Richmond Park, Isabella Plantation and the Thames Path to Kew lead 12 walks near Richmond checked 26 Oct, with distances, gate times, dog rules and tide alerts.

The walks near Richmond most people look for are the Royal Parks’ 6.9-mile circuit of Richmond Park, the shorter Isabella Plantation loop, the Thames Path from Richmond to Kew, reopened in November 2025 after a collapse, and the riverside stretch from Teddington Lock past Ham House. Every entry was checked against the Royal Parks’, the council’s, the National Trust’s, English Heritage’s or TfL’s own pages on 26 October 2026.

We have not graded these walks. Distances and times are the ones the body that publishes the route gives; where two figures disagree we say so.

Two things to know this week. From 1 November the Richmond Park deer cull locks the park’s pedestrian gates from 8pm to 7.30am, except on Friday and Saturday nights, for up to six weeks, according to the Royal Parks FAQs. And the riverside floods: the Environment Agency’s alerts for the tidal Thames from Putney Bridge to Teddington Weir warn of water on low-lying footpaths for one to two hours either side of high tide, with Richmond riverside, Twickenham Embankment and the towpath below Teddington Lock among the places named. Check check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk before a riverside walk.

Richmond Park and Richmond Hill

Richmond Park: the Royal Parks’ circuit

The Royal Parks publishes an autumn walk around Richmond Park of 6.9 miles, which it puts at 2 hours 31 minutes at a relaxed pace. Start at whichever gate is nearest and go either way. It passes King Henry’s Mound, Pembroke Lodge, Sawyer’s Hill, Pen Ponds, Queen’s Ride and White Lodge, home of the Royal Ballet School, and has shorter loops for a split visit. The Royal Parks flags a downhill from Pembroke Lodge to Ham Cross and climbs from Ham Cross to Dann’s Pond and from Sheen Cross Wood to Richmond Gate.

The cafes are Pembroke Lodge (our listing) and Roehampton Cafe. Toilets cost 20p, card or phone only. Vehicle gates close at 4.30pm from 26 October and 4pm from 16 November. Dogs must be on a lead around Pen Ponds and near deer. Richmond Gate is at the top of Richmond Hill, TW10.

Isabella Plantation loop

A 40-acre woodland garden inside Richmond Park, fenced off in 1831 and opened to the public in 1953, the Royal Parks says. Its autumn loop is 1.4 miles, about 45 minutes, with a gentle slope down from Broomfield Hill Gate past Thomson’s Lawn, the Acer Glade of Japanese maples, Brownie’s Stream and the Camellia Walk. The azaleas peak in late April and early May.

Paths and bridges have been resurfaced, and a motorised wheelchair can be borrowed on weekdays from 9am to 3pm if booked five days ahead. Toilets: Peg’s Pond gate all year, with baby changing; Still Pond April to November. Broomfield Hill car park is about 400m away; Peg’s Pond car park is for disabled visitors. Dogs on leads are allowed.

Richmond Hill, Terrace Gardens and Petersham Meadows

A short walk down from the view on Richmond Hill to the river. Terrace Gardens is a formal sloping garden over the Thames with a rose garden, rockery, an ice house and the statue of Aphrodite the council says is known as “Bulbous Betty”; its cafe has gender-neutral toilets and opens daily in daylight. Below it, Petersham Meadows is a water meadow protected by a 1902 Act of Parliament, owned by the council and run by the National Trust, with cows grazing each year; the council notes it is part of the landscape Turner painted. Both open at all times. Richmond Hill, TW10 6RH; River Lane, TW10 7AG.

The Thames Path

Teddington Lock to Richmond, past Ham House

TfL’s Thames Path South Section 1a runs 5km, about 1 hour 45 minutes on its Go Jauntly route, from Teddington Lock to Richmond. The route notes describe the path here as “broad and gravelled” above a sloping bank, past historic houses and Petersham Meadows.

Halfway is Ham House: the National Trust lists the garden open 10am to 5pm until 1 November and 10am to 4pm from 2 November, entry by ticket at the river gate (members and under-5s free), and its coffee shop open from 10am. Inland, Ham Common joins Ham Avenues and Ham Common Woods, a Local Nature Reserve. Start at Teddington Lock, buses 281, 285 and R68; Ham House is on Ham Street, TW10 7RS.

Richmond to Kew and Mortlake

TfL’s South Section 1b is 6km, about 2 hours 15 minutes, from Twickenham Bridge past the Old Deer Park, the two obelisks marking George III’s observatory, Kew Palace and the edge of Kew Gardens to Mortlake. Nearest stations are St Margarets and Richmond at the start and Mortlake at the end.

The towpath between Richmond Lock and Kew Gardens collapsed on 19 October 2024 and the council reopened it on 8 November 2025 after stabilising the bank. Go Jauntly’s route page still shows the old diversion over Twickenham and Kew bridges, so ignore it. This is one of the riverside stretches that floods at high tide.

Hampton Court to Radnor Gardens

On the Middlesex bank, TfL’s North Section 1a runs 9.5km, about 3 hours 15 minutes, from the north end of Hampton Court Bridge, a short walk from Hampton Court station, to Radnor Gardens in Strawberry Hill. It starts on tarmac. The route is tagged for refreshments, public transport and children. Hampton Court Palace publishes its own times and prices on hrp.org.uk. From Radnor Gardens, TfL’s Section 1b carries on to Kew Bridge.

