A day without the big headlines was still a great day of enjoying the river and a detour. Most of the day was a gentle stroll alongside the peaceful river as it continued on its eastward journey. Some more deer sightings were a highlight, and we took the smallest ferry across the river.
We had greatly enjoyed staying at our hotel in Chertsey and caught a few sights as we were leaving.
The first couple of miles was a rural stroll along a quiet towpath.
After a couple of miles, we came to our only ferry crossing point over the river.
The next stretch of river remained peaceful. At times it was like a green tunnel, but then it opened up for views of the river and boats or birds.
Shepperton’s footbridge provided a scenic backdrop.
The next few miles provided some interesting new sights.
We crossed Hampton Court Bridge though unfortunately Hampton Court was closed so we could not enter. Something for next time!
A suggested diversion was to go through a park and visit a statue of Diana, instead of following the river. I was expecting a statue of Princess Diana…
However, while the statue disappointed, the deer did not.
It was a fun stroll through a large park that I had not even heard of before.
As we left the park, we immediately felt a change to greater urbanization, amplified as we left the path and headed towards our hotel.
We ate a tasty meal at the pub to finish off a simple but fine day. On multi-day hikes like this, too much every day becomes overwhelming, and a shorter simpler day was required recovery from the previous full day. These days help us appreciate the length of the Thames and the many different environments that it flows through. We had arrived within urban London and future days would bring fewer green spaces but more famous sites.
The Adventures of the Cajunlimeys 