by Richard Harrison
The late Bernard Levin had a distinguished career in journalism. He will be remembered for his libertarian conservatism, his campaign against the evils of the Soviet empire and, notably, for his grand enthusiasms for opera, wine and food. His passion for a good walk was less remarked upon although he produced three splendid books about the Alps, the Rhine and 5th Avenue. Walking, he wrote, "induces happiness, not just at the level of a pleasurable physical activity, but at the deepest level of all..."
In London, he had what he called his "most familiar and favourite" expedition. He said that he may have invented it himself, although there was nothing particularly ingenious about it since it consisted of walking back and forth across the Thames, crossing every pedestrian bridge from Tower to Hammersmith. The reason for moving westwards was to finish with the most beautiful section – the southern shore between Putney and Hammersmith.
The walk is worth reviving, both as a tribute to the great Levin and as a project for both residents and visitors to see London from many different aspects along its greatest asset. Since Levin wrote, we have of course one additional crossing, the Millennium, finally made available after several wobbles. The old Hungerford Bridge beside the railway into Charing Cross is now two crossings in honour of the Golden Jubilee but should be treated as a single stage for this purpose. So there are seventeen bridges en route: Tower, London, Southwark, Millennium, Blackfriars, Waterloo, Hungerford, Westminster, Lambeth, Vauxhall, Chelsea, Albert, Battersea, Wandsworth, Fulham, Putney and Hammersmith. Levin started at the north side of Tower Bridge but now of course you need to start at the south side, from which you gain the great advantage of moving from London Bridge tube station to get there, past HMS Belfast, the Mayor’s new palazzo and a view of the traditional and ever-mutating City to your left.
You will become familiar with flights of steps as you follow the route and there will be frustrations: most people would rather walk the south side between Southwark and the Millennium but you can do that anytime. You will eventually find your way through the maze of Upper Thames Street and Castle Bayard. And the curve of the river means that the Blackfriars to Waterloo and Hungerford to Westminster sections are much longer on the north side, as required by this route.
The glories of the walk and the places of interest which you pass or see from unfamiliar angles would require extended description. The views from Waterloo, Hungerford and Westminster are well known: the joy is in watching how the scene changes and how you are gradually brought into parallel with the London Eye. The first revelation beyond the traditional tourist trail is the south bank to Lambeth where the Palace of Westminster is revealed in its full glory and you can call in at the Museum of Garden History, a hidden gem next to Lambeth Palace. From Lambeth, you follow Milbank past the old Tate; from Vauxhall, you get the first disappointment because, until Battersea Power Station is restored, you are thrown a long way off the track to Chelsea Bridge along the delightfully named but thoroughly unprepossessing Nine Elms Lane. You will, however, know where Battersea Dogs’ Home is to be found.
The nature of the zigzagging means you miss a walk through Battersea Park but you can admire its transpontine aspect from Chelsea Embankment. The second tedious part, this time on the north side is between Battersea and Wandsworth Bridges in the area where Chelsea meets Fulham and the relatively new development of Chelsea Harbour cannot decide whether or not to give you access to the river. From here it is a delight: on the south bank from Wandsworth Bridge you will see the River Wandle as it meets the Thames and enjoy the stroll through Wandsworth Park. Then it's up on to the pedestrian part of Fulham railway bridge, soon to head back to Putney, where refreshment facilities abound and the true Thames towpath commences. You will pass boathouses and various types of boats in training on the river. The rural tranquillity of the upper Thames is fast becoming imaginable; something that was impossible in Battersea. Appearing to your left, the Wetland Centre is worth a look, a bird sanctuary developed from the old Barn Elms waterworks.
Hammersmith Bridge is an elegant structure to cross at the end of the journey: there are several pubs on the north west bank but it is a bit of a slog back to the tube at Hammersmith. The big drawback of Levin’s route is its length: I measured it on a GPS ( which may or may not always have been receiving) as about 18 miles. This will take a good six or seven hours with refreshment stops. Levin says: "Properly paced and with a serious pause for lunch, the London bridges walk will take from mid-morning to tea-time". Somehow I don’t see Bernard as a fish paste sandwich and mint cake man but the first real choice of restauration (if you leave, as I think you must on this occasion, the premises in Royal Hospital Street now run by Gordon Ramsay) is at Putney. So "mid morning" suggests a very early start. It seems that Levin, in his persona of insouciant boulevardier, was underselling the possible physical demands of something that is certainly beyond a mere stroll. It is nevertheless an achievement and a pleasure which is well worthwhile.
You can of course achieve a shorter version, an abridgement if you will. From Waterloo, walk the short distance to the east side of Westminster Bridge, walk over to the Houses of Parliament and start the bridge-bagging process towards Charing Cross. You will see the main central London sights from a different angle and you will end up at the south side of Tower Bridge where there are plenty of refreshment facilities.