Welcome to Capital Walkers, the friendly London Ramblers group for people aged 40+. We walk every weekend and usually at least once during the week.
We will walk from Richmond Railway/Underground station along the Capital Ring to Boston Manor House and Park. The route takes in Richmond riverfront, Thames River, the Old Deer Park, Richmond Lock, Old Isleworth, Syon Park, Brentford Lock and the Grand Union Canal.
We will finish at Boston Manor Park where we will stop for long lunch break. During the lunch break you can also visit Boston Manor House (free). Boston Manor House is a Jacobean House built for Lady Mary Reade in 1623 and later owned by the Clitherow family from the 1670s until the 1920s. The House is now open to the public with free entry six days a week. Its beautifully restored historic interiors, including breath-taking original ornate plasterwork and cafe.
The House reopened to the public in July 2023 after a five-year restoration programme, which has seen it completely refurbished with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and a range of other funders.
The House has not been restored to look as it did in one particular period of its history. Instead, wherever there was the strongest surviving evidence of a decorative style in a room, the room was restored to that period. This means Boston Manor House has rooms in 17th, 18th and 19th Century styles.
After lunch there will a tour around Boston Manor Park for the London Blind Ramblers will be guided by Vanessa, the Natural Park Manager.
You will visit different areas of the park on your tour, including the meadows, woodlands, ornamental lake and ending in the tranquil walled garden.
During the tour you learn about the different areas, wildlife and history of the park, and your senses will be totally tantalised by sounds and other sensory delights that you’ll be guided to experience.
The walk is on hard surface paths, generally flat or shallow gradient, with a couple of options for walking a little way off the hard path onto short grass or earth surface to explore the meadows, trees and woodland spaces a little more.
TRAVEL
Use travel planner - eg. Tfl; City mapper, etc., to plan your journey. The start and end stations are within the Oyster/Contactless/ Freedom Pass zones.
Richmond is on the Underground (District Line) or South Western Railway
Boston Manor is on the Piccadilly line (Underground)
Numerous early exit points
Please bring a packed lunch or have lunch in one of the two cafes in Boston Manor Park
No booking required for walk from Richmond or visit to House
Booking required for Sensory tour - email chair@capitalwalkers.org.uk
If you would be willing to lead one of the London Blind Ramblers please email chair@capitalwalkers.org.uk. Hopefully we will have more guides than Blind Ramblers , in which case we will divide and split the time to ensure everyone willing has a chance to guide. Therefore it will mean you will not need to guide all day.
The finishing time is an estimate only and will be dependent on a number of factors, such as, weather, the speed at which the group walks and the number of breaks taken.
Richmond Railway / Underground Station- Outside if not raining and if raining inside beyond the ticket barriers
Boston Manor Underground Station ( Piccadilly Line)
