According to The Times the Lonely Planet guide has rated the Thames Path as the second best urban walk in the world, ahead of Sydney, Berlin, and Vancouver..
Indeed, the Thames Path, gradually pieced together over the last 40 years is one of the modern wonders of London and one of the joys of living in Bermondsey is a stroll along the river and the incomparable views - especially at night.Developers have had to provide space for the path in order to get planning permission and, on occasion, they have been required to build new pedestrian bridges, too, to accommodate walkers, as here at St Saviour's Dock where the River Neckinger reaches the Thames.
Like the Thames itself, the Neckinger forms part of our parish boundary. The photo is taken from St Mary's parish looking over to New Concordia Wharf in St James's parish. (The boundary runs down the middle of both rivers).
Where I grew up in Battersea they were very few places where you could actually see the river although it was always close by (though when they were boys my dad and my uncles used to jump into the Thames from Battersea Bridge and, amazingly, they all survived into old age), but now in Battersea, and Bermondsey and all along the south bank, you can go for a riverside stroll, almost uniterrupted, thanks to the farsighted planners who have made it all possible.
Hang on, only the second best urban walk in the world?
That can't be right.
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