Running for 180 miles (288 km) from the river's source in rural Gloucestershire to the  Thames barrier, the Thames Path is England's newest National Trail and one of the most varied and accessible of the country's long-distance paths. The Countryside Agency's acorn waymarks lead the walker through tranquil water meadows, past the dreaming spires of Oxford and the pageantry of Windsor and Hampton Court, through the heart of the capital, to London's Docklands and beyond. This is the official guide to the Path and will be invaluable to the long-distance walker and weekend stroller alike.

Category : Thames Path Guide books

Customer reviews
“This is an indispensable companion if walking the Thames Path, and if you are taking only one book along with you, it should be this one. Others, such as Turner's one on pubs, the National Trail Companion, and the Imray map, are helpful, but you can get along without them if you have this.

David Sharp, the author, is one of the founders of the Path. His other book, on he London Loop, which he also helped found, is equally excellent. As another reviewer points out, you can't follow the Path uptream with this book.”

A farmhouse on which Wind in the Willows character Ratty's home was reputedly based is taken over by squatters.

The London Festival of Architecture 2008 will bring together cultural institutions along the <b>River Thames</b> for a coordinated late opening and galleries, institutions and public spaces will come alive with events. <b>…</b>

EAGER  Tower Hamlets folk are flocking to tour the host sites in East London for the 2012 Olympic Games. So much so that that the council has arranged extra dates. These will take place on Thursday evenings on July 24 and September 11. The bus tour will

<p>Twenty four birds successfully netted, one escapee. The London <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/h/housesparrow/" title="House sparrow factfile">House Sparrow</a> Research Project has been running for a couple of years now, and this week I joined two of the team as they weighed, measured and ringed sparrows in Islington.</p><p><img align="right" alt="Recording field data" height="150" hspace="10" src="http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/ringingequipment_1015398_300_tcm9-148410.jpg" style="width:300px;height:150px" title="Recording field data" width="300">Without taking any ages in to account I can reveal that the average weight of the sparrows was equal to that of a two-pound coin and a one-pound coin combined. Average wing length was about that of my index finger (7.5 cm) and the average tarsus, 2.5 cm or the same as the width of my thumb knuckle. Of course these averages are a bit of a nonsense because our sample included tiny juveniles and older males and females, but it is quite a low weight.</p><p>Netting is not selective so we also measured and weighed two blackbirds, two great tits, one lovely little robin and a starling. A typical selection of the species found on the site, a small park in Islington's Laycock Street. We were of course, primarily interested in sparrows.</p><p>The research project is trying to find out why sparrows are vanishing from London. Their numbers have dropped dramatically compared with the populations recorded in the 90's. No disease has been found to account for the losses and even when predation by cats and birds of prey are taken in to account, the speed and depth of the decline suggests something else is to blame. We know that a lack of food and shelter have had an impact so studies continue to look at other possibilities while supplying both food and shelter for some colonies.</p><p>House sparrow numbers reached an artificial high in the UK when our streets were full of horses chomping on oats and doing what horses do when their stomachs are full! When the internal combustion engine put horses out-to-retirement, house sparrow numbers started to drop to a more natural level. That was expected, but the decline we're concerned with is more sudden and recent. At present, it remains a mystery, but we're determined to crack it.</p><p>Sticking with red-listed birds. Last week we lost one of this year's new batch of <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/p/peregrine/index.asp" title="Peregrine factfile">peregrines</a>. The female had to be put-down after badly injuring herself in a collision. Since then I've been finding out just how many peregrines hatched in Greater London this year. We had a nice round-figure of ten chicks from our six breeding pairs. It seems this is one threatened species  that is on the long, slow road to recovery.</p><p>We've been having a lot of calls to the London Office from people who've found <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/health/babybirds.asp" title="Factfile on baby birds">young birds</a> unable to fly. Rest assured these are youngsters and that they have a higher chance of surviving if left alone than they do if you intervene. The parents will be nearby and can help if required, so please resist temptation, enjoy the encounter and move on. If you want to know any more about the work of the RSPB and some of the amazing wildlife sharing our Capital city, come and find us on <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/brilliant/sites/hampsteadheath/index.asp" title="Ignore the dates shown on the linked page, we're there Friday, 4 & Sunday, 6 July!">Hampstead Heath</a> this Friday and Sunday.</p><img src="http://blogs.rspb.org.uk/aggbug.aspx?PostID=2832" width="1" height="1">

BBC Television Centre in west London should be listed as a grade II building, English Heritage says.

Control zones in and around an area affected by an outbreak of bird flu in Oxfordshire are lifted.

"Monday before last my ears started humming, and I just ignored it, but then my daughter (the biggest skeptic there is) said she could see an odd green light hovering over the <b>river</b> (<b>River Thames</b> in Hampton, UK) I took a look and at <b>…</b>

Seahorses have been found in the <b>River Thames</b>. Yes, that one which was declared biologicaly dead in the 1950s. Apparently they are attracted by the high levels of planketon and the rise in global warming. Lol. Who would have guessed? <b>…</b>

Nelson Mandela joined music stars on stage at a concert in central London celebrating his 90th birthday.

Police target drugs and weapons on pleasure boats as part of a series of raids throughout the summer.

A VICTORIAN mini-replica of London?s iconic Big Ben clock tower has just been refurbished after being in disrepair for two decades. The clock tower at the former Co-Operative Wholesale Society HQ in East London has been restored by developers following guidelines from English Heritage. The Sugar House tower in Whitechapel, half-a-mile from the Tower of London, is a quarter-sized version of the original at  Westminster which celebrates its 150th anniversary next year

<p><a href="http://books.google.fr/BDYgaKTgQiLWkwbPV7ML-ARoUwuswTytcS5ctbheIjGP3Fe4bFQY">Thames Path</a> added:</p><p><a href="http://books.google.fr/books?id=yiIEAAAACAAJ&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1"><img src="http://bks5.books.google.fr/books?id=yiIEAAAACAAJ&printsec=frontcover&img=1&zoom=5&sig=ACfU3U1kOiGfAJzPpE7lLjB8fhn4xLTNTg" alt="Pubs of the River Thames" title="Pubs of the River Thames" height="80"></a></p><p><a href="http://books.google.fr/books?id=yiIEAAAACAAJ&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1">Pubs of the River Thames</a> - Mark Turner</p>

<p><a href="http://books.google.fr/BDYgaKTgQiLWkwbPV7ML-ARoUwuswTytcS5ctbheIjGP3Fe4bFQY">Thames Path</a> added:</p><p><a href="http://books.google.fr/books?id=jmqfAAAACAAJ&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1">Thames: An Anthology of River Poems</a> - Anna Adams, James McNeill Whistler</p>

added: - Henry Taunt

added: - Jerome K. Jerome

added: - David Perrott, Robert Nicholson Publications