Ken’s windup. So this was it. The last day that ended at a pub, as it should. If I looked a bit pained in some of these pictures I have to admit my right knee was telling me all day that maybe Ive walked enough this year. Sort of hobbling by the end of the day. However to have followed this trail from essentially a trickle of water next to dried out pastures tripping over a plethora of animal shit and treacherous tree roots to this highly urban and wealthy epicentre of the British empire and tidewater was totally worth it to get a real sense of this great country. . To me it hits a lot of notes about myself right now to seeing just how focussed and determined Terry is day to day (even to pounding out this blog every damn day!) and how solid Peter is now that he is in the long walk groove. It kind of funny that it doesn’t have the same purposeful feeling as that other walks we’ve done but we’re ok with inventing one for ourselves.
Judgmental pigeon wondering why we are catching the tube instead of walking. Don’t worry. We will. Eventually. After the Uber boat ride. Do they leave them out all night in the rain? Only £1 per book.Putney Bridge. Just checking my stock portfolio or something like that. (Terry’s comment – I wish!) Meanwhile I’m out enjoying watching the Thames Path go by.Once featured on a pink Floyd album cover. The scrounger happily scrounging. I found this lovely piece of very old tile. Does that make me an official mudlarker now? So many details that you can easily miss.This face always happens when Ken tells her to look… Lambeth Palace.Monument to Special Operating Executives. 177 operatives sent into France during World War 2 to work with the French Resistance. The statue is of Violet Szabo, one of many who did not return.When I think of all those COVID deniers, here is the sobering truth. The National COVID Memorial Wall is about 1/2 kilometer in length. What a touching thing to do. Ken decided to do the tourist thing and go u in the London Eye… For a mere £117 pounds ($240 Cdn). Ouch. That is the same red rowing boat we saw when were on the Uber Thames Clipper. What? I missed another opportunity for high tea? I knew should have bought that “high tea” hat!That looks so…appetizing!?Skateboard. We watched a guy fly over the stairs and fall at the bottom. But he just kept popping up and trying again (I would still be on the ground whimpering after the first fall). He made it on the 7th try and I heard him say “finally”. He got a big round of applause from those of us watching. In all of our trips to London, we have yet to make it to St Paul’s Cathedral. I am not the only one who feeds the birds. He must feed them regularly as the swans would take the food out of his hand. Ken hired the “Poet for Hire”. He says he makes a steady income at this. Ken told him the story of our walk and this is what the Poet typed.Just a random giant lobster. Southwark Cathedral. I admit to getting emotional here. This for me was the end of our Thames River Path walk…because it was also the beginning of our Via Francigena pilgrimage in 2022 and the Francigena Britannica in 2025.On previous walks I found candles to light all across France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. But Southwark Cathedral has been the only place to do so on this trip. But it seems fitting somehow, as this place means so much to me. So… The three top candles on the left top are for my friend Ethel who left us last November, for my friend Momma Mary to bring her joy, and for my friend Mary Ann to bring her peace. 44 panels. 10 years. 25 million stitches. Wow! The Belfast. This ship supported Canadian troops at Juno Beach during the DDay Landings. Last year Peter wanted to get the stuffed cat but he couldn’t as we were embarking on a 1200 km hike. So he said “some day” so apparently today was “some day”. The ship of course had a cat to keep rodents under control. Ken’s ancestor Jean Cote emigrated from Brittany to Quebec in 1635.Hays Galleria. Steam punk ship. The patiently waiting pose. A micro-park. Great idea. Tower Bridge. The end of the 2nd last stage of the Thames Path. The official end is the Thames Barrier but we walked that route in both 2022 and 2025.Tower of LondonTower BridgeKen was fascinated by this hole. This really symbolizes London to me. Nice shiny stuff on top of old garbage and debris which will in turn be old garbage buried in its turn. A living city I guess. We had not yet seen this post box – of Queen Victoria vintage. One of the originals. 1888.Shad Thames. Sticky Mango by Peter LloydThe other pilings had cans and bottles shoved in them but this was special. This is where they hung the pirates. Even by the end of the walk we still had hopes we’d meet a spot where Dave the Goblin had been. No luck in London. We had run across his sticker on signposts all over the Camino last year and he was almost an old friend. Dave, if you’re out there, get a hold of us? Their anti-climb paint didn’t stop me from sticking my phone through the fence to take a picture of their unfriendly garden. The last time we will see the acorn symbol of the Thames Path.I don’t know what those red things are for. We stopped at this pub in 2025. We are retracing our steps to Ken’s end point of this walk – the Angel Pub. The fountain wasn’t fountain-ing and the square was sadly not green.The dog was chasing a squirrel.HazelnutsTells the story of these statues. Ken’s end goal – his favourite pub. It literally hangs over the Thames. Waiting for our friend Nick, who is the Chair of the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome, which provides wonderful services for those embarking on the Via Francigena. We had met him at the Angel almost exactly a year ago. Attitude with a capital A! Nick. Hammersmith was our home for 6 nights. We were a 5 minute walk from the station. The 10.99 is actual walking distance.
The blog will continue in a couple of days – we have a day in London and then fly to Dublin on September 4th. We’ll have a couple days their and then get on our self-drive boat on the River Shannon for a week.
But this is the last post of the Thames Path portion.
