A London borough
Richmond is a suburb of London or as it promotes itself as 'London's most attractive borough'. It was recommended to me so I went to visit. Even after multiple trips to London there are still new places for me to explore. It's quite simple to get there from central London as it's the last stop on the District Line on The Tube.
The riverside area was what was recommended, so after exiting the Richmond station I walked through the main commercial part of the town and came to the terraced Riverside park. The day started off sunny, but in typical U.K. style ended up cooler and gloomier!
Walking down the main road to the river I came across these little cottages tucked away behind the main buildings.
Just when I was almost at the river I saw a sign advertising a local market, the market was in an enclosed courtyard, that I now know is called Heron Square.
The market was mainly food, this was still quite early so not that many people. I was able to go through the square to the riverside, the curved arch of the exit can just be seen at the back of the photo. I was then at the top of the terraced Riverside Park.
I was going to walk along the river path and then I saw a sign for bike hire. There are old boat sheds near Richmond Bridge and one of them has bikes for hire, it's called 'Blazing Saddles' and yes the name did give me a smile! I hired a bike for an hour, they also had helmets! The Australian in me went "I'm not riding without one!" tested the bike out, asked which director was better, got pointed to the less muddy path and off I went. (In the end once I got further away from the main cafes and restaurant part, the path became more rustic and that included puddles and mud!)
Richmond Lock, I hoped that there would be a boat wanting to go through the lock and was disappointed. The Thames locks help keep the river navigateable, as the river is tidal. Locks on the Thames were built in the late 19th century, the Richmond Lock and pedestrian bridge across the river were built from 1891 to 1894. The bridge does look very ornate and Victorian.
My hire bike on the path, the non muddy smooth part! The path is very popular it took a while for me to get a photo with no people in it. There were lots of other bike riders, and plenty of people walking, in groups, families with babies in prams, dogs being taken for a walk.
View from the path to across the river, I think this is part of Syon Park, a private estate that belongs to the Duke of Northumberland.
This is Syon House, the stately home on the estate. It's the London home of the Duke of Northumberland and his family. (Their country home is Alnwick Castle in Northumberland) The family still use Syon House but there are parts that are open to the public. It can also be hired for weddings and film locations.
More of the river path before it got rockier.
The river was being used as I rode along, a rowing club practice session, sound travels over water and I could hear the coach long before they came near me!
I had the bike for an hour so rode 30 minutes to see where it would get me and I managed to arrive at the river end of Kew Gardens. There was no entrance to the gardens but I liked the benches for people to sit and watch the river. (And I suppose people watch everyone on the path!)
I rode back to the main riverside area and still had time to then rode in the other direction to the bike hire boatshed.
Richmond Bridge and the boat ramp. With the weather becoming greyer!
The other side of the bridge with the rowboats. This is going upstream so more parks and gardens along the river.
Going back to Richmond Bridge from upstream. (Time to hand back the bike)
To me Richmond was a lovely way to spend a few hours, I can highly recommend getting a bike and riding along the river, it's all fairly flat so not strenuous at all. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes to retire to after your ride and justify all the food you could consume!
Richmond also has a large and famous park, I haven't explored that at all, so I'm learning something for another time!
Richmond is a suburb of London or as it promotes itself as 'London's most attractive borough'. It was recommended to me so I went to visit. Even after multiple trips to London there are still new places for me to explore. It's quite simple to get there from central London as it's the last stop on the District Line on The Tube.
The riverside area was what was recommended, so after exiting the Richmond station I walked through the main commercial part of the town and came to the terraced Riverside park. The day started off sunny, but in typical U.K. style ended up cooler and gloomier!
Walking down the main road to the river I came across these little cottages tucked away behind the main buildings.
Just when I was almost at the river I saw a sign advertising a local market, the market was in an enclosed courtyard, that I now know is called Heron Square.
I was going to walk along the river path and then I saw a sign for bike hire. There are old boat sheds near Richmond Bridge and one of them has bikes for hire, it's called 'Blazing Saddles' and yes the name did give me a smile! I hired a bike for an hour, they also had helmets! The Australian in me went "I'm not riding without one!" tested the bike out, asked which director was better, got pointed to the less muddy path and off I went. (In the end once I got further away from the main cafes and restaurant part, the path became more rustic and that included puddles and mud!)
Richmond Lock, I hoped that there would be a boat wanting to go through the lock and was disappointed. The Thames locks help keep the river navigateable, as the river is tidal. Locks on the Thames were built in the late 19th century, the Richmond Lock and pedestrian bridge across the river were built from 1891 to 1894. The bridge does look very ornate and Victorian.
My hire bike on the path, the non muddy smooth part! The path is very popular it took a while for me to get a photo with no people in it. There were lots of other bike riders, and plenty of people walking, in groups, families with babies in prams, dogs being taken for a walk.
View from the path to across the river, I think this is part of Syon Park, a private estate that belongs to the Duke of Northumberland.
I rode back to the main riverside area and still had time to then rode in the other direction to the bike hire boatshed.
To me Richmond was a lovely way to spend a few hours, I can highly recommend getting a bike and riding along the river, it's all fairly flat so not strenuous at all. There are plenty of restaurants and cafes to retire to after your ride and justify all the food you could consume!
Richmond also has a large and famous park, I haven't explored that at all, so I'm learning something for another time!
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