Day 16 - Putney to London Bridge, 9.2m

We left Ellie's house early again as the forecast was for another hot day and retraced our steps along Festing Road to the river.  Even just after 7am, the boat clubs along the embankment to Putney Bridge were open, though no-one was out rowing yet.  Putney Bridge marks the end of the Thames towpath, the start point for the Boat Race and the beginning of urban London.

We had to wait for the rush hour traffic to cross the bridge and the next part of the path, which wended its way through high rise blocks near the river and then back to the river, was full of cyclists all going pretty fast and not necessarily sticking to the cycle lane. We stayed with the cyclists for quite a while, and felt as if we might get knocked over at any minute, but fortunately they all seemed competent, even when they passed only inches away and they were very useful as we could follow them when we weren't sure of the route.

As we reached Wandsworth, we walked through the riverside park, past some interesting houseboats before a detour past the rather unattractive River Wandle.

In the next section, we could begin to see the developments going up all along the Thames on both sides.  Some much more attractive than others.

After the Albert Bridge, the really attractive white suspension bridge, we reached Battersea Park, which is really lovely and has a huge Bhuddist Pagoda in the middle.

We decided to cross the river at Chelsea Bridge, so that we could walk along the Chelsea Embankment rather than walk along main roads behind Battersea Power Station and construction sites in Nine Elms. We crossed back over at Vauxhall Bridge and went back down to the path on the south bank past Vauxhxall Cross home of MI6.

Then we were in tourist London, passing the Houses of Parliament and the London Eye, the National Theatre, St Paul's and all the famous sights.  From then on, we hardly heard a word of English!

At the Milennium Bridge, we walked halfway across to get a better view of St. Paul's and the Tate Modern.  On the way back, we noticed the little house (the tall white one) which featured in the historical novel 'The House on the Thames' and, of course, the Rose Theatre.  We soon arrived at the Golden Hinde II and London Bridge, the end of today's leg.