Inner London
Ramblers

Hammersmith and Barnes Circular Walk

This walk of about 6 miles (10km), which can equally well be done from Barnes, is mainly level and takes in both banks of the Thames. A diversion explores the main features in the grounds of Chiswick House, and passes Hogarth’s grave in Chiswick churchyard, before returning to the riverside to view the fine buildings of Chiswick and Hammersmith Malls.

If starting from Barnes, start at step 6, from Barnes Bridge train station. Otherwise start at step 1, from Hammersmith Tube.

1. Start from Hammersmith Tube (District and Piccadilly Lines) Station, located on an island site shared by the bus station and Broadway Shopping Centre. From the station, go forward between Tesco and Costa Coffee, then left to find a subway just through the doors and signposted to the Apollo Theatre. Go through the subway, ascending steps on the right to emerge just before the theatre, then take the next left, Queen Caroline Street. This leads to the river, where turn right to reach Hammersmith Bridge. This ornate bridge, dating from 1887, is the second one on the site and was designed by Sir Joseph Bazalgette.

Hammersmith Bridge

2. Turn right up the slope, then double back on yourself to cross the bridge using the left-hand pavement. At the end of the bridge, turn left to pass under it, and walk along the towpath with the river on your right. This is a pleasant tree-lined stretch with good views across the river to the route along which you will eventually return. Follow the riverside path for a good fifteen minutes. The path bends very gently left, past playing fields, then boathouses, a school, and more playing fields. On the opposite bank can be seen the pubs and houses of Hammersmith Mall and then the octagonal tower of St Peter, the oldest of Hammersmith’s churches, built 1827-9. Then comes the tall riverside buildings of Hammersmith Terrace, built c1750.

3. Your path straightens up for a bit. The view across the river now is of Chiswick Mall, terminated by St Nicholas’ Church, Chiswick, with its funny little spike on top of the tower. As the path veers slightly left again, opposite the island of Chiswick Eyot, there is a broad fork. Take the leftmost path to find, just past a children’s playground, an obvious cross-path. Turn left here and, just before reaching the road, turn right through the swing-gate to enter the Leg o’ Mutton Nature Reserve. Turn right (i.e. back on yourself), and walk along the raised embankment with the reservoir on your left. The path soon bends to run parallel with the river again.

Leg o’ Mutton Reservoir

4. Leg o’ Mutton (or Lonsdale Road) Reservoir takes its name from its shape. Bats are known to roost in the old poplar trees here, and a number of bird species, including grebes, cormorants and the rare pochard, use the lake, which is not far from the London Wetlands Centre. A walk around the entire perimeter comes to about a mile, although your route only follows half of this. Where the path takes a definite left turn soon after the end of the water, go right through a gate, then left between the edge of gardens and the Thames towpath. As towpath, road and gardens all meet, notice a cow on the balcony of the house standing at the corner of Gerard Road opposite!

5. Now follow Lonsdale Road alongside the river. Cross using the pedestrian crossing at the corner of Barnes High Street. Continue along The Terrace to Barnes Bridge Station, which is on the left adjacent to the railway bridge. Many of the houses along here date from the 18th century and have elegant iron balconies. Gustav Holst, the composer, lived at No 10. Barnes Railway Bridge carries the Hounslow Loop Line and dates from 1849, but was rebuilt in 1895. Should you wish to return to Hammersmith from here, take a number 209 or 419 bus.

Recommended pub: If you fancy a break, the Coach and Horses is a cosy former coaching inn which serves Young’s beers and has a large garden. To get there, turn into Barnes High Street to find the pub a short distance up on the right. There are cafés here also.

6. Take the steps just before the bridge to cross the river, using the footway running alongside the railway, and pause to admire the fine view of the Barnes riverfront. If you are starting the walk from Barnes Bridge Station, just keep forward from Platform 1 to join the route. At the far end of the bridge, descend steps and keep alongside the river, crossing in front of a boathouse and then along the terraces forming part of Duke’s Meadows. Go past a sadly-disused bandstand and shelters, then along more terraces.

7. Duke’s Meadows, an area of some 80 hectares, were originally owned by the Duke of Devonshire, and passed to the then Chiswick Council in the 1920s when a riverside promenade was laid out. The meadows now consist mainly of sports fields. The uppermost terrace becomes tarmacked and runs between the river and a field. At its end, look for a sculpture of storks on a nest, then turn left by a hut. Follow the drive ahead to the end, go through gates and turn left along Edensor Road, using the crossing to reach the lights in about 70 metres, where cross and turn right along Alexandra Avenue. Cross Burlington Lane and, in another 50 metres, go through the main gate of Chiswick House, with the house in front of you framed by magnificent Lebanese cedar trees. An information board here has a good map of the grounds.

Storks Sculpture

Chiswick House is considered one of the finest examples of Palladian architecture in Britain, and was designed by the 3rd Earl of Burlington. It was built between 1725-29, being meant as a showcase for Burlington’s art collection rather than as a residence. The gardens of over 26 hectares are considered to be one of the earliest examples of the English Landscape Movement and some £12 million has recently been earmarked for its restoration. Chiswick House is an English Heritage property and open to the public (admission charge). The gardens are free to visit.

