For some reason I've never walked along the Thames very far from Richmond, although I've always meant to. My original plans for Saturday having fallen through due to oversleeping, I decided to take advantage of the sunshine on Saturday and do the westward walk towards Teddington Lock.
It was pretty crowded along the riverbank at Richmond itself, but once I got past Buccleugh Gardens (which I discovered last year), things quietened down a little — although admittedly not by much. The river path through the gardens was so filled with pushchairs and bicycles that I fell over and gave myself a nasty graze on my knee trying to avoid them — one of those big ones that goes right across the knee so that I can feel the skin crack every time I move my leg. Nice. I also tore my trousers (grr!) and twisted my ankle, but fortunately it wasn't sprained so I was able to keep walking (although I had to hobble for a bit to start with). I realise it's a nice thing to cycle alongside the water, but I wish those stupid bloody cyclists would realise that the path isn't their domain and that pedestrians have the right of way, especially when it's really crowded and there are people with pushchairs and small kids.
A little further along the path I discovered a peaceful little field, by crossing a little wooden bridge going somewhere mysterious. The only noise to disturb me were some starlings having a ruckus in a tree, and the ever-constant sound of the aeroplanes along the flight path. My knee was hurting and my ankle still hadn't completely straightened out, so I took a rest here, sunbathing amongst some glorious buttercups. There was no one else in the field, except some ponies at the other end, and they didn't even look up as I went past on my way back to the main river path again.
I made some other interesting discoveries as I wandered along the path, still trying to avoid the cyclists. There were a couple of patches where the ground was smothered in white fluff from pollinating poplar trees — a hay fever sufferer's nightmare, but very pretty, as it almost looked like snow falling down from a bright blue sky.
I found a willow tree whose trunk had been split, probably by the river. The ground was muddy and the grass surrounding it was flattened into rippled patterns from water, suggesting that even this far inland there's still a tidal flooding. There's even a century-old monument commemorating the Thames Conservancy Lower Limit in 1909. It's a rather incongruous thing to come aross just here.
Earlier, I also spotted an odd little grass-roofed construction on the other side of the river. Some people standing nearby suggested it was a dovecote but the holes looked too small. To me it looked more like the nest-holes that sand-martins make in cliffs, but I didn't realise any lived inland. I also couldn't tell if it had been built for that purpose or if it was meant to be something else originally. If anyone knows exactly what it is (and also exactly where it is because I'm trying to geotag all the photos for this project), I would be extremely grateful. Random theories are also welcome — someone on Flickr has already suggested it could be for bats. (click on the pic for bigger view)
I stopped for a pint of ale at Teddington Lock, at the second pub you find after you cross the pretty footbridge, called Tide End Cottage. It's got a nice beer garden, and feels a bit like a country pub, being both full of old men and child-friendly. It seemed to take a while to get served, even when no one else was waiting, but they're a Cask Marque pub, so at least the beer is decent. I originally thought of going back home after my beer, but decided to walk to Kingston instead, firstly so that I could get another borough knocked off my list, and secondly to avoid the crush of rugby fans using the transport after the England match at Twickenham.
The walk along the river at this point is pleasant, albeit unremarkable, ending in a little park with an avenue of trees that's quite nice, and the seemingly unique touch of all the benches being different. Unfortunately, at the bottom of this park, you end up by the back walls of a number of really ugly buildings that form the shops of Kingston Town Centre. Immediately, there was an air of neglect about the place, with rubbish all over, and the obligatory shopping trolley dumped in the river. It was only just after 7pm, but the town centre was like a ghost town; the only people in the area were all rushing off elsewhere. Compared to the relaxed pace I'd seen everyone taking up to that point, it even made me feel a bit uncomfortable about exploring and taking photos. Even amongst all the ugly buildings, there were small details to grab my interest; where the old buildings rubbed up against the new ones you could find funny stone faces, or some pretty mullioned windows above a Carphone Warehouse. (Ironically, I found myself curious about what both Philip and Owen would make of the area, as disparate as their blogs usually are.)
I was surprised to randomly come across an ancient monument, the Coronation Stone, which I'd never heard of before. Of course, thinking about it later, it made perfect sense because of course it's the root of the very name of the place: King's Town or Kings' Stone. However, with the rest of the town centre being so unpromising, it wasn't what I expected. Of course, the stone itself is not really very exciting, being just a hunk of rock enclosed in a stylised Victorian fence, but the lettering nerd in me did find my interest piqued by the name-stones surrounding it, because they're so inconsistent. There were at least three variants on the letter D and the letter E, with the spelling for Edward the Martyr's name reminding me, of course, of wacky old Eadweard Muybridge. And no wonder, because just around the corner discovered his childhood home. He was 20 when the Coronation stone monument was originally designed in 1856, so the spelling of the name must have been an influence on him when he was older. It seemed fitting to end my day paying slight homage to one of the most important photographic innovators in history, even if I hadn't planned to do so. Of course, now I have to wonder if the other boroughs have any similar connections with other such photographic geniuses, because it might be amusing (albeit extremely nerdy) to collect photos which specifically honour them, as well.
The rest of the photos from Richmond here; photos from Kingston here.
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I've walked that walk many times but have noticed only a fraction of the things you did. I must pay more attention, generally x
on Jun 8th, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Take photos. Seriously; the more photos I take, the more stuff I see to take photos of!
on Aug 25th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
I thoughroughly enjoyed your beaucollic roam up the historic banks of Father Thames's most laid backwater. I have loved this area since as a boy, I was parked on its banks in the family Rover whilst my publican father toured his friends riverside pubs in the 60′s.I recall gazing at the lights reflected in the black rolling river and getting a strange echo of its sinister beauty.This strange cocktail of beauty and beast which this river holds was best illustrated for me a decade ago when a friend of mine who had taken to painting late into the night noticed police boats surging up and down outside the ACADA Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. The boats spotlights were on the mudflats throwing long shadows onto divers and police in thigh boots retrieving a body which had come to rest just under his studio window.
Amazingly he later discovered that it was the suicidal body of a friend whom I had met briefly and he knew well who had driven off a wooden bridge in Kingston miles upstream and drifted all the way to his studio balcony before coming to rest. This has all the marks of a tall tale but its perfectly true.If the The Thames is animal it's both beauty and beast
on Aug 26th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Thanks for the stories, Peter. I have great visions of a small boy sitting in a big car. The other story is sad, but yes, a fact of life, as my friend Jon mentioned in an interview with him here:
http://mondoagogo.com/2009/02/10/interview-jon-cartwright-part-2