Outdoors & Nature

Ideal for a sunny day. And for a cold rainy day: "There's no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing".

Thames Path: Richmond to Teddington Lock

The stretch of river that stopped looking like London somewhere around 1750.

3 miles, 1 to 2 hoursWalks & routesWildlifeViewsFree

The Thames Path at Teddington Lock, grass and trees beside the lock gates — The path at Teddington Lock, where the tide stops. Photo by David Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The prettiest short walk in the city and the only stretch of the Thames still protected by an Act of Parliament: the view from Richmond Hill over Petersham Meadows has been legally defended since 1902, and cattle still graze the meadow below it. The path runs under Richmond Bridge and out past Petersham, Ham House and its seventeenth-century gardens, and Ham Lands, which is a nature reserve, to the lock at Teddington where the tidal river ends.

It is level, mostly shaded and easy underfoot, and there are pubs at both ends and one in the middle. Cross the footbridge at Teddington and you can come back along the Middlesex bank through Twickenham for a different three miles.

Where: Richmond Bridge to Teddington Lock, along the Surrey bank
Start: Richmond Bridge — Richmond
End: Teddington Lock — Teddington or Hampton Wick

Google Maps nationaltrail.co.uk

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Data is compiled from public sources including OpenStreetMap, under the ODbL. Hours change often, so check before making a journey.