Thames Path - Thames Barrier to Kings Cross (★★★★★)

Earlier in the year I had done my first proper walk along the Thames Path - walking down from Kings Cross to meet the River at Embankment, and then walking along the Thames from Embankment to Battersea.

That replicated a trip I had done many times - crossing London from north to south - but usually I had done that route on the underground, which isn't quite as enjoyable.

Today I am heading back up north from Rochester - where I have been meeting up with friends - and rather than hurry through London, I figure this is a good opportunity to join up with the Thames Path at it's western end - and (almost) link up with that previous walk.

From here I will head back towards Kings Cross once again, and resume my journey up north by train.

The Thames Path itself, runs from source to Woolwich - although in my mistaken belief that the path finished at the Thames Barrier, that is where I started my walk.

But you can keep walking - and if you so so you will be walking on a path alongside the River Thames - and this will take you all the way down to Grain (which is accessible by bus from Rochester). 

Although this newer addition is technically the Coast Path, I'm not sure I'll feel that the River Thames has truly been completed until I pick up this additional section.

But for now we need not worry about that - and instead we meet up with the river in a very industrial looking part of London. 

In this section there is not too much to write home about, but as the path makes it's way round the Millennium Dome, we do get views out across towards the City of London.

Looking across the river from the Millennium Dome

And these views across the river are very welcome at this point because with all the security fencing and other paraphernalia surrounding the Dome, it's not actually that enjoyable to walk around - and a bit of a disappointment in all honest (so much so that I have deemed it unworthy of a photo).

But as we complete our traverse around the Dome, there is hope in the distance - as some of the older parts of London start to come into view.

And so as I reach the Old Royal Naval College - the chance to head up towards Greenwich Park, becomes a welcome diversion from the somewhat disappointing walk along the river so far.

This is more like it

With Canary Wharf in the distance

Getting up to Greenwich Park involves a bit of guesswork - and on my way I get lots of questions about where the different sights are, from tourists who have no idea that I'm equally bemused by the layout.

But eventually I find my way through to Queen's House, and whilst I don't head inside, I do enjoy a look at the outside, as I head on past.

Queen's House

And from here my diversion away from the Thames continues, as I head up through Greenwich Park - and on to the Royal Observatory.

And this is where you do need to find a bit of time - and make an allowance for a bit of extra distance - for this diversion is well worth it, and fits in with the walk along the Thames.

The view climbing up to the Observatory at Greenwich Park

Greenwich Park itself was an old hunting park, that used to sit on the outskirts of London (with the city having somewhat grown around it). And of course the main feature of this part is the Observatory, which was built back in 1675 by Charles II. 

The prime purpose of this Observatory was to aid ship navigation - and it was concluded that by accurately determining star positions, it would be possible to accurately calculate longitude.

The output of this work was the development of the Marine Chronometer, which could be used to determine the exact time in Greenwich - and then the difference between that time, and the time at the current location, could be used to determine longitude.

This did indeed improve ship navigation, and led to the establishment of the Greenwich Time as the global point of reference.

But now, this is more just an attractive site in an attractive park - and the trip up here to see the Observatory is well worth doing - despite the additional mileage.

Now though,, it is time to head back down to the river - joining back up with the Thames at the Naval College, and then heading round, and past the Cutty Sark, at Greenwich Pier.

Cutty Sark

You have to hand it to London sometimes, because there aren't too many places in the world where you can just go for a wander along a river, and head past a nineteenth century ship that used to sail to China and back. 

But whilst on my visit I just walked around the edge of these sites, if you want to go on the Cutty Spark or into any of the museums you do need to buy a ticket - and these days the cost of these tickets does keep going up.

And feeling that it might be better just to stay and look at it from here, I save my money and continue my walk.

Heading on, the path crosses over a small bridge on an attractive section beside the river, before heading inland to pass through Deptford, and round a big and well-secured industrial site as it does so.

This section is not so enjoyable, but soon we are back onto the riverside, and heading off through Greenland Dock - which has a marina and a few locks to take a peak at.

From here, the route heads up past City Farm, and then on round through the increasingly developed London landscape - but occasionally having to cut inside - on a long stretch that takes us round to Tower Bridge.

There isn't too much to report back on during this stretch - the walk isn't particularly bad, but it isn't particularly noteworthy either.

Having reached Tower Bridge, however - we begin a section that makes the whole day worthwhile.

