Old English
Richmond to Putney
September
The Thames Path is easy to follow, no need for a map here. I wanted to celebrate this ancient way into London, to feel its history and enjoy its parkland but instead, I felt excluded, unwanted and unwelcome.
For 15km from Richmond to Putney I found no public toilets (except for pubs), nowhere to refill my water bottle or buy an ice cream. This path does not cater for distance walkers but can be dipped in and out of my locals and their dogs.
The place names remind me of the Saxon people who used this route. Before Henry VII renamed it, Richmond was Sheen. I hoped this was a reference to the sunlight on the water but it seems to come from Sceon which is Saxon for shed or shelter.
Around the Old Deer Park, the Thames Path is kept away from the Crown Land with its sports grounds, by a ditch and fences, the walker is not invited in. Next, the Royal Botanical Gardens of Kew peek from behind their defences. I would have walked through the gardens if the entry hadn’t been £21.50. I can remember going as a child in the 1960s when the turnstile entry cost 1d. Another publicly owned place reserved for the elites.
Kew is named from an amalgamation of Old French and Old English, Cayho meaning quai and a spur of land. Kew bridge sits on the apex of this headland where the river turns from North-West to South-East. It must have challenged visiting sailors as they travelled along the twisting river and a steady breeze changed from side to side. The collier boat my ancestors sailed in to bring coal to London could even travel using the backs of their sails and going stern first across the busy river. (See pages 143-144, Coals from Newcastle by Roger Finch.)
I stopped at the National Archives, home of the Doomsday Book, for a break. Any other day would have offered me a shop, café and toilets, but they are closed on Mondays.
On to Mortlake, which sounds dead but refers to the young salmon, morts, and their stream. What joy to be in Saxon England when the young salmon swam in the Thames. This is where the Oxford and Cambridge boat race finishes, 4 Miles and 374 yards from the start at Putney. There are people out rowing on the river today but little along the river to celebrate this annual event.
Around another Thames headland with Chiswick on the north bank and Barnes on the south. Ceswican means "Cheese Farm" in Old English and Barnes is Bere-ærn “barn a storehouse for barley and other grain”.
Once again, I walk past a fenced off area, this time it’s the Barnes Wetland Centre where the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust charge £15.40 for adult entry.
Heading South-East into Putney where the Anglo-Saxon Putta had a landing place and I have a train to catch to Clapham Junction and home.
