Thames Path - Kingston to Byfleet (★★★☆☆)

It was a wet start to the day on a walk where I would once again be ticking off another section of the River Thames. Prior to this walk I had done four sections along the Thames Path, ticking off sections from the Thames Barrier to Hampton Court - with the last section walking being from Hampton Court to Richmond. Today I would be continuing on to Weybridge, and then turning off to follow the Wey Navigation to Byfleet.

Initially I would be repeating the section from Kingston to Hampton Court I had walked previously, having made the decision to start this time from Kingston - as that offered the best chance to stop off and get something to eat on the way out.

And so I arrive in Kingston, stop off to get something to eat and then on the way through Kingston it becomes clear that it was about to rain - and then as I cross over Kingston Bridge the heavens begin to open.

Kingston Bridge in the rain

At this point there is a lot of panicking among the general public, who by this point in summer hadn't seen rain in a long time - and all of a sudden the crowds thin and I have the Thames to myself, as everyone has abandoned their walks and run off home.

Fortunately, I am good to continue on, as rain is not a fatal condition - and this light spell of rain does not actually last too long.

From Kingston Bridge, we are walking a long loop in the river heading past Surbiton (with Hampton Court Park to the north). Here the path is good and there is plenty of shelter under the trees as the last of the rain passes by, but it is not too long before the river starts to bend back round and head towards Hampton Court.

Hampton Court is very quiet and so I am hopeful of getting some good photos, but as I arrive in the perfect spot for a photo, without a soul in sight to get in the way, I look up to see the roof covered in scaffolding - and gave up on my photo shoot.

Instead it is time to head up to Hamton Court Bridge, where I should have immediately cross the road - but instead cross over and then head on down to the station, where I have permission to cross the road.

I have hidden the scaffolding behind the trees

For those not used to Britain, if you are a pedestrian, you are allocated specific spots to cross the road - and while sometimes these are close to where you wish to cross, at other times you will have to make great pilgrimages to a subway or other installation in order to get across. The extra walk to cross was admittedly not quite as terrible as I am making out and involved no subway or great stretch of extra walking, but I could have saved some huffing and puffing about the inconvenience by crossing on the palace side of the Thames. Unfortunately, just getting over the inconvenience is not an option.

Once I have settled down from my minor temper tantrum, it is time of head on past Molesey Lock, which sits just past Hampton Court Bridge.

Molesey Lock

From here there is a short stint to clear before we head into Hurst Park - where we get a view out to Hampton on the north side of the Thames (there is a ferry if you fancy a trip over).

Looking at a fancy house from Hurst Park

On the way, one of the notable features that stands out are the floating buildings that adorn this part of the Thames. The existence of these is somewhat puzzling, as the Thames generally encourages all traffic to keep moving - in an attempt to ensure that navigating boats are able to find places to moor - but these obviously aren't on the move. But since these have clearly been here for some time there must be some form of exemption for them, or they are just very good at paying the right bribes to the right people.

Floating homes

Next, it is on round to pass Platt's Eyot - which is one of the many islands on the Thames. These islands are mostly occupied by restaurants or cafes, but this one is a tad more industrial, and here as we start to leave Molesey and Hampton behind, we enter a quieter and less populated stretch of the Thames where many of the larger reservoirs can be found.

These reservoirs are not very visible from the ground, but are the dominant features on the map - with the Bessborough and Knight Reservoirs being completed in 1907 and the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir following in 1962. The nearby Island Barn Reservoir (south of Molesey) was built in 1911. Alongside these we will be passing much more minor reservoirs, which sit closer to the river.

The ones we are passing are mere puddles, but even the larger Bessborough and Knight Reservoirs are pretty small compared to the king (or maybe I should say queen) of reservoirs - the Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir. While combined Bessborough and Knight hold 1.2 billion gallons of water, QEIIR holds 4.3 billion gallons, which is quite a lot of water.

It is great for London that it has all these reservoirs here ensuring adequate water supplies, but it does perhaps make for a less enjoyable landscape for a walk, as there really isn't much here to see other than the river and the embankments of the smaller reservoirs.

But eventually we make it past these reservoirs to reach Sunbury Lock, with its views looking out towards Sudbury-on-Thames - and as there are ample benches I stop here for a bit of a rest.

