Thames Path Walk - The Fourth Leg: Westminster to Greenwich.

On Saturday 13th June the Effoggers could be found once again pounding the pavements on our way along the Thames path.  This latest leg saw us back at Westminster amongst the seas of tourists, and it took a bit of careful herding to get everyone on the path in the right direction!  This section is probably the most well known, with the history of London laid out along the river in front of us.  We made our way slowly along the path, passing the Temple buildings, St Paul's, the National Theatre and the Tate Modern and the variety of bridges along this stretch of the river.  Close to Cannon Street railway bridge, the front part of the group, while waiting for the tail end to catch up, was lucky enough to have sometime to watch the only working wharf in the City of London in operation.  Barges take rubbish away from the City and the pathway is closed by a set of level crossing barriers, necessitating a small diversion away from the river. 

We were also diverted at the Tower of London as the riverfront had been closed to allow for the firing of the guns in tribute to the Queen for the Trooping of the Colour, something we had all forgotten about until we crossed over Tower Bridge and heard the guns booming behind us!

Beyond Tower Bridge the path opened up and we were able to make much quicker progress along to the Surrey Docks City Farm, where a surprise awaited us.  New club member Graham was sitting waiting for us, having missed us at the start.  Graham had navigated his way along the path after missing the start due to a mix up on the tubes, and somehow must have passed us en route, arriving at the farm some half an hour before the rest of the group.  Good navigating skills and guesswork, Graham!

After lunch at the farm, we made our way along the final stretch through Deptford and the old Navy victualling and administrative yards, passing a statue of the giant Russian Tsar, Peter the Great (six feet eight inches tall) and then along the newly opened section of the path into Greenwich via the waterfront rather than the town, a much nicer approach.  Everyone was able to spend the rest of a sunny afternoon in Greenwich, where the next leg begins in front of the Cutty Sark in July!