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SWC (Free) Walks
Walk 45 : West Byfleet to Hampton Court
The Thames Path, the Wey Navigation and several pubs.
| Length | 9 miles
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| Toughness | 1 out of 10
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| Maps |
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| Features |
This easy walk is very close to London. It follows the Wey Navigation (a canal), and then joins the Thames, which it follows it to Hampton Court.
Navigation is simple, and there are many pubs along the walk. The entire route is marked with red chevrons on OS maps, though waymarking along the canal is poor.
While the walk is flat, the path along the Wey Navigation is a bit rough in spots. While it is passable for bikes, it is narrow in places, and so not really suitable
for wheelchairs or baby buggies. The Thames Path is wide, paved, and suitable for both
Hampton Court Palace gardens are no longer free in summer, but there is access to the deer park from the Thames (just past the Palace), and also through
an unassuming gate just opposite the entrance to Busy Park.
The idea for this walk came from the Inner London Rambler's website
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| Walk Options |
- You could carry on along the Thames Path to Kingston.
- A better choice is to walk through Hampton Court Park to Kingston
- You could also walk throught Bushy Park (take a London A-Z).
- You can do the walk in reverse.
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| Transport |
Buy a return to West Byfleet (not Byfleet and New Haw, the walk passes very close, you can even see the canal from the platforms, but I haven't checked
the route to the canal from this station.).
There are 4 trains an hour (2 fast taking about 30 mins). Hampton Court is in Zone 6
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| History |
Hampton Court is a large Royal Palace with gardens and a maze, but you will arrive too late to do it justice. If you do go in, an audio guide is recommended
The Wey Navigation opened in 1653 and was one of the first navigable rivers in the country. It survived the railway era, and was donated to
the National Trust. The Basingstoke Canal (first 2 km of the walk) was built 150 years later, in 1796.
The Thames is significantly, older, dating to the late Palaeocene Period. Desborough Island, however, is artificial. It was created in the 1930's to
improve the river's flow
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| Saturday Walkers Club
| For the normal walk, the train nearest to 10:30 (summer) 10.00 (winter) from Waterloo.
If you miss the train, catch the next one to Byfleet and New Haw, turn right out of the station, and walk along the road for 1km, and join
the canal by a road bridge (see map for details)
| | Lunch and Tea |
- West Byfleet : The Claremont (by the station)
- Weybridge : The Old Crown (01932 842844, recommended, on Ship Street, where the canal joins the Thames)
- Walton : The Anglers (01932 223996, nice but expensive, can sit by the river) and The Swan (01932 225964, recommended, view of the river)
- Between Walton and West Molsey : The Weir (01932 784530, large terrace overlooking the river)
- Hampton Court : The Mitre (over the bridge, opposite the Palace, has a bar overlooking the river), or the Cardinal Wolsey (just round the corner from the Mitre), which
is the best of a poor bunch
Save any spare bread for feeding the Swans (see below)
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| Travel by Train
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| Travel by Car
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Start:
West Byfleet Station is near :
KT14 6PA
[gmap]
Finish:
Hampton Court Station is near :
KT8 9AE
[gmap]
Return to your car by train:
- (park at the start)
at 4pm
- (park at the end)
at 10am
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| Map Walk
| This walk requires a map for navigation. You must take an OS Map and compass (or for inner London walks, an A-Z).
OS 1:50,000 maps can be printed out using the link above, or OS 1:25,000 from www.streetmap.co.uk or www.multimap.com
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| OS Explorer Map
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160 : Windsor, Weybridge & Bracknell
[Amazon]
161 : London South
[Amazon]
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| Other London (Inside the M25) Walks
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Knockholt Circular,
Whyteleafe to Hayes,
Greenford to Osterley,
Whyteleafe Circular,
Wimbledon to Kingston,
Hayes to Knockholt,
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Walking Instructions
This walk is a very easy, just follow the canal, then the river, the only bit that needs directions is the bit in the middle through Weybridge!
West Byfleet to Weybridge via the Wey Navigation (canal)
- Take the north exit from West Byfleet Station (the Claremont Pub side), and turn left, and follow the road round. When the road turns left, continue straight on,
to the right of a car park, and continue to the lock (about 250m in total).
- Turn right (east) along the canal. Continue for 2km.
- At the canal junction (by the M25), cross the bridge, and turn left (north)
- In theory you could start from Byfleet and New Haw Station - you can see the canal from the platforms, about 200m away! If you head north, along the road from the station
for 800m, you meet the canal at a road bridge, about 800m away as the canal and the road converge. It might be possible to walk directly to the canal (which is adjacent to open land
at this point), and avoid any road walking, by walking parallel to the tracks to the canal junction, but I haven't checked to see if it possible.
- Continue along the canal for 3km to the outskirts of Weybridge.
Weybridge
- You come to a 'canal junction'. ! Turn left, crossing a road parallel to the canal, to continue along the canal. Pass some new flats, and go under the large road bridge. Ignore the public footpath sign. Do not go straight on and cross the '1 way traffic' road bridge.
- Aross the '1 way' bridge is Weybridge town centre, and 1km along a busy road (pavement) is Weybridge Station
- This section ('Weybridge') is all a bit narrow for cyclists, who do a slightly longer inland route, crossing the '1 way' bridge (see the OS map for details).
- Continue along the canal to the lock with a 'National Trust' hut and some NT information panels.
- Cross the lock bridge to the other side of the canal, and follow the path (with streetlights). Cross a small road, and continue along the unlit path, over another bridge,
and come to houses and a lane.
- Turn left on narrow Church Walk, cross a narrow road, and continue along the lane (now a path, not a lane) to come out on Thames Street by the Old Crown pub (recommended).
Weybridge to Walton to Molsey to Hampton Court via the Thames
- Follow the Thames east (towards London), passing 2 small bridges to Desborough Island, and eventually, the larger Walton Bridge (2km)
- Continue, passing The Swan (recommended) and The Anglers (riverside location), and 1km further, The Weir (riverside terrace) pubs (2km total)
- Continue. Pass a reservoir, and eventually come to a park with a sign allowing the feeding of Swans (bring bread!). Pass an island with houseboats, a boathouse,
and eventually reach Hampton Court Bridge (5.5 km)
Hampton Court
- Hampton Court Station is the other side of the road.
- Across the bridge is the The Mitre Hotel pub for tea, as is Hampton Court Palace (gardens free in winter). Just round the corner from The Mitre, is the
Cardinal Wolsey
Hampton Court to Kingston (Optional Extension)
- To continue to Kingston, cross Hampton Court bridge, and follow the towpath along the other bank.
- After 400m, enter the grounds of Hampton Court park, and head north east through the deer park. This is much shorter and nicer route than just following the towpath)
- Cross Kingston Bridge, and follow the high street (pedestrianised) to Kingston Station
In Reverse
Hampton Court to West Byfleet
If you do the walk in reverse, the route is as follows.
- Walk from Hampton Court (west) along the Thames to Weybridge.
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Weybridge
- When you reach the Old Crown pub, take the path to its right (river side)
- Continue along the path, cross the first small road, continue along what is now a small road for 10m, then turn right along a path
- Cross the small bridge, then shortly a road, and continue on the path with street lights to the right of a park.
- Soon you reach a canal, cross the lock bridge and turn left along the canal past the National Trust hut.
- After a km, just after passing under a road bridge, at a road junction, cross the road and turn right along the canal (do no not turn left across the "1-way" bridge)
- After 2km, at a canal junction, turn right over a canal bridge
- By a lock, turn left for 250m to West Byfleet station
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