Biking the Thames Path from Mortlake to Kingston, London zoo nite, Namaaste kitchen/Camden – London

Beautiful weather (sunny but not as hot as yesterday) so once we got on bikes in Mortlake along the Thames Path, we didn’t want to get off. On a Friday, the trail along the river was largely empty until we got to major tourist areas like Richmond and towns like Kingston and it felt like we were very far from big city London. At times, we could have been in a small country village, with weeping willows draped over the quiet narrow winding river, dirt and stone trails under shady trees, little lanes leading to town. We passed     houseboats, kids learning to kayak in a river inlet, small tour boats heading to Hampton Court, riverside pubs and restaurants, tourists hanging out in Richmond.

We stopped at the Petersham Nurseries for lunch at the tearoom. Pricy but good food (sandwiches, salads including a chicken salad with lentils I must try to replicate) and we ate in the garden, watching staff in the neighboring greenhouse cutting flowers to make beautiful bouquets. We didn’t quite make it to Hampton Court (next time, we need to cross the Kingston bridge and ride inland on the other side of the river) but we stumbled upon the bustling square at Kingston which was very lively, with a big outdoor farmers market, a cool old town hall with a gold statue, a pretty old church and yard. S0uth of Kingston was not as nice. The bike trail and terrain became urban/suburban. NO thanks so we turned back and st teddimgton Lock, road to the Ham Gate of Richmond Park. With the exception of one challenging  uphill, we had a flat and pretty park ride. We did stop at a cafe because we were desperate for water and got gouged — 7 pounds for a water, small ice tea and flapjack. Next time we go on what turned out to be a 25 mike ride in London we need to remember our water bottle and day pack.

At night, we trekked to Richmond Park for an evening opening of the London Zoo, where we found better people watching than animal watching although there were cool monkeys and penguins.The zoo was packed with young people in particular. Dinner was Indian/Bangladeshi and excellent at Namaaste Kitchen (64 Parkway) in Camden, which was full of kids going to pubs and clubs. I fell asleep on the #24 bus ride back to Hammersmith station where we got a cab to Mortlake, arriving “home” at 1 a.m.