London's Lost Route to the Sea

Hampshire, Gtr London, Portsmouth, Surrey, W Sussex

A walk from City of London to Portsmouth following the canals and Rivers makes up London's 'Lost Route to the Sea'. Britain's seafaring prowess and trade required linking London with Portsmouth. The waterway link comprised many different navigations to provide a much needed route from the City of London to the south coast. It was required so that money and provisions could be transported from London to the navy in Portsmouth, avoiding any sea routes that were patrolled by Napoleon?s Navy. However it wasn't until after the war with Napoleon in 1823, when the Portsmouth & Arundel Canal Navigation was fully opened, that the link from Portsmouth to London was completed. Coal, groceries, porter and pottery were the main trade coming from London whereas from Portsmouth gold bullion was carried in barges protected by armed guards to the Bank of England in London. The complete navigation operated until 1838 when the increase in railways unfortunately meant the demise of the commercial use of the canals and parts of the navigations were closed.

Simon Baker-Irons has integrated these sections into a continuous walking route. 'London?s Lost Route to the Sea' is a path full of history and diversity in environments from city centres to rural countryside and from fully navigable waterways to canals that have completely disappeared. The route starts at Threadneedle Street in the City of London outside the Bank of England and follows the Thames to Weybridge, where the route then heads south following the canals to the coast and then passes through the harbours around Chichester and on to Portsmouth. From Amberley to Portsmouth there is no recognised route, however many footpaths do follow on or close to the route of the canals. There are many reminders of this route throughout its length such as disused bridges in fields, road names and fully operational locks on the navigable sections.

The 'London?s Lost Route to The Sea' path also follows parts of the Thames Path, the Wey Navigations, the Wey South Path and the Solent Way.

The full walking route is described in sections by Simon Baker-Irons, who was inspired by this history and these may be downloaded free from the links below. There is also a narrative description of his walk along the route on the website below.

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Details:

Path Type:	Other Paths
Attributes:	Other Paths Easy Canal River Heritage
Start:	TQ327811 - London, Gtr London
Finish:	SU642004 - Portsmouth City Centre, Hampshire
Open Date:	2017
Web Sites:	London's Lost Route to the Sea [blog]

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Publications, Badges and Certificates:

Route Description - PDF	London's Lost Route to the Sea Section 1 to 4  (Simon Baker-Irons )
Route Description - PDF	London's Lost Route to the Sea Section 5 to 8  (Simon Baker-Irons )
Route Description - PDF	London's Lost Route to the Sea Sections 9 to 13  (Simon Baker-Irons )

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