Tower Bridge

And one of the things you should bare in mind about London, is that it actually used to be fairly small - and so the core historical sites all fall within a fairly small radius, surrounded by sites around the outside that used to sit more in countryside.

London from Greenwich Hill in 1680

As a result, this core of London falls over a very small area, with London having been more of a town than a city in our sense of the idea. And ndeed in 1680, London had a population of 80,000 people - which would be the modern equivalent of Burnley, Carlisle or Guildford.

I decide to head over Tower Bridge, buffering up against the crowds along the way - and then having crossed over the river, head on past the Tower of London.

Tower of London

Tower Bridge was completed quite late in 1894 - and aside from it's original setup to open via a hydraulic mechanism (not electro-hydraulic), it is mostly just a very pretty bridge.

The Tower of London, by contrast, is a lot older - dating back to 1078, with improvement and expansions following in the 12th, 13th and 14th centuries.

The Tower was built to strengthen the control of William the Conqueror over a country that was not entirely sold on the idea of having him as king. Over time the castle was increasingly fortified and used to help defend the key city of London.

A visit, though, is not particularly cheap - but you can buy a ticket that covers both the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace, which can be handy if you plan to explore the whole stretch of the River Thames (the Thames Path also goes past Hampton Court).

But leaving this historic part of London behind, we continue along the river, with views out of HMS Belfast across to the other side - and here we head under London Bridge, and Cannon Street Railway Bridge 

HMS Belfast

Then having reached Southwark Bridge, I decide to head across and follow the Thames on the far side - taking a look at the Globe Theater as I go. 

This used to be the theater where Shakespeare performed, but there is something about it's restoration that it I don't entirely like (it feels a bit like it belongs in a Disney film), and so instead I settle for a picture of it as it used to look, rather than my actual photo.

The modern version is a bit to clean and pristine

The Globe is of course where Shakespeare used to perform - but that early version of this theatre never actually existed for very long.

The original theatre was built in 1599, but was destroyed by a fire in 1613 - and although it was rebuilt in 1614, it was demolished again in 1644. This was long enough for it to survive beyond Shakespeare, who died in 1616 - but in 1997 a modern reconstruction was built here based upon the same design.

And it is probably fortunate that Shakespeare lived in that slightly earlier era for that final closure resulted from the English Civil War - and a parliament proclamation that all London theatres should be closed.  This ban was only lifted in 1660 after Charles II took the throne.

The modern version still puts on plays, but as I say, to me it feels a bit too modern and a bit too commercial - but all the same, I'm sure it is well worth a visit.

From here I don't have much farther to go, before I reach Millennium Bridge (made famous by both being the Wobbly Bridge, and from Harry Potter films). 

For those not familiar with the Wobbly Bridge - this bridge when built had an issue where it would start to wobble once too many people walked across it - and dampers had to be fitted to remove this quirk that didn't exactly inspire confidence in it's solidity.

But it seems solid enough today, and get's me across the river okay - and my reason for crossing here is that it takes me in a straight line up towards St Paul's Cathedral.

St Paul's Cathedral from Millennium Bridge

The Cathedral is a relatively modern rebuild - with the oldest cathedral church, believed to have been founded in 604.

After a fire in 1087 a Norman style cathedral began being built in 1087 (after a fire destroyed the previous building in the same year). This is believed to be the fourth cathedral to sit on this site.

This construction took 200 years to complete - and the design shifted with the times to result in an English Gothic cathedral, that was completed in 1240.

The cathedral was damaged in some of the numerous fires that plagued London over the years, and eventually was destroyed by the Great Fire of London in 1666.

What followed is the building that stands today - with the last stone being placed in 1708 (but with the final additions being installed in the 1720s), resulting in the classical design you can see today.

And from here I plan to head north, and slightly west, to reach Kings Cross - which lies about a mile and a half from Kings Cross. 

The route ends up being a meandering one that I don't exactly recall, but on the way we pass Old Bailey and then St Barts Hospital (scene of the famous Sherlock TV series fake death scene).

And whilst there's not too many other highlights along this stretch - it's not too long before I'm at Kings Cross and ready to head northwards on my train. 

Total Distance: 15.3 miles (11.0 miles on the Thames Path)

Total Ascent: 563 feet (298 feet on the Thames Path)

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ / 5

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 177 OS Landranger map - while there is also a Thames Path guidebook for the section following the Thames, which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route along the Thames is in general well waymarked - the route up to Kings Cross is normal street navigation.