St Margarets: Turner’s House and Marble Hill

The National Trail’s Circular Walk in Turner’s Footsteps is 1.9 miles (3.08km), from the Thames Path to Sandycombe Lodge, the house J M W Turner built in 1813 at 40 Sandycoombe Road, TW1 2LR, and back. Opening times are on turnershouse.org.

Pair it with Marble Hill, English Heritage’s 60-plus acres of riverside park with a sheltered Woodland Walk on its eastern edge. The cafe opens daily 8am to 5pm until 1 November and 8am to 4pm through November; the house opens Wednesday to Sunday. Richmond Road, Twickenham, TW1.

Parks and commons

Bushy Park and the Woodland Gardens

More than 1,000 acres on the Hampton side, run by the Royal Parks, with deer, the Diana Fountain and the water and woodland gardens. Pedestrian gates are open 24 hours; vehicle gates open 6.30am to 7pm. The Pheasantry Cafe (our listing) is in the Woodland Gardens. Parking is free at Coleshill Road Gate, the Pheasantry Cafe and the Diana Fountain.

Dogs are not allowed in the Woodland Gardens, and must be on a lead near deer, ponds and rivers. Habitat works began in the NPL woodland on 14 October, with part of Upper Lodge Road car park shut. Hampton Court Road, Hampton, TW12; Teddington and Hampton Wick stations.

Crane Park and the Shot Tower

Crane Park follows the River Crane from Meadway, Twickenham, west to Hanworth Road, the council says, with a shared-use path, marsh frogs and water voles; Crane Park Island is a Local Nature Reserve run by the London Wildlife Trust. The park sits on the site of the Hounslow Gunpowder Mills, which ran from the late 18th century to 1926; the Shot Tower is the only one of the mill’s 60 buildings left and opens on Sunday afternoons, according to the Friends of the River Crane. Open at all times. Crane Park Road, Twickenham, TW2 6DF; Whitton station, buses 110, 481 and H22.

Barnes Common

Open acid grassland, trees and woodland, a Local Nature Reserve run by Barnes Common Limited. The council points to green woodpeckers and the white-flowered burnet rose. Open at all times. Parking is limited, so the council advises coming by train to Barnes station or on buses 33, 72, 265 and 969. Vine Road, SW13 0NE. Our Barnes Green and Beverley Brook story covers the brook work next door.

Longer routes through the borough

The Capital Ring through Richmond

TfL’s Capital Ring crosses the borough in two sections. Section 6, Wimbledon Park to Richmond Bridge, is 11.5km on its Go Jauntly route, about 3 hours 45 minutes, through Richmond Park and down across Petersham Meadows. Section 7 starts where Friars Lane meets the towpath and runs along the Thames, over the Richmond Lock footbridge (steps both sides) and through Syon Park to the Grand Union Canal. Its page gives both 6.4km and 8km, about 2 hours. The towpath here is “wide and flat” and shared with cyclists.

The London LOOP: Kingston Bridge to Hatton Cross

Section 9 of the London LOOP is the long one: 16km, about 4 hours, on its Go Jauntly route from Kingston station through Bushy Park and the Woodland Gardens and along the River Crane to Hatton Cross, with less road walking than the original line. The route notes say waymarking is good except on the diversion between steps 62 and 72. Hatton Cross is on the Piccadilly line for the trip home.

How we chose

These are the walks people near Richmond search for, picked from the routes the Royal Parks, Richmond Council, the National Trust, English Heritage, the Thames Path National Trail and TfL publish, not by our taste. Distances, times, gate hours and dog rules come from those bodies’ own pages, all read on 26 October 2026; the Ham House times are the National Trust’s published calendar. We have not walked the routes for this guide, and conditions underfoot change with the season and the tide.

Run a park, cafe or Friends group that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@richmondonline.co.uk.

More in Richmond

Frequently asked questions

What is the best circular walk in Richmond Park?

The Royal Parks publishes a 6.9-mile autumn circuit of Richmond Park, about two and a half hours at a relaxed pace, taking in King Henry’s Mound, Pembroke Lodge, Pen Ponds and White Lodge, with shorter loops off it. Its 1.4-mile Isabella Plantation loop takes about 45 minutes.

Is the Thames towpath between Richmond and Kew open?

Yes. The stretch between Richmond Lock and Kew Gardens collapsed on 19 October 2024 and Richmond Council reopened it on 8 November 2025 after repairs. Low-lying parts of the riverside still flood for an hour or two either side of very high tides, so check the Environment Agency’s flood alerts for the tidal Thames between Putney Bridge and Teddington Weir before you set out.

Can I walk my dog in Richmond Park and Bushy Park?

Yes, with rules. Dogs must be on leads around ponds and lakes, near deer, and everywhere in both parks during the deer birthing season from 1 May to 31 July. Dogs on leads are allowed in Isabella Plantation, but not in Pembroke Lodge Gardens or Bushy Park’s Woodland Gardens.