Day 21: Osney to Swinford Bridge

Baking hot day - the hottest April day for 62 years (apparently). Temperatures hit close to 30°C in the shade, so we put off walking until after 3 pm - but it was still very hot! The plan was 6 or 7 miles, from Osney (on the edge of Oxford) to Swinford Toll Bridge (near Eynsham). After parking the car, we detoured along some of the Osney streams, all really branches of the Thames, and in one place counted over 50 chub, estimated 1.5 to 3 lb each.

We walked for a mile or so to the very edge of Oxford, and out onto Port Meadow. Here we encountered people, sun, more people, cows, more people, boats, more sun, more people....

... until we passed the ruins of Godstow Nunnery and the path was quiet again.

After passing King's Lock...

... we came to an important landmark. On the edge of a remote field, and not marked by anything - here lies the most northern point of the River Thames.

The river was glassy still , and it struck us just how narrow it has become, compared to the vast river that passes through London - or even Oxford just a few miles away. The river continued to be glassy still, with shoals of tiny chub in the margins, for the next few miles, until Swinford.

Day 20: Iffley to Osney

This was just a short hop really - from one end of Oxford to the other. Probably only 3 miles or so, maybe less, but it sets us up for the much longer stretches upstream of Oxford. We set off from Iffley Lock, which was rebuilt in 1924 by Lord Desborough, then Chairman of the Thames Conservancy. This is commemorated by a bronze bull's head, below. Just around the bend is a less impressive commemoration monument - this is the Bourne stone, remembering Gilbert Bourne, a former Professor of Zoology and rowing coach. Bourne was coach of numeorus winning boatrace crews, plus a sort of unofficial coach to the Gold and Silver medal winning boats at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

Time to climb a tree.

A key milestone - where the River Cherwell joins the Thames, or Isis as we should call it here.

And past Folly Bridge, where Salter's have been hiring boats for a century and a half.

.. and then a small bend of the river along the very edge of Oxford, to arrive at Osney Island.

Day 19: Abingdon to Iffley

Going upstream from Abingdon, there are a few options for where to finish - either Radley (just a few miles), Sandford (5 or 6 miles), Iffley (~7 or 8 miles) or Oxford (9 miles). We opted to head for Iffley village, now of course well within the Oxford ringroad and really part of the city of Oxford. Once again, we had company..... Hey - look how far we have walked so far!!! The stretch of river upstream of Abingdon, heading towards Lower Radley, was perhaps the most beautiful we have walked so far. The weather was also perfect. The river surface was glassy smoth, the trees and woodlands cast wonderful refelctions, and there was hardly anyone else around. We passed what seemed to be an entire Thames island that had toppled over, leaving its trees horizontal and a huge mass of roots hanging above the water. And then a long strech from Radley towards Sandford.... ... where we took advantage of the lockside pub for refreshments. And then onto a stretch of the river we know well - around Sandford 'lasher' and Kennington island, and past Rose Isle on the far bank. Then finally we passed underneath the Oxford ringroad, pausing to admire the graffiti.... ... and on to Iffley lock.

Day 18: Clifton Hampden to Abingdon

A bright, sunny early spring day. Frost on the grass in the morning, but blue skies and no breeze. After a busy morning, we decided to use the afternoon to carry on with the walk - Clifton Hampden to Abingdon (5.5 miles). This time - for the first time on our Thames walk so far - we had company....


The bridge of Clifdon Hampden in the sun..


... and a little further along, an old barge with its own semi-aquatic ecosystem fluorishing inside.

The river here follows a huge bend (shaped very like a duck on the map), so today we were walking from the 'feet' of the duck to its 'head'. And for much of its 'body' the horizon was characterised by Didcot Power Station.

After 3 miles we reached Culham Lock - but no tea room, pub or ice cream in sight.

And then another couple of miles until the town of Abingdon appeared beyond the meadows.

And finally to Abingdon - for the long-awaited ice-creams.

Day 17: Shillingford to Clifton Hampden

The cold weather has returned, but with blue skies (occasionally!) and snowdrops, daffodills and even the first brimstone butterfly, it feels as though spring is in the air. So, off to the river, to continue our marathon walk along the River Thames. Just 5 or 5.5 miles planned today, picking the path up at Shillingford. Here the Thames Path takes a boring detour along the A4074 road, but only for a few hundred metres, before heading down a path to the river. There was a lone angler where we met the river, and he had just landed a nice bream. We helped him to weigh it (5lb 12 oz - pretty good for these parts!) and return it safely to the river.

From here the path skirts along a large water meadow, with Dorchester Abbey in the distance.

Across the river, the trees had still not come into leaf.

The next landmark is where the diminutive River Thame flows into the mighty River Thames.

And then after another half a mile, we reached Day's Lock near little Wittenham. Here the Thames Path crosses over the river.....

... and on to a giant bend in the river. From the map, this looked featureless and the warbing signs adviving 'Beware of the bull' didn't do much to help! But in fact it was a series of many fields and meadows, each with a different character. Some with tightly grazed grass, others rich in clover....

... some with boggy reedbeds, some with clumps of sedge.

The largest - towards the end - was Clifton Meadows.....

And finally we arrived at Clifton Hampden, with its impressive mansion on the hill. (The speck in the sky is a red kite circling overhead).

Day 16: Cholsey to Shillingford

Today the plan was 6 or 7 miles - picking up the path from where we left it at Cholsey Marsh and passing through Wallingford (big landmark in the walk!) and then on past Benson to Shillingford. After a huge crowd of high-speed ramblers had overtaken us at Cholsey, we squelched along the muddy paths, next to the glassy still river - where we could see the aquatic plants clearly on the muddy riverbed.


A few miles later, we reached the Wallingford bypass bridge and this interesting boathouse.

And so on into Wallingford.....

... and a celebratory drink in the 'Boathouse' pub.

Wallingford Bridge

Just another 1.5 miles before we deserved another rest - for icecream, teas and coffees at Benson marina cafe - but not before passing these early snow drops.

And then a final 1.5 miles more before Shillingford Bridge and the village of Shillingford.

Day 15: Goring to Cholsey

An overcast day, but as it was not raining we decided to add on a few more miles - a short hop of just 4 miles today. We started from the Goring to Streatley bridge at midday.


The path skirted around the side of the village - and at first sight it looked ominous... flooded fields. Would the Thames Path be passable?

All was fine and before long we were walking along the quiet meadows, with red kites wheeling overhead, and nobody else around.

We passed windswept coppices, marshes and stands of reedmace in the margins.

After a couple of miles, we spotted what looked like a marble commemoration stone ahead, and went to investigate. But it was just a plastic box covering some water pumping equipment!

As we entered Mouslford, there were several houses and villas facing the river, including this bizarre multicoloured one....

Then the Thames Path takes a detour away from the river, through the village of Moulsford. Until recently this was a long detour, moaned about in all the guide books. But now the detour is shorter, and hooks back towards the river as soon as it has passed the school.

And another half a mile and the familiar arches of Cholsey railway bridge came into view....

...before a short stroll through Cholsey Meadows Nature Reserve and the end of today's section.

Looking at the map later, we found out that today was a landmark. Although we know that have probably walked well over 120 miles since the Thames Barrier, including detours, our 'official' mileage covered on the Thames Path passed the 100 mile mark today. So it is, we think, about 103 miles covered, and 80 more to go.