8. Turn left on the crossing path before the house forecourt and cross over a bridge. Take the forward path past the cascade and continue forward until the obelisk is reached. Now turn sharp right towards the Ionic Temple. On reaching the lake, turn right up to its end, then turn left, retracing your steps past the cascade and bridge. Almost immediately go left through a hedge gap and make for the collection of urns in front of you. Continue between more Lebanese cedars down to the end of the lawn to view the statues of Roman emperors. Ease right to the patte d’oie (goose-foot), a multi-pathed junction of yew hedges and take the leftmost avenue down to the bridge, passing the Ionic Temple and Amphitheatre with another obelisk on the left.

9. Don’t cross the bridge, but go forward with railings on the left. Where these start to bend after 30 metres, turn right on an earthen path through woodland. Follow this twisting path, never far from the park’s boundary wall, until you come to a blocked gateway by the Rustic House, another temple-like building. Now turn sharp right on a surfaced path between yew hedges, which ends at the patte d’oie where you were earlier. Turn sharp left to the Doric Column, where turn right, then almost immediately take the next path to the left, just before the Deer House. This leads to a conservatory and the Italian and Royal Gardens which you can explore at will. After finishing your tour, go to the other end of the conservatory, go down steps and through an offset gap in the wall ahead, turning right at the T-junction. However, if you wish to visit Hogarth’s House, turn left at this junction, and on reaching the main road (Hogarth Lane), turn right and follow it for 300 metres, before later returning to this point.

10. From the T-junction the path eventually bends right to South Lodge Gate. A diversion can be made here to toilets and a café by following the signed path. Leave the park and turn left along Burlington Lane. For a quick return to Hammersmith, take the 190 bus which runs along this road. A little way along Burlington Lane, use the light-controlled crossing. Continue for another 70 metres, then turn right along Powell’s Walk between high walls, the wall on your right hiding Chiswick Old Cemetery. You arrive at Chiswick Parish Church, which was rebuilt by J L Pearson in 1882 but contains old monuments. The tower is medieval, built c1436. Pass to the right of the church and look for Hogarth’s grave, a large railed monument, surmounted by an urn. Go down steps and continue forward along Chiswick Mall. Note the drawdock at the start of this stretch, the site of an ancient ferry. Chiswick Mall is a spectacular showpiece of mainly 18th century houses, some hiding even earlier parts. An unusual feature here is that the road divides the front gardens from their houses. Walpole House, the finest of them all, has features dating back to the 16th century and was the home of a nephew of Britain’s first Prime Minister.

Hogarth’s Grave

11. Towards the end of Chiswick Mall, just after a rise and fall in the road, turn left into Eyot Gardens, then right into Mulberry Place, to view a delightful row of cottages with pretty front gardens about halfway along. Continue forward and emerge at the corner of Hammersmith Terrace, then turn left, noticing the blue plaques to former famous residents. At the corner of Black Lion Lane, turn right to the river again.

The vicinity of the Black Lion pub was reputedly haunted by the Hammersmith Ghost, a white-shrouded spectral apparition. Late in the evening of 3 January 1804, a local excise man, one Francis Smith, took it upon himself to lay the ghost. He “filled his blunderbuss with shot and himself with ale” and set forth. It was the misfortune of a white-clothed workman, Thomas Millwood, to be passing by and Smith shot him dead. Locals, having heard the shot, apprehended Smith. The body was taken to the pub and the subsequent inquest returned a verdict of “a rash act of wilful murder”. The trial jury at the Old Bailey declared a verdict of manslaughter, which the justices refused to accept, and a death sentence was subsequently passed, but this was later commuted to a year’s hard labour. The mystery of the haunting was perhaps solved when a local shoemaker named Graham was later arrested on a charge of nuisance, the allegation being that he had dressed up as a ghost in order to frighten his apprentices.

12. Continue forward along Upper Mall. The building with arches at the start are the remains of Hammersmith Pumping Station. The buildings along Upper Mall are mainly Victorian villas with some older ones dispersed among them. Opposite Rivercourt Road are two semicircular riverfront bastions dating from c1650. At the end of Upper Mall stands Kelmscott House, home of William Morris between 1878-96 and now the headquarters of the William Morris Society. The basement and coach house contain a small museum. The adjacent building marks the site of the first electric telegraph. Go forward into the alleyway linking into Furnival Gardens and pass the Dove.

Recommended pub: The Dove, on Upper Mall, a charming 18th century riverside pub has two claims to fame: it was where James Thomson wrote the words to “Rule Britannia” and the front bar is claimed to be the smallest in Britain, measuring just 1.27m by 2.39m. The main bar fortunately is larger. The pub serves Fuller’s beers and can get very crowded.

13. Emerging from the alleyway, go forward to take the curving path across Furnival Gardens. The gardens were the site of the now-vanished Hammersmith Creek and were created in 1951. Prior to that date the area was the site of old wharves. At the end of the path, rejoin the riverside. There are a number of houseboats moored hereabouts. On reaching Hammersmith Bridge, pass underneath (ignore the direction sign for the station), retrace your steps through the Queen Caroline Estate, and follow the signs for the bus and tube stations at the end. If you started from Barnes and want to complete the circuit, pass under the bridge, then follow the instructions from point 2.

© Mike Biggs, Inner London Area Ramblers’ Association, 2007.

If you have any comments about this walk, or notice that it needs updating to take account of changes on the route, then please contact Mike at mikebiggs4@aol.com.