Thames cycle circuit: Ham House to Hampton

In this ride, I continued my exploration of the Thames upstream from my last ride between Richmond and Putney. The map of my ride is here in orange; my previous rides are in blue (Richmond to Putney) and maroon (Putney to Westminster):

I started at the riverside car park at Ham House and followed the towpath via Teddington Lock to Kingston, stopping for a coffee at the shack in Canbury Gardens. I crossed Kingston bridge and picked up the excellent Barge Walk path along the River to Hampton Court. Rather than cross back over HC Bridge to continue on the towpath, I stayed on the North side and followed the track along Hampton Court Green, then the shared use pavement beside the A308 to reach the village of Hampton.

Having stopped to view Garrick's 'Temple to Shakespeare' in a garden beside the River (from the outside, as it was not open, unfortunately), I grabbed lunch in the Bell Inn, before returning to my starting point via Bushy Park and Teddington, crossing back over the River on the footbridge at Teddington Lock. Before setting off for home, I took a look around the grounds of Ham House (NT).

In spite of the rather gloomy weather, the Thames once again provided the focus a very pleasant ride, with plenty to see, good riverside paths, and a rural interlude in Bushy Park.