by 6pm.

David Walliams arrived at Teddington about 8pm on Sunday.

The plan is to head for London early tomorrow. Look out for him at Richmond and Putney.

David Walliams had a huge welcome at Marlow on Friday night and seemed in good form.

Yesterday he came down to Old Windsor.

Today Sunday he is now back in the water and should be seen between Staines and Teddington.

Wallingford Bridge was packed with people to greet David Walliams on Wednesday evening as he continued his Lechlade to Big Ben swim for charity.

He is not at all well which is a reminder how dangerous the water can be in both flow and quality.

His support team hopes that David will make Caversham Bridge by tonight.

BBC1’s One Show had good coverage on Monday night of David Walliams setting out on his swim from Lechlade to London.

There was a recording of Halfpenny Bridge packed with people.

Angela Rippon was live at Bablock Hythe ferry with a crowd of people from the Ferryman Inn hoping to welcome David. However, he came out of the water a little upstream at Northmoor Lock.

Let’s hope the One Show stays with the story.

Five years ago David Walliams swam the English Channel for Sport Relief. Now he is going to try swimming to London along the Thames for the same charity.

He begins on Monday 5 September at Lechlade and plans to reach Westminster Bridge on the following Monday.

But he warns others not to try and copy him.

“If there’s a lot of rainfall there’ll be a lot of sewage so I’ve had to have loads of jabs,” says forty year old David Walliams.

He adds: “It’s really not a safe environment to swim in – people really mustn’t try this, I have an incredible team of experts to help keep me safe.”

His last night will be spent in Putney with his arrival below Big Ben planned for 9am on Monday.

David is being filmed for a Walliams vs The Thames documentary which will be broadcast in the build-up to the Sport Relief weekend in March.

Sportrelief has a Walliams webpage.

The current diversion found just before the O2 Dome on the Greenwich Peninsula is shown on a map by the path.

Thanks to Walk London the pictures are here.

See page 14.