A 20s and 30s Ramblers group.
Jack L.
The Thames Path is a 182 mile National Trail stretching from London to Gloucestershire. This year, the group will aim to cover the whole trail from start to finish! This initial 5 part series will involve covering the “London” section of the Path from its start in Woolwich up to Windsor.
To add some fun to our adventure, you are encouraged to purchase the Thames Passport where we will collect stamps at over 30 stamping stations along the Path. Collect stamps at all the various stations and you can receive a Certificate of Completion for doing the whole trail from start to finish! The link to purchase the passport is here: https://walkthethames.co.uk/thames-path-passport/
Welcome to Part One of our Thames Adventure! We will begin our Thames Path quest at Woolwich Works, where we will collect our first stamp of the trail pre-walk. Following this, we will make our way towards the start of the Path at Woolwich Foot Tunnel. We will then pass through several dock entrances towards a viewpoint where we can see planes taking off and landing at London City Airport.
After glimpsing the Thames Barrier on our right, we will enter Greenwich Peninsula with the O2 arena in our sights. Once we have skirted around the arena, we will make our way to Blackwall Reach where across the river we will see the Isle of Dogs, best known for housing Canary Wharf and the Museum of the London Docklands.
After a brief stop for lunch in Greenwich Park, we will make our way into Deptford through a series of docks and wharfs before eventually arriving at the Barn in Rotherite for a well-earned café stop.
We will then make our way further into Rotherite towards the Brunel Museum and eventually the Mayflower pub to collect further stamps. We intend to stop for dinner here, if you are interested please get in touch with Michael our social secretary who is handling the organisation of this.
After departing the Mayflower, we will make our way to Tower Bridge, with landmarks City Hall and the Tower of London on the other side, and then just short of London Bridge where we will conclude our first stage of our Thames adventure.
Travel details
The start of the walk can be reached directly on the Elizabeth Line from Reading, although you may find it quicker to take a direct train to London Paddington and change to the Elizabeth Line from there, taking a connection that goes to Abbey Wood (Woolwich is the penultimate stop). The walk leaders plan to take the 8:29 Elizabeth Line train to Abbey Wood, arriving at Woolwich at 9:51. Remember to get your stamp before the start time! When heading back after the conclusion of the walk, the nearest tube station will be London Bridge where the best option to get back to Paddington for a direct train to Reading is via the Jubilee and Bakerloo lines. If your travel plans differ from this, please feel free to ask the walk leaders for suggestions on what may be suitable.
