Thames Path - Hampton Court to Richmond

This is a shorter section of the Thames Path, running from Hampton Court up to Richmond, with this joining up with a route walked from Battersea to Richmond previously.

Travelling to Hampton Court station, the walk starts immediately by the edge of the river, and from here you walk straight out onto Hampton Court Bridge - which heads over the river to Hampton Court Palace.

Hampton Court Palace

Hampton Court Palace is a well preserved site. Construction started in 1514 to build a grand house for Cardinal Wolsey, and the palace was given to the king after a falling out between Cardinal Wolsey and King Henry VII. 

The palace was expanded in later years with the intent of building a more impressive palace and it is actually a decent site to visit due to its size - although at £28 per adult it is quite expensive. For £60 you can buy membership for a year, which then also gives access to the Tower of London as well - although at that price its still quite a large amount, but maybe worth it if you fancy visiting both anyway on walks up the Thames.

I myself do not go into the palace, and instead head out along the river, and so this is the best view I can get of the palace itself :

If you head over to the ticket office without going in, you will get a good view of the palace from there, but I couldn't really be bothered, and just headed on down the river.

The view looking down the river

It is a very pleasant river to walk along, and there are plenty people out enjoying this stretch, either on foot, running or by bike. The bikes in general take the higher route and there is a lower path by the river site which is quieter to walk along.

Heading on, the path here heads down south east, before pulling up to north east, and then directly to the north, as it heads up towards Kingston Bridge.

Kingston Bridge

Here the path crosses over the bridge, and continues on down on the other side of the river.

Looking back while crossing Kingston Bridge

Back towards Kingston Bridge

From the other side, the route ahead continues on through Canbury Gardens - which is a busy and fairly small park sat alongside the river. Here I stop to  have some food and drink for a bit on one of the numerous benches that can be found.

Deciding to get going again, and leaving this park behind, the path follows along a quite road, before crossing over and heading along a small stretch of greenland - between the houses to the left and the right to the right.

Following this round the path soon reaches Teddington Lock, which is a large lock used to manage the river levels and an interesting site to hang around and watch some of the boats head through. Unlike most locks it is controlled by a man with a control panel, so there isn't the usual possibility of things going awry, but there is some entertainment to be had here all the same.

Teddington Lock

From here, the path continues along on the edge of Ham Lands Nature Reserve and for this stretch, the path heads through woods and there isn't too much to be seen either inland or out across the river. This does lessen the enjoyment of this particular stretch of the walk and there are a few bikes to dodge, both from in front and from behind.

Having passed by Eel Pie Island (which you get a few glimpses of through the trees), it is not too long though before the route opens out, and you get a much nicer route for walking as you head past Ham House to the right (a National Trust property that you can walk around without paying - you need only pay for the house and garden and its a fortune if you are not a member).

The walks out to the side look very attractive and Richmond has been well finished with lots of clear trails that head out in different direction that are all tempting to head down.

But as we pass the ferry crossing across the Thames, my route heads on and with a left bend into a very busy Richmond this stretch is complete. 

It is exceptionally busy today so I take a bit of a back round round to the station, before heading onwards on my train.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 176 OS Landranger map - while there is also a Thames Path guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.