1 I'm told. Ended the walk at The Fox, where a band was playing

The Secretive Eel Pie Island in Twickenham Is Open To Visitors This Weekend

Eel Pie Island open day

Thanks, MoonBrain - well spotted. Definitely worth a visit at the end of the walk.

This walk must hold the record for fewest and least adequate walk directions! For someone without GPS, how do you get from Twickenham station to the river Crane? When you get to it, presumably you turn left. Then how do you identify the turning onto Duke of Northumberland's river? And does this take you direct to the Thames and or do you need to identify where it turns right to do so? At least if you manage to find the way that far it should be plain sailing to follow the riverside path back to Twickenham!

@MG: Like it or not, some of the new walks being added to this site have few if any written directions - eg. see Walk 419 Lewes to Brighton, "a short map/GPS led walk" with no route description at all. But that might be enough for most people: after all, the overwhelming majority who come on these group walks simply follow a line on their phone (or the person in front).

As a rule I'd prefer to post walks with written directions together with some information about what to see en route, but we're limited for choice on these short winter days (and my original choice of walk was scuppered at the last minute by the ASLEF action).

If you print off the street map for guidance then navigation on this suburban walk shouldn't be too difficult. You turn right out of the station and I remember the start of the River Crane walk being signposted. There's definitely a large information panel "The Duke's River Walk" where you turn off to go alongside the Duke of Northumberland's River. However, I don't know what the waymarking is like for the rest of the stretch to the River Thames at Isleworth.

There are some lovely old trees in and around Marble Hill Park, including the black walnut tree (described as the 3rd largest in the UK - home to little owls) - located near the towpath entrance; and a few huge, majestic London plane trees further along the towpath (near the viewpoint, across from Ham House). There's also Orleans House next to MH - what's left of it - with an interesting history. There's a café at MH and OH. Plus a couple of pubs nearby.

Church Street in Twick also has some cafes and pubs.

Because of the lack of walk directions for this walk and the fact that I need to walk much earlier than the group walk timing in order to be in central London mid-afternoon I've reluctantly decided not to do this walk today but want to make a plea to those who will be doing so because they have GPS or are otherwise much better at way finding than myself. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could be public-spirited enough to subsequently write in a few directions, especially for the initial stretch through suburban streets to locate the river crane path, anything to look out for on this path, when to shift to the Duke of Northumberland river path and anything to look out for on it. Thank you!

16 at the station, with one on a later train, makes 17 A cloudy mild mostly dry day that got damper as we neared Twickers but most would have been on the train home before the real rain came.

A distinctly urban feel to the morning as the rivers threaded through housing and past stadiums.

These at the back had a fleeting moment of smugness when the fast ones overshot a right turn and found themselves bringing up the rear. It didn’t last.

A stop of sorts was made at the Town Wharf, where drinks were consumed. (The official stop was the London Apprentice but we didn’t see that because we were either following the GPS or the people in front). Some picnicked outside. Others went on.

The latecomer did visit the London Apprentice but managed to catch some of us up later.

The afternoon was along the big river. En route, we visited Orleans House and went for a wander round the gardens of York House. Thankfully, the ‘Barenaked Ladies’ were hidden by scaffolding, so any blushes were spared. We had a look round Eel Pie Island, a ramshackle collection of buildings and artists’ studios, then visited the Barmy Arms. Those who stayed for a second drink had a rainy walk to the station.

2 off the train, with 1 other already waiting, off an earlier one: 3.

The forecast promised showers but all we got were a few minutes of squall at the beginning: substantially dry . It took 20 minutes to reach the Thames and from there, route finding was of course easy-peasy. The Thames Path is more than sufficiently lit and although one can not see much on the river and beyond it on the far side, occasional well lit big houses (Marble Hill House, Orleans House etc), as well as some fine residential homes and several river barges with Xmas lights on display, kept the eyes interested.

Upon reaching Church Street, the (Covid-)pedestrianised road with all the pubs and restaurants in Twickenham near the station, 1 went straight for the train, the other 2 went to The Eel Pie, a Hall & Woodhouse pub with food.

All in, a fine leg stretcher in enchanting company, with a pleasant pub at the end.

The towpath from Richmond to Twickenham is lovely. Note the old black walnut tree in Marble Hill Pk (just inside the first gate off the towpath) described as 'possibly the oldest in the UK'. Check out also the viewpoint (opposite Ham House, along from Hammertons Ferry) in Orleans Gardens - nice view down river. Impressive old plane trees and avenue of chestnut trees there also. At the end of the path through the chestnuts you come to a lane - there you can glimpse what's left of Orleans House (gallery) before continuing towards Eel Pie, past The White Swan riverside pub. Walking under the ornate bridge brings you to the statues (best viewed inside the gardens - entrance just near Champions Wharf, opposite the church). Catch another good viewpoint down river from there. Note: St Mary's Church has a surviving 15th century tower). There are two pubs in Church Lane and another opposite Eel Pie (where some well known bands once played in the Eel Pie Hotel (no longer there sadly). See wiki for further info... Emma

7 minutes delay picked up on a 20 minutes journey from Waterloo, rush hour must be back!

Crane River and Duke of Northumberland's River had interesting stretches, but there are also plenty of garden fences, industrial estates and railway subways to contend with in that bit of the route. The inland bit past the stadia and through the sewage plant (3rd largest in the UK apparently) was quite unique, and not THAT smelly. Onwards through a couple of parks and along waterways, finally to the Thames. Quite a fine stretch of the Thames Path this, with some impressive real estate and parks, plus locks and views across.

All in, we saw herons in about 5 different places, egrets in 1 or 2, and plenty of swans, ducks and Egyptian Geese.

On the last stretch, we whizzed past the first pubs, then found the kitchen already closed in a couple of the later ones, so ended up at a nice Osteria in a (Covid-)pedestrianised lane in Twickenham for a meal. 22.41 train.

4 walkers were up for this longish midsummer outing in warm weather.