Arcadian Thames by bike — Where my wheels go

Kew Gardens

Isleworth

Teddington Lock

Syon House, Wildflower Meadow

A ride along the Arcadian Thames

Riding on a summer’s day along the banks of the river, through an Arcadian landscape of woods, water and great 18th century houses, must rank as one of the most glorious bike rides in any city of the world. Expect great set pieces of English landscape - classical bridges, follies, lakes, stands of trees set in acres of deer parkland and of course the houses and palaces themselves.

Ride reviewed; November 2022 and again August 2023

Ride practicalities
The ride of course, can be ridden at any time of year and in either direction. However, note that the river paths can be busy with families and their dogs on fine weekend afternoons.

START/FINISH: Chiswick House DISTANCE: 46km. TOTAL ASCENT: 188m TERRAIN AND SURFACES: Mainly traffic-free cycle paths through along the river, where pedestrians have priority. The paths are wide and there is room for cyclists to pass. Ringing a bell warning of your approach, accompanied by a cheery ‘thank you’, is a well received gesture around here. There are a three short road sections, at at Chiswick, Richmond and Isleworth. The latter stretch can be busy, although there is an unprotected bike lane on the side of the road. Other than Richmond Hill, the route is flat and the surfaces are either hard-packed gravel or tarmac. FOOD: Recommended Cafes in Chiswick House, Kew Gardens, and Orleans House. Plentiful re-supply shops along the way.
MAINLINE TRAIN/UNDERGROUND SERVICES: Chiswick. Richmond
LINKS TO OTHER RIDES: Wimbledon to Richmond, West London’s surprise, Greenwich to Hampton Court , The Royal Parks

Ride the route

Ride notes
The ride into pastoral idealism begins at Chiswick House, where the whole uniquely English 18th century Landscape Movement began. It is considered one of the country’s ‘most significant contributions to the visual arts’. (www.heritagecalling.com) The route skirts the ornamental lake, where there are framed views through trees to the house and across to the garden filled with statuary and avenues of yews. The lake and trees and wide expanses of grass, seem so familiar as to be barely worth a comment, but for its time, this was radical design for a garden- the first attempt to create a less formal and more natural looking landscape.

Out of the Estate’s gates, there’s a traffic-free path down to the river and across Chiswick bridge. Willows wave in the breeze, poplars whisper. Scullers oar their flimsy craft and over the water picture-perfect Georgian town houses line the river bank. Riding on the compact cycle-path, one seems to drift along with the tide of the river, rather than ride. It is very lovely.

There are two ways to ride this route; to stop at some - or all - of the many famous places along this route, some so special that they are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, or just to ride an easy, riverside path with fine views along the way. If the former appeals, then The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew becomes the first stop. Within the gardens is Kew Palace, where King George III was ‘treated for his madness’ and the information boards tell of the pain, both mental and physical, that he had to endure. It was George III’s mother, Princess Augusta, who began a botanic garden within the 18th century Royal Pleasure Grounds.

Back on the river path, the route bends and twists its way to Richmond, passing the The King’s Observatory, where the first meridian line was created. Obelisks mark the line’s trajectory before it was shifted east to Greenwich.

Richmond arrives out of trees in all its stately Georgian glory. The Royal Palace, where Henry VIII nearly died as a young prince when he fell through some rotten flooring, has long gone and pubs, cafés, a boat building yard and a rowing club line the river bank instead. It’s a bit of a haul up Richmond Hill to where the only legally protected view in all England awaits. The panorama, which is largely unchanged since the 18th century, has been copied and modified across many great 18th century estates up and down the country. In seeking a more natural landscape away from the formalities of the Tudor and Stuart gardens, the great landscape designers of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, William Kent, Humprey Repton and others, looked to this view for their inspiration. They, like you today, saw a pasture grazed by cattle, sheep or deer, woods, with avenues through them, a sinuous body of water and pleasure palaces or temples. (To read more about Richmond Hill, click here)

Downhill, across Petersham water meadows and back to the river, the route continues to Ham House, where there is another opportunity to stop. The house pre-dates the 18th century, but the gardens were remodelled in the new naturalistic style. The House and gardens have been used in many films including; The Young Victoria, Never Let Me Go, and Sense and Sensibility.

The riding continues to Kingston bridge and onto Hampton Court. It’s a glorious, flat and easy cycle path, with trees, fields and grand houses. Take the gate into the grounds opposite the Albany pub, and enter an Arcadian paradise. Deer graze, lakes shine, double avenues of lime trees lead the eye to a distant vista of the palace which shimmers in the sunlight like an English Versailles.

After a delightful ride through the enormous Estate passing herds of fallow deer, there is a little quiet road riding until the river path is again re-joined at Twickenham. The old High street, has the feel of a small country town with its artisanal shops and independent cafés. Riding on, 18th century mansions and their archetypal England landscape grounds, come thick and fast - each is worth a stop; Orleans House, Marble Hill House, and Horace Walpole’s Gothic masterpiece Strawberry Hill, which was the inspiration for the Houses of Parliament.

The final grand set piece of this magnificent ride is Syon House, still privately owned by the Duke of Northumberland. To cycle through these grounds so near to the heart of London is to suspend any pre-conceived ideas of what a city beholds. The landscape is almost more country than the country itself - wild flower meadows, a stately home, huge fields grazed by cattle, stands of trees, gnarled oaks, winding lakes and gardens of great renown.

Tearing yourself away is not easy, but the route continues into Brentford where there is a short stint of unprotected road to ride (until the new C9 cycleway is completed in 2023). At Chiswick, it is a short ride along Duke’s Avenue and back into the grounds of Chiswick House.

Every route on this website has been carefully researched as well as ridden. However situations on the ground can change quickly. If you know of changes to this route, or cafes, pubs and the like which you think other cyclists need to know about, feel free to share your thoughts below.

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46km Arcadian Thames