A bridge too far?
A post on Facebook caught my attention. This is how many of my running adventures begin. Bex Band, founder of the women's adventure community Love Her Wild had walked across all the bridges in Greater London.
Obviously this meant the Thames River. Less obviously there are 33 bridges in total starting at Hampton Court and ending at Tower Bridge. Of these, 26 have pedestrian access and she had crossed them all. 'Hmm, that would make a good run' was my first thought. Seed planted.
A couple of months later on a mild, bright January day I travelled to Richmond. My first run was Richmond parkrun with my friend Vicki and her pal Nicola. 3.1 miles, no dear and a warming coffee later, I ran the nine miles to Hampton Court. Twelve miles done and I was ready to start my run!
My goal was to cross each bridge when I came to it. That meant crossing Hampton Bridge and a sign denoting entrance to Surrey before turning and re-crossing it to begin. Yes, I am a pedant.
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| Hampton Court Bridge |
I was off and literally running. The low slung sun had emerged from behind thin grey cirrus clouds, the Thames was as smooth as a placid lake, and I was knackered. It's a long way to central London. That said, I knew once I began counting off the bridges I would enjoy my day.
It was midday and I had only eaten two Weetabix, a banana and a Lion bar. I had water, but already my mind was turning to lunch. Thankfully I was distracted by the golden glow of three daffodils beneath a tree on the riverside.
The first of the year and a sign of the changing seasons. The smile they aroused lingered on my lips for the next mile as I passed the palace and ran the inside bend in the river heading north-east to Kingston-upon-Thames. The wind was at my back and I breezed along. Kingston Bridge took me to the south side and, where I stopped to take photos of some street art.
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| Kingston Bridge |
Fishermen were perched above the water and walkers were enjoying the good weather. It was quite a distance between bridges at the western end, but I soon arrived at Teddington locks and crossed to the north side over a narrow, fragile looking metal suspension footbridge.
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| Teddington Lock Footbridges |
From here it was a long leg north and east around a major curve in the river. The path took me off the river path and through Twickenham where I had a minor collision with a cyclist (on the pavement, overtaking pedestrians and not looking - him not me) I managed not to fall but his front wheel rode over my right foot. Thankfully I was unhurt physically, but raging mentally.
By the time I reached Richmond I had all but forgotten about it when I was tripped by a dog. Again I managed to right myself while cursing the canine trip hazard under my breath. This wasn't to be the last incident either, they do tend to come in threes. I stopped at a café for a wee and some lunch. A falafel wrap, chocolate pastry and crisps sorted me out. I stopped on a bench to eat and was touched by the inscription to an 83 year old woman who died in the Asian Tsunami of 2004.
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| Richmond Bridge |
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| Runch |
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| Twickenham Bridge |
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| Richmond Lock and Footbridge |
Over Richmond Bridge, back via Twickenham Bridge and a return to the south side on Richmond Lock and Footbridge ticked off three more bridges in succession. Still moving north-east I ran past Kew Gardens and was surprised to see a Meridian Line. I had run along part of the Meridian Line in Greenwich. This was no where near. What was going on? Apparently this was the Arcadian Meridian created by George III before Greenwich became time zero. I would run through it five times on my journey.
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| The Arcadian Meridian Line |
Another bridge crossing at Kew took me north once more and now directly east to Chiswick Bridge and then Barnes Railway Bridge which has a pedestrian walkway. Beneath us rowers raced their eights, the coxswain yelling instructions while the banks were lined with pint drinking supporters. It turns out this was the Quintin Head of the River race between Kew and Putney.
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| Chiswick Bridge |
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| Barnes Railway Bridge |
The race has been held since 1926 but was cancelled the last two years. This year 250 teams entered and Oxford Brookes University won despite a ten second penalty for being late to the start.
I was accompanied by the rowing teams as the river meandered west away from London and then curved tightly back to the east to cross Hammersmith Bridge and back to the south side and the wetlands centre.
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| Hammersmith Bridge |
The crowd noise from Craven Cottage, home of Fulham FC revealed a lunch time kick off and it was to the sound of cheering that I crossed Putney Bridge. The fan noise faded in the distance as I returned across Fulham Railway Bridge and made my way through Wandsworth.
