Sometimes you just want to go for a nice walk, nothing too taxing, a bit of a stroll, lots to see, world class views, close to public transport, utterly accessible, brand new passageway included, familiar but fresh, won't take long. So here's a mile and a half across the City of London along the edge of the Thames, nowhere near enough to make a day of it but a nice walk all the same.
Let's start on the Victoria Embankment beside the dragon on the pedestal, because that's where the City begins so why would you start anywhere else? The walk along the north side of the Thames is less well known than the South Bank, in part because it's quite bitty and at one point you have to abandon the riverside and detour inland. But that longstanding gap was finally filled a fortnight ago when a short revamped passageway opened beneath some apartments and a hotel and now you can hug the river all the way. In what follows I will therefore focus on the new bit and merely skate past the rest because I've blogged all that before...
That dragon used to sit above the entrance of the Coal Exchange, the ends of the benches are decorated with camels, the red telephone box has stained glass panels, the blue telephone box is no longer in use, Crown Pier is presently boatless, the glorious London plane trees are just about to burst forth, those twirly fish lampstands are totally classy, the tide looks to be out, mind the bicycles they could be coming in either direction...
Actually when I said the entire Thames Path was complete I was lying, the next section where the Thames Tideway is being built requires a diversion. It was sequestered six years ago so that the Fleet and Northern Outfall Sewer could be connected to a massive futureproofed tunnel which will eventually leave Londoners with reclaimed foreshore and a new place to sit. But it's all taking much longer than first expected and the huge cranes are still in evidence, hence "footpath ahead is closed please use the route shown to continue your journey". Pay close attention to the line on the map because nobody's bothered to put up any other signs.
...those steps lead down from Blackfriars Bridge to Paul's Walk, everyone takes the photo of the salmon coloured pillars with no bridge on top, time to duck beneath the actual railway station, they moved Blackfriars pier to this new location, it's all roadway and concrete along here, with the tide out you can see a lot of wooden posts sticking up out of the water, there are people down there mudlarking, that staircase is quite steep, they're not the most attractive benches, the funicular lift remains out of operation, I wouldn't risk using a picture of Sir John Betjeman on hoardings for 'London's Latest Riverside Landmark', they're preparing for service at Solstice and setting out the glasses at High Timber, oh hang on here comes the new bit...
The Thames Path has stalled here at a set of locked gates for the last 20 years because the passageway ahead was deemed too susceptible to crime. A lengthy dogleg with shielded corners, poor lighting and no emergency access looked better on the architect's drawing board than in real life. But now thankfully the diversion via High Timber Street is at an end and on we stride into a strange cavern glowing with soft blue lights. The walls are all brick with smoothed-off corners and the occasional geometric slant. Whatever's illuminating the ceiling is hidden behind a curved metal grille at the top of several columns. And over there on the wall is an observation notch with a letterbox panorama facing the Globe Theatre, which'll be why this has been christened Globe View Walkway.
The view would obviously be a lot better if we weren't walking under a block of flats but there's an undisputed novelty to seeing it through a brick slot. A step-up has been provided for shorter visitors. Rising in the middle of the next chamber is an iron pillar painted in white and red which has been in place ever since this was a warehouse and performs the very useful task of holding up the roof. You'll probably have got your camera out by now. You can also pause here for a pint at The Samuel Pepys which was previously isolated at the tip of Stew Lane but is now connected to the wider waterside.
And then you emerge into a duller corridor with larger vistas and a choice of ramp or steps. We're now underneath a new hotel, whose protracted completion delayed the opening up of this route for several years, and which insists on advertising itself as you walk round. The visuals are all pampering and pillows, the copywriting relentlessly emphasises 'wellness' and they're currently running a competition offering five nights in the Maldives if you upload a tagged photo of your best yoga pose to Instagram. The target clientele patently laps it up. Alas what they haven't done is provide obvious signage at the other end of the walkway so there's every risk you'd still continue up to the main road and miss it.
Of considerably greater antiquity is the inlet of Queenhithe, the City's oldest dock, which is thought to have been used by the Romans and definitely by the Saxons who established a market alongside. At high tide it's just a square of murky water but towards low tide a long clinkery slope appears, around which you can now walk three sides rather than previously just one. And that's the new bit done, cheers! If it's all felt somewhat claustrophobic that's because the City is building defences fit for future sea levels, not today's.
...ever onward, the Vintners' pile is very much of its era, the passageway under Southwark Bridge has lovely tiles but always feels like walking through a Victorian urinal, the Little Ship Club has the best bench, hold your nose while crossing Walbrook Wharf in case they're taking the bins out, it's never more than a 15 minute wait, now to duck beneath Cannon Street station, yes those are cannons, The Banker is holding a meet-the-distiller event next week, it always smells of chlorinated swimming pool in this passageway, DO NOT URINATE HERE £150 FINE, a first glimpse of Tower Bridge, this is Oystergate Walk, the local architecture inspires nobody, Caution - Demolition in Progress, of course Fishmongers Hall is by the river, there go the Marine Policing Unit in a speedboat...
...London Bridge was 50 years old last month, The London Bridge Staircase by comparison isn't yet 7, here's where the medieval crossing touched down, the golden ball at the top of The Monument glints in the sun, follow the pointing hand for Public Terrace River Views, the litterpicker is blaring some 70s soul from a portable speaker, the Richard Desmond Life Without Limits Centre supports blind and partially-sighted children, those are geese on the pleasureboat, the weathervane is a fish, Walkway Subject To Occasional Flooding, that's a big winch, most people divert onto the new jetty, this way for the Thames RIB Experience, drinks cost more when you sit in a perspex igloo, fancy a croissant from Paul?
...and just before the Tower of London we cross an invisible boundary and this nice walk is at an end. My thanks to the City of London for finally filling in the bit in the middle.
