The Thames Path route will return to the riverside at Bankside next Monday 5 December.
From early morning it will be possible to walk from in front of Tate Modern to Oxo Tower Wharf without leaving the waterside.
Thameslink railworks have for some time forced walkers to go inland into Southwark Street.
The new access to Blackfriars Station from the south bank opens on the same day.
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Proposals for the new Thames Tunnel to intercept untreated sewage overflows have raised construction problems.
The west to east underground route is roughly below the River Thames with access points.
The good news is that revised plans for the works leave the Thames Path largely untouched.
Worksites on the key right bank (or south) have been moved or even set back from the river.
So, for example, the towpath at Barn Elms is now unaffected.
The biggest objections have been downstream of Tower Bridge where the green grass of King’s Stairs Garden at Rotherhithe was to have been closed for some time. Now the work will be just upstream on Chambers Wharf. This is a ‘brownfield’ site so far not opened up to the Thames Path.
At present the wharf is built out into the river but after tunnel work is complete the wharf would be reduced in size with provision for the Thames Path. This must be a good decision even if some local people are opposing it.
There are two worksites off Nine Elms Lane but the Thames Path will still briefly return to the river at Tideway Walk by Nine Elms Pier.
Southwark Council has removed the statue of Dr Salter’s daughter and the cat on the river wall for safety.
Last weekend the sculpture of Dr Alfred Salter was stolen overnight.
Meanwhile the council is offering a reward for the return of the much-loved figure.
Anyone with news of the whereabouts of the sculpture should phone 020 7525 1501.
Darryl of Greenwich has the latest news on the peninsula’s western path between the Dome (O2) and Greenwich.
Southwark Council leader Peter John has confirmed that the Alfred Salter sculpture has been stolen and not just removed for maintenance.
If anyone has any news of its whereabouts let us know.
Disturbing news that the much-loved Dr Alfred Salter statue on the path between Rotherhithe and Tower Bridge may have been stolen.
It was not there last night and local opinion is that it was been stolen.
Dr Salter was the local doctor and MP in the first half of the 20th century who pioneered better living conditions.
I believe that his daughter and cat sculptures are safe so far.
Adrian Tierney-Jones new book CAMRA’s Great British Pubs includes two Thames pubs among his 200 reviews.
The well-illustrated paperback (CAMRA Books £14.99) has The Dove at Hammersmith down as maybe having “reputedly one of the smallest bars in the kingdom” although that could challenged by The Rake in Borough Market.
The Rake is also featured and could almost be a Thames path pub being just one road back from Southwark’s Clink Street.
The surprise in the book is the Red Lion at Cricklade described as a “rambling town inn”. The entry concludes with: “Five en suite rooms available, from £75 per night, including breakfast.”
The Pangbourne to Goring section of the Thanes Path is the only stretch where you have to go up or down a hill. This, of course, is due to the missing ferry at Gatehampton.
The path from the top of Whitchurch Hill through Hartslock Wood has a sudden feel of being on a cliff.
Now there are complaints about the steep descent near the start of the path where there used to be steps. In the Henley Standard two walkers who met at the bottom of the slope compare notes.
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I am sorry to see in the autumn issue of English Heritage’s Conservation Bulletin that Kew Bridge Station remains on the Buildings At Risk register.
The station, which I have often used on the way to and from the river, was built in 1850 for the London and South Western Railway. Its architect is the distinguished Sir William Tite. He had just finished work on the splendid Windsor Riverside Station for Queen Victoria. Just five years later his Royal Exchange in the City was opened.
Kew Bridge Station first appeared on the danger list in 1998.
The towpath between Reading Bridge and Caversham Bridge has reopened but now has barriers to slow down cyclists.
This is because the council has discovered that the cycling ban is illegal and the no cycling signs are to come down.