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Richmond
The town of Richmond is in the only borough to straddle both the north and south sides of the River Thames in London. On a part of the Thames which is tidal allowing boat traffic to operate on it at both low and high tides, Richmond was established after Henry VII built Richmond Palace in the early 1500's. Today, it is one of the wealthiest areas in the United Kingdom and is noted as being one of the happiest places to live.
There are also a great number of parks and open green spaces with approximately a third of the borough being green. This includes the glorious Richmond Park- A National Nature Reserve (See picture below.)
The famous Richmond Bridge (pictured below) was built between 1774 and 1777
Photo. Jeannette Briggs
Its the oldest surviving bridge on the Thames in Londonand there are a number of restaurants and bars which have taken advantage of the riverside location. Located here are also the River Thames Visitor Centre and Cafe housed on a barge, the Duke of Cambridge. Its probably the last one of its kind, a Thames Lighter (a flat bottomed barge used to transfer people and goods to and from moored ships). The bridge is also home to Richmond Bridge Boathouse (pictured below), a boatbuilding company who were involved in building the Gloriana, the lead vessel in Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.They hire rowing boats here too.
Richmond Bridge Boathouse
The Great River Race (pictured below) that passes through Richmond, is London's 21 mile river marathon starting in Docklands and finishing at Ham. It attracts over 300 crews from all over the world and thousands of spectators along the banks of the Thames.
Photo Stephen Worsfold
The town is very much an up-market shopping destination, with over 200 shops and boasts two excellent theatres, the Orange Tree Theatre and the Richmond Theatre.There is also a great selection of bars,cafes and restaurants sustaining the separate night-time economy. There are several good hotels near the river ( the Petersham Hotel pictured below) and the Richmond Park for example.
Situated at the end of the district line its served by the TFL, Overground, South West Trains a good number of buses and is a stop for a Thames cruise (see more here )
Click here For Thames River Cruises
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