ON LOCATION ---------------------- COAST PLACES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE THE 193 COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD WALKS/RUNS AROUND UK SPORT VENUES ---------------------- EXTERNAL LINKS WORLD ROUTES

THAMES PATH ROUTE London - The Source (Gloucs) 184 Miles

NORTH DOWNS WAY Farnham  - Dover 153 Miles

WEST HIGHLAND WAY Milngavie - Fort William 95 Miles

SOUTH DOWNS WAY Winchester - Eastbourne 100 Miles

WORLD WALKING ROUTES Americas/Europe/Asia/Africa/Oceania [External Link]

RICHMOND PARK Richmond/Kingston/Ham/Sheen 7.6 Miles (circular); 2360 Acres (Area)

MAP: ROUTE OF 3 MAIN PATHS: River Thames; North Downs; South Downs;  OTHERS: 1 - Ridgeway, 2 -  Cotswolds 3 - SW Coast Path, 4 - Peddars Way/Norfolk Coast Path, 5 - Pennine B/way 6 - Pennine Way, 7 - Hadrian's Wall, 8 - Yorkshire Wolds, 9 - Cleveland Way, 10 - Offa's Dyke Path, 11 - Glyndwyr's Way, 12 - Pembrokeshire Coast Path

PATH ROUTES AND DISTANCES: SOUTH EAST: River Thames: London - The Source (184 mi) North Downs: Farnham - Dover (153 mi) South Downs: Winchester - Beachy Hd (100 mi) OTHERS: 1 - Ridgeway Ivinghoe Beacon - West Kennett (85 miles) 2 -  Cotswolds Way Chipping Campden - Bath (100 miles) 3 - SW Coast Path, Minehead - Poole (630 miles) 4 - Peddars Way/Norfolk Coast Path, Rushford - Cromer (93 miles) 5 - Pennine Bridleway Middleton - Burnley (120 miles) 6 - Pennine Way, Peak District - Cheviots (268 miles) 7 - Hadrian's Wall Path, Bowness-on-Solway - Wallsend (84 miles) 8 - Yorkshire Wolds Way, Hessle - Filey (79 miles) 9 - Cleveland Way, Filey - Helmsley (109 miles) 10 - Offa's Dyke Path, Sedbury Cliffs - Prestatyn (177 miles) 11 - Glyndwyr's Way, Knighton - Welshpool (132 miles) 12 - Pembrokeshire Coast Path Cardigan - Amroth (186 miles)

SOUTHERN UPLAND WAY (212 miles)

WEST HIGHLAND WAY (95 miles)

SPEYSIDE WAY (84 miles)

GREAT GLEN WAY (73 miles)

SELECTED OTHER WALKS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

PART 2: MAJOR FOOTPATHS (SOUTH)

PART 1: THE WATERWAYS (SOUTH)

PART 3: NATIONWIDE FOOTPATHS

WEY AND GODALMING NAVIGATIONS Weybridge - Guildford (19.5 Miles) BASINGSTOKE CANAL PATH Woodham - Greywell (32 Miles) GRAND UNION CANAL Brentford - Birmingham (137 Miles) KENNET AND AVON CANAL Bristol - Reading (93 Miles)

MOLE GAP TRAIL (Leatherhead - Dorking) [5 Miles] DOWNS LINK (Guildford - Shoreham) [37 Miles] GREENSAND WAY (Haslemere - Hamstreet) [108 Miles] LONDON LOOP (London Outer Orbital Path) [150 Miles] CAPITAL RING (London Inner Orbital Path) [72 Miles WEY SOUTH PATH (Guildford - Houghton Bridge) [32 Miles] SOLENT WAY (Milford-on-Sea - Emsworth) [60 Miles] IOW CP (Cowes - Bembridge - Ventnor - Needles) [67 Miles] SAXON SHORE WAY (Hastings - Gravesend) [163 Miles]

PART 1: THE WATERWAYS (SOUTH): WEY/GODALMING, BASINGSTOKE, GRAND UNION, KENNET & AVON

WEY AND GODALMING NAVIGATIONS Weybridge - Godalming 19.5 Miles - 15 Locks

The River Wey is one of the first rivers in England to be made navigable. The navigation runs for around 32km from Godalming to the Thames at Weybridge to the south-west of London; it runs through Guildford, Pyrford and joins the Basingstoke Canal at West Byfleet. Some parts of the navigation are canal sections and others are the original River Wey which intertwines with the canal sections. The canal was built by Sir Richard Weston, beginning in 1635. The 25km to Guildford were made navigable by an Act of 1651, with work completed in 1653, to allow barges to transport goods to London. Further improvements were made under another Act of 1671. Originally the Wey Navigations were used for transporting barge loads of heavy goods via the Thames to London. Timber, corn, flour, wood and gunpowder from the Chilworth Mills were moved up the canal to London whilst coal was brought back. In 1760, another Act authorised the Godalming Navigation, taking navigation a further 7km upstream to Godalming. The Basingstoke Canal and Wey and Arun Junction Canal were later dug to connect with the Wey and Godalming navigation. From 1900 to 1963, the Wey Navigation was owned by the Stevens family, who were commercial carriers on the canal. It was then donated to the National Trust in 1964 which operates a visitor centre at Dapdune Wharf, a former boatyard in Guildford. The Godalming Navigation was donated to the Trust in 1968. Commercial traffic ceased in 1983.

