Alison

🚣‍♀️ An Afternoon in Richmond-upon-Thames 🚣‍♀️

One sunny afternoon during our stay in England we drove to the picturesque town of Richmond. It’s long been on my list after watching the fabulous Ted Lasso and I had been urging Anthony to spend some time there.

It was a Bank Holiday Monday when we headed off and I thought I was being clever by taking a longer route from Basildon to Richmond to avoid the ULEZ (ultra low emission zones) charges! Just before entering the road to Richmond we saw the sign “you are now entering ULEZ”. Anthony said what to do? We circled the roundabout once again and drove down another road to check the map again. Sadly we were not going to get away with this. It’s a £17.50 flat rate, cheaper than the train I suppose.

It’s important to remember to check this up on your return by typing in your number plate on the ULEZ website to pay this fee. I imagine many overseas tourists get caught out by this with hire cars only to find weeks later a huge amount from the hire car company on their credit card for the charge, fine and administration fee.

Once into Richmond it was then a case of looking for a carpark, as you can imagine everyone and their dogs were out in force. Eventually we found one, worked out the meter (why can’t they all be the same) and off we went in search of lunch.

One of the main attractions of Richmond is simply the river itself and despite the grey clouds with imminent rain, there were people aplenty rowing up and down the river. We saw many cafes and restaurants but all looked to be very full. We ended up in a pub called the Pitcher and Piano for a pint and a pinot.

Cute cafe under the arches

After this we took a leisurely stroll along the river and through one of the parks and headed to the high street, where to Anthony’s delight there were many clothes shops open. He was over the moon with some new purchases he found on sale.

We tried to eat here but they were full, looks so quaint.

Richmond Bridge

Seriously! They couldn’t think of anything better. I definitely prefer Aphrodite.

Abundance of tulips

As we walked away from the high street and towards the Green, I saw what I had been looking for, alas not Ted but the street where he lived and the pub where they met for drinks. Oh the excitement.

I stood here and shouted this is it, this is the place. So very satisfying!

The Crown and Anchor in Ted Lasso, in reality The Princes Head

The Old Tower in Friars Lane, part of the site where Richmond Palace once stood

We really enjoyed visiting Richmond and it was a gorgeous afternoon. It’s definitely worth a visit especially if you can fit in the Deer Park as well.

34 comments

  4. Lovely down that way, the Surrey end of West London is probably the most picturesque section of the Thames. Pitcher & Piano is a chain by the way…they’re all pretty identical inside. And am I really showing my age and/or ignorance by saying that I have absolutely not the foggiest idea who or what Ted Lasso is…!?

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  5. You were just down the road (sort of) from me! I recognise most of these sights and know that branch of Pitcher and Piano well. Like the Newcastle Quayside one which we visit regularly, it really has an excellent location! But the reference to Ted Lasso is lost on me – is it an Australian TV series?

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    • That would have been fun to bump into you!
      Ted Lasso is an American and British Production. Just Jason Sudeikis is American all the rest of the cast are British. It’s such a fun happy show. I’ve nearly finished season 3. It’s about an American coach who comes over to coach Richmond football team. The cast are just brilliant.

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  6. Oh, I do want to see Richmond in person. What a charming town. And I want to eat at Peggy Jean (not sure if that’s the restaurant or the boat’s name), but what an adorable place. I didn’t know Ted Lasso, but I saw it’s a TV show in some of the other comments. Glad to see your post, Ali!

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