Thames Landscape Strategy - Hampton to Kew -

Opening of Bridge House Gardens

One of the great pleasures of my job is walking along the Thames Path on a regular basis to keep an eye out for any problems that may have arisen. This September has been a particularly eventful month down on the river. There have not been any major problems, just lots of exciting things taking place not least the opening of the Bridge House Gardens restoration – more about which later. The high spring tides in the middle of the month took many weekend visitors by surprise. All along the river people were taking refuge perched on top of benches waiting for the tide to turn. When it did eventually turn the low tide was as low as I have seen revealing stretches of the river bottom not seen for a long time.

One strange phenomenon that we have noticed on our Thames side inspections recently has been what we have now called ‘the phantom leylandii planter’. Someone is out there walking along the river planting leylandii plants. Whilst we applaud their voluntary efforts and civic responsibility there are some long-term implications over the planting of such an inappropriate riverside species. The plants are the sort of thing found for a pound at the entrance of supermarkets (usually half dead through lack of watering) and include lleylendi, rhododendron, hebes and camellia. None of these are native to the riverside and in the case of lleylandii will quickly grow to an enormous height, blocking views and out competing local species that have a much higher wildlife value. It really is quite puzzling as to how these plants have got there.

Another occurrence that I have noticed this summer is a profusion of berries of all types. It really has been a cracking crop this year due to the warm summer and wet August. Hollies are buckling under their own weight and the elderberries have been most spectacular. As I child at this time of year I used to wander along the country lanes picking bag fulls of elderberries for my father to make homemade wine out of. I have noticed a lot of people harvesting this year’s crop (presumably to make their own wine) and there is certainly quite enough to go round. Humans only tend to pick what they can reach. The higher bunches and those hanging over the water are left for the birds.

The Great River Race as always was magnificent. 300 rowing boats from all over the world gathered in Richmond. Although our part in organising the event is quite small we do try and get the autumn hay cut finished along the riverbanks before the race starts so all the supporters who line the Thames can picnic and watch the race unimpeded. This was a little tight this year. Last winter’s cold snap delayed the onset of spring that has had a knock-on effect all summer. As such, we needed to wait a little longer than usual for the flowering plants to finish before the hay cut took place. The flowering season finished just as Septembers high tides moved up the river. There is no point in cutting whilst these tides are up. Tractors skid all over the grass and the finished result looks terrible so the first time that we could get down to the river was in fact just two days before the race. The Service Team worked so hard over long hours to finish the job. They even managed to carry out a full litter pick so the riverside looked smashing for the race day. But, like painting the Forth Bridge the weekend’s tides have brought back more litter. It really is a constant battle to keep the place clean.

The Great River Race started as usual at Ham car park. This is one of the sites that the London’s Arcadia project intends to landscape next year. It is a tricky one to get right as any design needs to make certain that people who enjoy sitting in their cars and watching the river still can whilst at the same time minimising the impact of the car park on the riverside scene. In addition, the design has to enable the boats to access the water for the race and we would like to reinstate the pontoon here for trip boats to stop and pick up passengers between Richmond and Hampton Court.

One area that the London’s Arcadia project has completed is the restoration of the Bridge House Gardens – the small open space immediately upstream of Richmond Bridge. The Heritage Lottery Fund along with contributions from Serco and Transport for London allowed us to landscape the gardens to their former glory. Historically, the area was part of the Bridge House Hotel and used as their pleasure gardens for teas and cakes. Edwardian postcards of the site show a series of Terraces making their way to the river. Running through the terraces were a central flight of steps ending at a lawn at the river’s edge. The magnificent London plane trees so cherished today are also clearly visible in the old postcards although quite a lot smaller. Last year’s restoration kept as many of these original features as possible whilst putting in place 21st Century innovations such as accessible ramps and good quality lighting. In designing the gardens we looked at the Edwardian planting with the hope of recreating some of the historic elements. With the exception of a box hedge running down each side of the central steps however, it would have been impossible to replant as the original for a number of reasons such as vandalism and modern maintenance restraints. With this in mind it was decided to plant for the future and species that are drought tolerant were chosen and in my view is looking magnificent. Although still in its first season it already looks well established and a real asset to Richmond’s historic riverside.

The restored gardens were officially opened this week and many of the people who helped plant these new beds were able to come and help us celebrate the completed work.
In my last diary I mentioned the months high spring tides. Many of you took the time to wander down to the river and enjoy these amazing natural spectacles and have contacted me to ask whether I could mention upcoming high tide dates in the Acadian Diary. Well there is not long to wait. The next high spring tides are forecast for later this month between Friday 5th and Tuesday 10th October. As usual a few words of caution. It’s always important to check out the exact times of tides before a walk as they can come up rather quickly and inundate the towpath flowing over the top into adjacent parks. In fact it is quite common for people to get trapped by the rising water and have to be rescued by the RNLI inshore lifeboat based at Teddington. As the tide recedes it leads a slimy layer of mud and a lot of litter that always includes some quite un-sanitary items. As soon as the spring tides have receded we are busy picking up the flotsam and jetsam.
An exciting month down on the river but October promises to be just as special. The wet august and warm September which was so good for the berries should also make for a spectacular display of autumn foliage. So look out for this and do enjoy our wonderful River Thames.

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