Category: Updates

Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, was at King’s Stairs Gardens in Rotherhithe today.

He was making  a return visit to the Golden Jubilee stone which he had unveiled with his wife in 2002. He unveiled it again today to reveal the added Diamond Jubilee inscription. The stone is important to the ‘village’ community since the Silver Jubilee stone unveiled by the Queen was lost by the Council during landscaping work.

Today was also the occasion for unveiling a plaque naming the green space as an Elizabeth II Field.

Afterwards his Royal Highness walked upstream along the Thames Path past The Angel to look at the remains of Edward III’s manor house -or palace. The visit was arranged for today, 13 November, as it was King Edward’s birthday.

Many of those present are involved in replacing the stolen statue of Dr Alfred Salter.

See SE16 website for pictures.

Monday 15 June is the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta on Runnymede.

The barons are thought to have forded the Thames before agreement with King John was formally made in the water meadow.

Surrey County Council is now backing a plan for a visitor centre on the site having recognised that there could be a huge increase in the number of tourists visiting in subsequent years.

National celebrations are being planned and there are moves to have 15 June declared a bank holiday in 2015.

The Thames Path links Runnymede to Lambeth Palace where Archbishop Stephen Langton masterminded the agreement which has become the basis of the UK’s evolved constitution.

Projects to improve the riverside between Maidenhead and Cookham and place the Thames Path alongside the water have won approval from Maidenhead residents during a consultation.

A £10,000 contribution towards ‘completing the Thames Path’ should mean an end to walkers having to face oncoming traffic just upstream of Maidenhead Bridge.

The Nag’s Head on Abingdon Bridge reopened at the weekend.

Good reports on the Abingdon Blog.

Today The Ramblers marked the opening of the riverside route at Shiplake.

This moment has come after years of negotiation so the event was a very special occasion.

Now, having left Shiplake Station and turned into Mill Road, you can go left opposite the junction with New Road. The way is down a lane by Virginia Cottage. A path leads round two corners and under the railway. Just two fields away is the towpath where a plaque has been placed next to a seat.

Just today there was also a table laden with cake and champagne

Walkers should leave the towpath at Wargrave Ferry to turn inland across a field and along a lane by former mill cottages to reach Shiplake Lock.

The addition to the Thames Path is not just a great improvement but a delightful walk.

Burgers wonderful teashop in Marlow has won the Best cup of Tea Award.

This is part of Marlow FM’s Hidden Gems Awards “voted by people of Marlow”.

Burgers is now open every day. Once if you arrived in Marlow on a Sunday wanting tea you had to go to the church hall next door.

The approach to Benson Lock from Wallingford has often proved muddy.

Recent surfacing will both make walking easier and result end the mud being trodden across the lock.

The latest Good Beer Guide edited by Roger Protz includes several essential pubs along the Thames.

As well as beer and food details there are useful pieces of history dropped into reports. The White Cross at Richmond takes its name from the convent on the riverside site. The Watermans Arms at Eton was briefly a mortuary.

The Dog & Bell on the Thames Path at Deptford is unique being an independent house.

Not far away is The Pelton Arms in Greenwich which is temporarily on the route whilst a very long term diversion is in place around Lovell’s Wharf. The friendly pub has doubled as The Nag’s Head in Only Fools and Horses.

Near the far end beds are available at The Crown Inn at Lechlade which serves its own Ha’penny Ale.

Also just published is the equally vital Good Pub Guide edited by Alisdair Aird and Fiona Stapley.

One of its 38 Dining Pubs of the Year is The Trout at Tadpole where Gareth and Helen Pugh are now serving afternoon tea at weekends.

If you are having tea at Tadpole you might have had lunch at The Rose Revived at Newbridge which rightly gets a mention.

It’s interesting to see that both books recommend Cricklade’s Red Lion.

The Watermans Arms, built by the towpath on Oxford’s Osney Island in 1871, has changed its name to Punter. This seemed a pity to me but the relaunch has seen the place become maybe more friendly. There are different recycled chairs and tables and the Good Pub Guide reminds us that it has £5 lunch dishes.

I hope next year we shall see The Nag’s Head on Abingdon Bridge listed in at least one the guides. It reopens next month.

It was a delightful moment when we followed the towpath directly on to the lawn of The Rose Revived at Newbridge.

It was around 5.30pm but we were able to have cup of tea at once sitting on a sofa just inside the door.

Our room for the night was on the first floor almost above the entrance so we only just had a glimpse of the river upstream. But it was comfortable with a shower and basin. The lavatory was across the corridor.

Food is not expensive. I had broccoli soup (£3.79) and ‘award-winning’ hand-battered haddock and chips with peas (£8.49) which was all very filling after a day’s walk.

Breakfast was at one end of the building where all guests turned out to be either walkers or boaters. On offer was cranberry juice or orange juice. I followed this by choosing museli with yoghurt and scrambled agg with smoked salmon.

One night cost just £62.50 for a double room and breakfast. This pub continues to give good value for the walker.

I was delighted to see the original sign painted by Royal Academician Alfred Parsons.

But sorry to find that The Maybush on the far side of the 13th-century Thames bridge has now been closed for some months.

The residence usually highlighted at delightful Strand-on-the-Green is Zoffany House where the artist John Zoffany lived. Less well-known but now on the market is Zachary House which also has  a white frontage.

It has a recording studio and lots of pop music associations. The present owner is former New Musical Express editor Alan Smith.

The house is upstream of Oliver’s Island and today’s Sunday Telegraph has pictures.