Wednesday 1 April Thames Path.

I have a brochure that outlines the part of the Thames Path (trail that follows the Thames from its source in the Cotswolds for 294km through London to the Thames barrier) near here. I set off this morning walking westward. It was interesting – a whole range of housing from council flats to fancy new blocks of large apartments. It was quite peaceful for most of the way – assorted boats along the river. I stopped at Putney for morning tea. It was a peculiar mix of an old style English café (apple pie, jam tart, chips and eggs and sausages) and an Italian café ( football team photos on the wall). It had old lino tables with the tomato sauce and a few other bottles, a delightful Italian family Mum, dad, 3 adult daughters all serving plus someone in the kitchen. There were always people waiting to be served – mainly local workmen – most were having chips and eggs. I had a very nice cup of coffee ₤1.30 ( the cheapest I’ve seen it has been 1.95) and a large piece of apple pie ₤1.40. Usually cakes are around ₤3. Many of the customers were known to the family and some had a shot of alcohol in the coffee ( Italian style) .

I walked onto Barnes. I cut off a loop of the river by walking along another path that went through a Common. I could have been miles from anywhere. Barnes has a real village feel to it. There is a pond in the middle of the shops with kids and ducks and mothers with prams. It was a bit early to stop for lunch so I walked on a bit and came to a nice looking pub right on the river so had some cider while I waited for 12 noon then had lunch. I crossed the river and walked back along the other side of the river, but only as far as Chiswick. I caught a bus and then train to get home. I walked a fair way and am about to have a bath.