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Thames Path: Putney to Richmond walk

Tree lined Thames Path past Hammersmith and Kew with many riverside pubs.

Easy London

History

This is a list of previous times this walk has been done by the club (since Jan 2010). For more recent events (since April 2015), full details are shown.

Date Option Post # Weather
Sun, 12-Feb-23 Sunday Walk – The Thames Path from Richmond to Putney 10 cloudy
Mon, 29-Nov-21 Thames Path : Richmond to Putney [walk check] [extra midweek walk] 4 cold with hazy sunshine
Sean
SWC Walk 390 (in reverse) – Richmond to Putney Bridge

Length: About 15 km (9.3 miles), with options to lengthen. Toughness: 1/10

10:39 Reading train from Waterloo (Vauxhall 10:43, Clapham Jct 10:49, Putney 10:53), arriving Richmond (in TFL Zone 4) at 10:58. You can also travel to Richmond on branches of the Overground or District line: use the TFL Journey Planner to arrive by 11am. Meet upstairs in the ticket hall.

You can return from either Putney Bridge (District line, Zone 2) or Putney mainline station (Zones 2/3; seven trains an hour to Waterloo). NB. There's a rugby international at Twickenham (England v Italy at 3pm), so the mainline trains will be crowded after 5pm.

Barnes Railway Bridge The introduction to this walk describes it as “a fine winter walk” along “a pretty section of the Thames Path”. To minimise walking towards the low winter sun (fat chance!) I've chosen to do it in reverse, ie. heading downriver from Richmond. In this direction the GPS route sticks to the south bank throughout, but if you check the walk notes you'll see the bridges where it's suggested you could switch to the other bank. In particular there are more features along the north bank after Barnes Railway Bridge, where you'd also have the option of detouring off the Thames Path to Chiswick House, Fulham Palace, etc.

If you're feeling peckish by the time you reach Barnes (after 9 km) you might well be tempted by one of its large riverside pubs, but the notes actually suggest doing the walk without stopping. At the end there are two large pubs on the south bank as you approach Putney Bridge, plus a Wetherspoon's in the remodelled Putney Wharf Tower just beyond it (The Rocket). There are also several cafés and other eateries on and around Putney High Street.

You'll hardly need any directions for this walk, but the L=swc.390 page has some useful information about the features along the way. NB. As this is part of a series of walks along the Thames Path the GPS starts by taking you to Richmond Bridge, but there is a shorter (and quieter) route to the river via the green.

If you might want to switch to the north bank at Barnes Bridge, the Walk #261 page has a suggested route via Chiswick House.

  • 12-Feb-23

    I joined from Mortlake, and lunched at the White Hart, lovely truffle roast and a bottle of Double Chocalate, near Barnes Bridge, leaving just after 2.

    No swcers to be seen. Was on the south bank all the way. Now in the Bricklayers, in Waterman Street, 90 secs from the river before the Putney bridge. Arrived just before 4pm.12 living ales on, including a lovely cider.

  • 12-Feb-23

    The casual reader might conclude from the previous comment that the typical SWC walker turns up in the middle of the route, has an agreeable lunch and then seeks out a pub serving a dozen or so ales. I therefore feel obliged to record that on a cloudy day 10 set off from Richmond at the appointed time, including one or two making a welcome return after long absences. There were a few joiners and leavers in the first half of the walk, but a core group of nine went on to complete the full course.

    We did in fact stop outside the White Hart for a picnic lunch at around 1pm and a few popped their heads inside, but weren't searching for fellow walkers. In the afternoon one of us with local knowledge recommended a slight detour through the Leg O'Mutton reserve (worth a mention in the walk notes), but otherwise we stuck to the suggested Thames Path route on the south bank. At journey's end we all stopped for a sociable drink at The Rocket; if the service had been a bit less glacial some of us might have been tempted to have a meal there too.

  • 12-Feb-23

    Ah, you must have been ahead of me Sean.

Andrew

10 miles. Easy.

A walk check (its the Thames Path, a National Trail, so it shouldn't be too scary or eventful) passing 10 bridges, 8 of which you can cross - you can choose north or south bank between each bridge. You end up at Putney Bridge, where there is a riverside Wetherspoons (south bank, behind the church) with a £1 pint / £1 a bottemless tea/coffee promotion. Its 10 miles along paved paths, about 4 hours walking, so you should arrive mid afternoon when its quiet. If its nice, there's outside seating.

Catch a train/tube to be at Richmond Station at 10:30, or join at 1 of the bridges along the route, or at the pub at the end.

Central London dwellers could do it's sister walk, Thames Path : Tower Hill to Putney Bridge, which ends up at the same pub. If you do, please choose the south bank past newly opened Battersea Power Station development to check the riverside path there.

l=swc.390

  • 29-Nov-21

    Signal failure. Starting from Kew bridge,.

  • 30-Nov-21

    A signal failure on SWR possibly contributed to just two walkers starting from Richmond on this bonus Monday walk. Four hours later they were joined in the Putney Wetherspoons by a couple of others, one of whom had been discovered smearing mud on his trousers to make it appear he'd done a proper walk; a pathetic ploy soon exposed by the others reporting it to be mud-free. But we'll claim 4 on a cold with hazy sunshine day.

    On a cold day the idea of walking straight through with refreshments at the end was popular and perhaps more winter walks could be offered like this. As it happened only one of us opted to eat, the others being more than satisfied with the cheap beer and bottomless hot drinks. Having wolfed down half a chicken the diner managed to hide her disappointment when informed that meals weren't included in the 'bottomless' offer.

    Suitably refreshed one walker announced her intention to press on towards Wandsworth, while the rest of us went off to catch a train. There was a certain symmetry to my day when it was prolonged with a train failure at East Croydon, but it was good to have the chance of a winter stroll and a companionable hour in the pub.