Sunday 08 September 2024 – Hosted by Helen Hayhoe and Sam Mills
This month is a collaboration between the Thames Festival Trust and Urban Sketchers London, hosted by the Chiswick Pier Trust. Working to engage people with the River Thames (chiswickpier.org.uk)
One of the aims of the collaboration is to engage people with the riverside, and sketching is a wonderful way to do this.
We have as our base The Pier House, nestled on the towpath at Chiswick Pier. The Trust is generously providing a space with loos and a kettle and weatherproof space for each of our throwdowns. The Pier House itself has some resources we can use, including some stools for sketching and a coffee bike for most of the day.
There are varied opportunities for sketching. Chiswick Pier is the location of several interesting houseboats. The view up and down the river is broad and breathtaking. A five-minute walk takes you to Dukes Meadows, a bio-diverse mix of riverside towpath, woodland and open meadow. At its heart is The Dukes Meadows Bandstand which provides both an interesting subject and shelter if needed. The whole area has terracing that provides convenient seating.
The day is free of charge. You can book your free ticket as part of the Totally Thames Festival at the link below, or just turn up.
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/chiswickpiertrust/1278798
Key times and meeting points for the day:
11 AM
We will meet at The Pier House, Corney Reach Way, Chiswick, London W4 2UG.
What3words location: ///thanks.noisy.oasis
This is situated on the towpath next to Chiswick Pier. The Pier House is about 15 minutes’ walk from Barnes Bridge and Chiswick Stations. A large room will be available to us, with light refreshments available from @ForgeOrchard coffee bike and loos available. You will spot the RNLI lifeboat station above the building; our entrance is on the ground floor. We will meet outside if the weather is fine.
1 PM
Meet again at The Pier House for a group photo and throwdown. This year we will place our work on the steps by the pier. If wet, we can have our throwdown inside Pier House.
3.30 PM
Meet at the same place for the final throwdown.
Afterwards
For those who would like to stay on for a drink and chat (and sketch!) we will head to The Black Lion (2 South Black Lion Lane W6 9TJ)
Options for drawing
- The riverside at Chiswick Pier – The location at Chiswick Pier provides a wealth of variety. The pier itself hosts colourful houseboats and from here you can see panoramic views of the river towards Hammersmith in one direction and Mortlake in the other.
- Chiswick Church Street – A pretty village-like street with a few crooked old buildings. It’s hard to imagine that the monstrous Hogarth Roundabout and the A4 are just one block north of that location! The original village of Chiswick grew around St Nicholas Church on the river, St Nicholas being the patron saint of sailors and fishermen.
- Dukes Meadows A five minute walk takes you to Dukes Meadows, a mix of riverside towpath, woodland and open meadow created to increase the bio-diversity of the park.
- Barnes Bridge – A 15 minute walk away on the other side of Dukes Meadows. Architecturally splendid, it also boasts some great graffiti and a fabulous view. There are some distinctive houses across the river, and a walk across the bridge provides you with another stunning perspective.
Practical information
Travel
By public transport
Chiswick and Barnes Bridge railway stations are each about a 15 minute walk from The Pier House. The stations are on the Hounslow/Weybridge to Waterloo line. For departure and arrival times please visit South Western Railway.
The E3 and 190 buses stop close by on the A316. For their routes, locations of bus stops and real-time bus locations, please visit 190 and E3.
By car
Chiswick Pier and The Pier House are in Corney Reach Way, off the roundabout at the end of Corney Road and Edensor Road, Chiswick. The Pier House entrance faces onto the riverside piazza. The site of what used to be Pissarro’s restaurant is immediately next door upstream, along the riverside walkway.
There is little parking at The Pier House, but there is free parking on Pumping Station Road, and some parking bays at Dukes Meadows on Riverside Drive. There are also parking bays opposite the riverfront on The Promenade.
Food and drink
The splendid Coffee-bike has been invited to serve our needs. It is situated near the Pier House until 3pm, serving organic coffee specialties as well as tea, mocha and hot chocolate.
On the riverside towards Dukes Meadows there is a little outside café at Splash Oasis, and the pubs and cafes of Barnes are over the railway bridge. Edensor Road, about 10 mins walk away, towards Chiswick House has a Thai café and a fish and chip shop and Chiswick House and gardens has a nice café too.
Accessibility
Please let us know if you will need accessibility support on the day. The area is flat and has good paths throughout. Barnes Rail Bridge is only accessible via steps, The Pie House is a 15 minute riverside walk downstream (towards Hammersmith Bridge) from here.
For information on accessibility across London Underground, there is a downloadable Transport for London Step-free Tube Guide.
Health and safety
Urban Sketchers London follow current health and safety guidelines, and we count on all our sketchers to do the same.
Hashtags
@ThamesFestTrust #TotallyThames #ThamesFestivalTrust
@ChiswickPier (X) @Chiswick_Pier (Insta) Chiswick Pier Trust (Facebook)
Remember to tag us when you post your sketches on social media! And do be polite when posting online. We may be biased, but we think kindness comes naturally to urban sketchers — so don’t be shy, show your social media politesse at its best.
#urbansketcherslondon #usklondon
See you at Chiswick Riverside!