BASINGSTOKE CANAL PATH Woodham - Greywell 32 Miles - 29 Locks

The Basingstoke Canal was opened in 1794 to carry agricultural produce from Basingstoke to London via the rivers Wey and Thames. It passes through wonderful countryside in Surrey and Hampshire. By the mid 1960's the Canal had fallen derelict and the campaign for restoration began. Today the Canal is in public ownership with 32 miles and 29 locks from King John's Castle to the Wey Navigation, restored and linked once again into the 2,000 miles of British inland waterways. 1995 saw the opening of a new aqueduct at Ash over the new A331 road. A major accolade was awarded to the Basingstoke Canal in September 1994, when the vast majority of the canal was designated a "Site of Special and Scientific Interest" (S.S.S.I.), acknowledging the Canal's reputation as an outstanding site for aquatic plant life, animal life and dragonfly habitat. Architectural features of the canal include the carefully restored canal bridges, the 1,000ft long Ash Embankment, including the aqueduct over the new A331 and the Greywell Tunnel, home to many species of bats. The tunnel collapsed in 1932 and is a barrier to onward navigation to the original terminus at Basingstoke. However you can peer into its gloomy depths and the water here is very clear with white sands and you may be lucky to see one of the natural springs bubbling up in the canal bed, which help to keep the canal in water. Also at the western end of the canal you can visit the remains of King John's 13th century castle from where he rode out to sign the Magna Carta in 1215. The Deepcut flight consists of 14 evenly spaced locks. In the 1000 metre long Deepcut cutting you will notice a drop in temperature as the cutting is very deep and overhung with trees.

GRAND UNION CANAL Brentford - Birmingham 137 Miles - 166 Locks

The Grand Union Canal leaves the River Thames at Brentford and climbs over fifty locks up into the Chiltern hills. It descends then climbs again to a new summit in Birmingham, 137 miles and 166 locks. Boatmen used to claim to do it in five days but allow well over a week if you want to get any sleep! The Leicester section branches north at Braunston and climbs a little less less steeply before falling to join the River Soar which flows into the River Trent. It has 59 locks and is 66 miles long. The Paddington Arm and Regents Canal in London go close to the city centre, through Regent's Park and London Zoo to meet the Thames again at Limehouse Basin. The River Lee and the River Stort open up some fine countryside to Bishops Stortford and Hertford. The climb up to the Chilterns goes through some beautiful scenery, especially through the partly 17 century Cassiobury Park. Stoke Bruerne and Braunston are old canal towns, the Canal Museum and Boat Inn at Stoke Bruerne are worth a stop. Just north of the Northampton Arm, which gives access to the Lincolnshire Fen district, you pass Weedon barracks, built here two hundred years ago because it was thought to be the place in England farthest from any possible coastal invasion! There are long tunnels at Blisworth and Braunston. The line into Birmingham goes through Royal Leamington Spa, fashionable in Victorian times and Warwick, famous for its medieval buildings and castle. The Leicester section is interesting and varied, leaving the main line at Norton Junction south of Braunston and joining the River Trent near Kegworth. The canal section before Leicester is very rural at times and has two tunnels at Crick and Husband's Bosworth and staircase locks at Watford and Foxton. Foxton is the site of a steam powered Inclined Plane which replaced ten locks and lifted narrowboats 75 feet. It was opened in 1900 but suffered from mechanical and structural problems and the locks were reopened in 1908. The City of Leicester has Roman ruins. For the last twenty miles or so the route is along the River Soar which is a tributary of the Trent. There is some very pleasant river scenery along the Soar.

The Kennet and Avon is an impressive feat of engineering, made up of two river navigations and a linking stretch of canal. It runs from the Severn Estuary near Bristol to the River Thames at Reading, over 100 miles long with more than 100 locks, some magnificent engineering and crossing some of the most beautiful scenery in southern England. It was only reopened in 1990 after decades of dereliction. The Avon Navigation cuts through wooded hills and the famous Avon Gorge on its way to Bristol and then meanders up to Bath. The canal then climbs the Caen flight of locks to Devizes and runs amidst rolling hillsides along the Vale of Pewsey towards Hungerford to descend through pasturelands, woods and watermeadows to Reading and the junction with the River Thames. Bristol has some fine old buildings and the dock area has preserved craft including the SS Great Britain, the first iron steamship. Bath was a Roman spa town and has many Roman remains, though the spa baths are no longer open. It contains much 18th century classical architecture, including the famous Royal Crescent. Bradford on Avon also has Georgian stone terraces. Devizes has medieval buildings and Norman remains, Salisbury Plain and Neolithic Stonehenge are close by. Honeystreet is a small canal village with a beautiful name, Pewsey has its White Horse, cut into a local hillside, Hungerford and Newbury are market towns and Reading has shiny office blocks housing computer firms. Many bridges, aqueducts and other structures were built in impressive classical style, designed by John Rennie. However his work on the canal was not totally successful. He used unseasoned Bath stone for ornamental work on bridges which weathered poorly, and the summit level was too short, causing the water shortages from which the canal still suffers. Pumping engines had to be installed to supply the summit level and at Crofton the original steam pumping engines have been restored and can be seen in working condition.

KENNET AND AVON CANAL Brentford - Birmingham 137 Miles - 166 Locks