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| Putney Bridge |
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| Fulham Railway Bridge |
Across Wandsworth Bridge and heading north again I crossed Battersea Bridge and then Albert Bridge was a welcome and familiar sight. Having run this far from Central London before, I felt the end was within reach. Sadly the crossing I was making meant I had to cross to the opposite side from Battersea Park with it's green spaces, zoo and Pagoda. I viewed it from across the surging Thames after crossing Chelsea Bridge.
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| Battersea Bridge |
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| Albert Bridge |
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| Chelsea Bridge |
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| Chelsea Bridge |
Vauxhall Bridge was next, and the bridges were coming thick and fast as I entered the heart of the metropolis. Lambeth Bridge brought me to the iconic towers of Tate Britain. which required a detour away from the river and around the new developments.
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| Vauxhall Bridge |
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| Lambeth Bridge |
Westminster Bridge was next and the Houses of Parliament rose above me with the clock tower emerging from it's scaffold, the clock clearly visible. Sadly it wasn't near the hour and Big Ben remained silent. My legs meanwhile were screaming. Over thirty five miles in (not including the parkrun) and I was ready to finish.
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| Westminster Bridge |
Unfortunately the huge bridges I was now crossing were only accessible via tall stairways. Not what I needed.
I was now running the reverse of the London Marathon finish along the embankment. I recalled the time three months ago when I ran this stretch at 2:30am the night before the official Marathon. It was much busier now though, as the sun began to set behind the high rise tower blocks casting a warm glow over the cold river.
The Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridge was next. This is a railway bridge with two pedestrian bridges, one on either side. I really didn't want to add any distance to my journey but figured I had set out to cross all the pedestrian bridges. As a result I ran it twice, to the north and then back to the south again.
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| Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridge |
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| The other side |
Waterloo and Blackfriars bridges were next and then I was at St Paul's and able to run over the newest bridge across the Thames, the Millennium Bridge. This was opened in June 2000 and then opened again in February 2002 after being closed due to safety concerns, as it had begun to sway alarmingly when people crossed.
There I saw a man laying on the ground. I realised it was Ben Wilson. He is a artist famous for painting over dried chewing gum on London's streets. The bridge is one of his main spots. To see him making work in person was the shot in the arm my run needed. I spoke to him and told him of my run to Muswell Hill and Crouch End to see his work, but was sad not to have seen him. Now, here he was.
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| Waterloo Bridge |
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| Blackfriars Bridge |
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| Ben Wilson at work |
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| Millennium Bridge |
By now dusk had fallen. Crowds were surging everywhere and I was struggling to dodge through the masses. A young skateboarder nearly took me out, but again I managed to stay on my feet. Relieved the set of three incidents was complete I admired the illuminations beneath the bridges.
Southwark Bridge took me once again onto the north bank and London Bridge brought me back to the south bank. One bridge to go. Was it to be a bridge too far? Never. I had run 43 miles since 9am and it was now approaching 5pm as I climbed the steep steps under the impressive turrets.
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| Southwark Bridge |
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| London Bridge |
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| Tower Bridge |
As I ran through the crowds, tourists taking photos, lovers kissing, families admiring the dark silken waters below, I felt a sense of belonging. I've only lived in London for two years, but running has enabled me to get to know the city like no other. I've had many adventures and made memories to last. I'd have liked to share this one with someone I though in a moment of melancholy, but this soon passed as a sense of completion and achievement returned.
I had done what I set out to do. I had run the Thames from Hampton Court to Tower Bridge and run across every pedestrian bridge. What next?
Here are the bridges in order (bold are railway access only):
Hampton Court Bridge
Kingston Bridge
Kingston Railway Bridge
Teddington Lock Footbridges
Richmond Bridge
Richmond Railway Bridge
Twickenham Bridge
Richmond Lock and Footbridge
Kew Bridge
Kew Railway Bridge
Chiswick Bridge
Barnes Railway Bridge
Hammersmith Bridge
Putney Bridge
Fulham Railway Bridge
Wandsworth Bridge
Battersea Railway Bridge
Battersea Bridge
Albert Bridge
Chelsea Bridge
Grosvenor Bridge
Vauxhall Bridge
Lambeth Bridge
Westminster Bridge
Hungerford Bridge & Golden Jubilee Bridge
Waterloo Bridge
Blackfriars Bridge
Blackfriars Railway Bridge
Millennium Bridge
Southwark Bridge
Cannon Street Railway Bridge
London Bridge
Tower Bridge
