Author: Leigh Hatts

The Independent has a feature on Wallingford which often appears as the backdrop for Midsomer Murders.

The Manor House at downstream Moulsford is one of the many nearby houses which has appeared in the ITV series.

See page 142.

The prospect of the Thames Path being diverted along the front of Chambers Wharf soon has receded following news that Thames Water has purchased the site.

The previous development plan has been abandoned and the site could become a works entry for the proposed Thames Tunnel sewerage scheme.  The good news is that this might leave the downstream King’s Stairs site unaffected.

The eventual plan is for Berkeley Homes to build flats on Chambers Wharf with a provision for a riverside path linking Bermondsey Wall East with Bermondsey Wall West.

Se pages 25-26.

At Oxford the River Thames flowed through the city not as one river but as a number of streams.

It is interesting to see a reference in Fr John Hunwick’s blog on 6 March to Blessed John Henry Newman contributing in 1828 to a fund for “raising the floor-level of S Thomas’s above the flood-level of the Thames”.

So the Thames flooded over a wide area. St Thomas’s Church is near Oxford Station so was this water from Osney or the stream to the east?

See page 171.

There is a temporary diversion until the end of April just west of Windsor.

At Boveney Church one is directed inland to follow the rowing lake. The return to the Thames is by way of the Dorney Court path.

This is to allow the towpath to be improved and vegetation cut back ready for the Olympics next year.

See page 93.

Chris Brasher lived at Petersham and set up the Petersham Trust in 1999 to preserve Petersham Meadows. For a time the riverside grass was grazed by cows – the nearest herd to London.

The Meadows have now been placed in the care of the National Trust which continues to pay the peppercorn rent of a posey of wild flowers to Richmond Council.

This seems appropriate as the Trust already looks after nearby Ham House.

See page 60.

It is worth crossing the river at Putney to have  look at Fulham Palace where the moat once fed by the River Thames has been revealed.

The moat, England’s longest and foolishly filled in about 90 years ago, has been excavated either side of the entrance.

See page 49.

The Oxford Mail reports that repairs to the towpath each side of Oxford have been completed.

See pages 166-176.

Lunch today at Brunswick House Cafe at Vauxhall.

Brunswick House is on the Thames Path where it leaves St George Wharf. The lovely 18th-century house is occupied by Lassco who sell architectural salvage. You can wander all over the house looking at piles of door knobs, letterboxes, street signs, tiles and framed posters. There are even old baths.

An extension on the north side is where the cafe has recently opened. Diners sit on old chairs at antique tables.

Arriving at 1pm was maybe not  a good idea as it’s very popular. It was thirty minutes before I was served but everyone is polite and hardworking.

The so-called Blythburgh sausage roll (£6.40) was a huge slice of meat in thin pastry served with salad. It was worth waiting for and really filling. Water is easily available which will be welcome to walkers in summer.

Also on the menu was roast beetroot soup and haggis on toast. The coffee had been roasted just two weeks ago.

A pot of Lapsang Souchong is £2.

I was away by 2pm which was fine for several hours walking before dark.

Brunswick House, on the corner of Wandsworth Road and Nine Elms Lane, is a handy and delightful stop on the Thames Path between the South Bank and Putney.

The opening times are 8am (weekends 10am) to 5pm.

See page 40.

The Port of London Authority is holding a public meeting next month at the London Rowing Club on Putney’s Embankment.

The opportunity to hear updates on key developments on the river in London is on Wednesday 16 February at 6.30pm.

It is now clear that the boating accident at Shepperton on Sunday night has resulted in two deaths.

Keith Lowde, who was at the tiller of the boat, died in the accident. There is a continuing search for the body of Cambridge University Lecturer Dr Rex Walford.

The wives of the lost men who were in the boat were rescued along with two other passengers.

Mr Lowde was a music producer and a resident on the island. His friend Dr Walford was for  a time senior tutor at downstream Maria Grey College on the Twickenham bank.

Pharaoh’s Island, which has 23 homes, is said to have been used by Admiral Lord Nelson and received its name after the Battle of the Nile.

See page 72.