Charming Chiswick
Ravenscourt Park tube station, London
Guided by Alison
Walk Times
| Day | Walk Type | Start Time | End Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 December 2023 | Tour du Jour | 10.45 am | 12.45 pm | Winter | Reserve Online |
| 14 January 2024 | Tour du Jour | 10.45 am | 12.45 pm | Winter | Reserve Online |
| 11 February 2024 | Tour du Jour | 10.45 am | 12.45 pm | Winter | Reserve Online |
Old, picturesque, storied, full of character, riverine, tucked away on its isthmus, sitting pretty – that’s Chiswick.
Comes of ancient stock. The name means ‘cheese-farm.’ And ancient? Chiswick’s been answering to its name for 1,000 years. Cheese-farm and Thameside fishing village. How honest-to-goodness is that? The church, St Nicholas, goes back to 1181. Its present incarnation is a comparative youngster – 15th century.
There’s 16th-century Walpole House on the Mall. There’s Chiswick’s magnificent riverside promenade – the lazy river, the singing summer sky, the architectural feats and feasts – a stroll along that past-cosseted passage is a guaranteed medicine for melancholy.
There are cafes and specialist shops and handsome old pubs. Say it again – proclaim it – old riverside pubs. The photo-op of the walk has to be the Dove.
It’s a tracking shot because the Dove is reached by a narrow path winding through a cluster of houses. Every step along there “teems with reminiscences of poets, men of letters and artists: let us therefore softly tread; ’tis hallowed ground” (Edward Walford).
And it’s not just the shades of Thackeray and Hemingway and Graham Greene and John Fowles haunting the byways and pubs and groves of Chiswick, here we’re also deep into Arts & Crafts territory. We will pass William Morris’s London home and learn about a perfectly preserved London interior that he visited regularly. Rich repast, this walk through this olde-worlde riverside village. Sunday morning perfection, a rural idyll in London.
As it is so near to Christmas Alison will spice up the walk with references to seasonal customs and traditions. Not only will the shops be open for Christmas shopping but on the 10th of December there is the Antiques & Vintage Market, full of unique and unusual gifts. There are so many places to eat and drink why not enjoy a leisurely lunch before you shop or retrace steps and enjoy a pint at one of the many riverside pubs? Depending on your taste Alison is happy to make suggestions, there is something for everyone.
N.B. the walk takes about two hours and ends on the High Road, very near Turnham Green Tube.
CHARMING CHISWICK – THE PRACTICALS
The Charming Chiswick walk takes place at 10.45 am on Sunday, December 10th. Meet Alison just outside the exit of Ravenscourt Park Tube.
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LONDON WALKS PRIVATE WALKS
If you can’t make the regularly scheduled, just-turn-up, public Charming Chiswick walk do think about booking one as a private tour. If you go private you can have the Charming Chiswick walk – or any other London Walk – on a day and at a time that suits your convenience. We’ll tailor it to your requirements. Ring Fiona or Niamh or Peter or Mary on 020 7624 3978 or email us at [email protected] and we’ll set it up and make it happen for you. A private London Walk is good value for an individual or couple and sensational value for a group. And the clincher: a private London Walk makes an ideal group or educational or birthday party or office (team-building) or club outing.
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