Sudbury-on-Thames and Sudbury Lock (to the left)

Sudbury Lock from the far side

From here there is a stretch with a very countrysidey feel, that fades out as we head past Walton-on-Thames - and here we have a section passing by all the houses sat along the river - before heading through the marina and under Walton Bridge.

Walton Bridge

I'll give Walton Bridge a bit of credit, as the nice high bridge definitely makes the area more pleasant than it otherwise would be - and this is in fact the sixth bridge to sit at this spot. The second was a rather nice stone affair that was painted by Turner and quite a few other artists over the years, but it collapsed in 1859 - to be followed by a series of increasingly ugly bridges - up until the current replacement, which arrived in 2013 (which was less ugly to be clear).

The second bridge (before Walton-on-Thames existed)

This bridge is also useful for those following the Thames further up it's path, as from here you can cross this bridge and then make the best of the walking on the far side - else your other options are to head to Weybridge and get the ferry (the official route and the one that sounds most fun), or head down the Wey and then cut up to rejoin the Thames Path at Chertsey.

But sticking to the task at hand, from here the path continues on along a cut in the Thames to divert around a large meander in it's path - and then at the end of this meander we arrive at the famous ferry which takes any Thames Path walkers on towards Chertsey, Staines and Windsor.

These ferries operate up and down the river as there are long stretches with no bridges - and there is a very small boat that runs every 15 minutes, with a little bell on the Weybridge side in order to let the ferry know you'd like to cross (apparently it is rude to press it at the wrong time though).

The ferry runs 8:30-17:30 weekdays, 9:00-17:00 on Saturdays and 10:00-17:00 on Sundays and takes card payments for those continuing on to follow the Thames Path towards it's source.

But for me this service is not needed, as I'm going to be joining up with the Wey Navigation and then briefly following that to Byfleet.

This means cutting up through Weybridge, and then crossing over to Hamhaugh Island - which also marks the most southerly point of the River Thames. This is actually a manmade island that was built to help control the flow of the Thames, being constructed at the same time that Shepperton Lock was installed. 

Crossing over to Hamhaugh Island

From here it is now a very short walk round to Thames Lock and the start of the Wey Navigation. From here the Navigation runs for about twenty miles down to Godalming - from which the river becomes too small for onward passage (at least for now, as more routes are being slowly opened up).

Meeting the Wey at Thames Lock

The hut at Thames Lock with information boards - it smells of hay

Having successfully joined the River Wey, the next task is to have a bit of a look at some of the larger houses that sit along the river at Weybridge. For a mere £2-3 million one of these riverside houses could by yours, but if like me you cannot afford that fee, you can at least take a look at them on your way past on this walk.

The River Wey

Fancy houses on the right

From here it is a short run down to The Wey Bridge - which the super sleuth in me thinks may have something to do with the fact that the town here is called Weybridge.

Unfortunately the super sleuth in me is wrong, because the 7th century records note a settlement here by the name of Weiburgge - whilst this bridge is a much later installation. So there would have been a bridge, but certainly not this bridge setting the name.

The Wey Bridge

The same bridge in the 1920s

From here we must cross the road, and then we hop over a minor road to follow the Wey round a bend, before crossing over, as we begin the run down into Byfleet.

From here we pass under the railway and then arrive at the fairly busy Mill Pond on the edge of Addlestone - complete with renovated mills (now apartments it seems). Originally this was an iron working mill driver by a waterwheel, and the large reservoir was installed to ensure continuous operation. Later the mill moved onto flour production and silk weaving. 

The mill continued operation all the way from its construction in the 1780s through to 1969, and as a flour mill much of the grain would have been arriving from London Docks, following a similar route to us today.

A barge arriving at Coxes Mill

A barge being loaded with grain at London Docks

But we must continue on further down the River Wey and continue along a stretch heading down to New Haw Lock.

New Haw Lock

From here there is a long open stretch to clear, before a small less enjoyable section heading under the M25, and then on to the next road crossing - which is my exit point, heading off to Byfleet and New Haw station.

In hindsight I made the wrong choice here. By heading down to the next bridge I met up with routes I had walked before, and this allowed me to complete the full extent of the Wey Navigation - but the better option for mere enjoyment would have been to cross over the footbridge immediately after passing under the M25, and then the Basingstoke Canal could be followed to West Byfleet train station.

That canal can also be followed further into Woking, which may be preferable to waiting for the slower train services at either of the Byfleet stations.

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 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.