Thames Path: Reading to Henley-on-Thames

 

There is nearly any kind of boat you can name on the Thames. With the popularity of rowing between Oxford and Reading, it's not wonder you can rent a dragon row boat. 

"Only the one who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat."        Jean-Paul Sartre

After a pizza and good rest at the Ibis Hotel in downtown Reading, today's planned walk was 11 miles from  Henley-on-Thames, but ended up being more like 13. But more about that later...For transport reasons, we walked upriver to Reading.

A market town since 1269, Henley-on-Thames  (once home to George Harrison and final resting place of Dusty Springfield) seems to be an affluent community nowadays. It is the host to the Henley Royal Regatta, a boat race that attracts rowers worldwide and is held in early July (which apparently raises hotel prices to astronomical levels.) This race started in 1839 and predates international boating contest rules, so they can pretty much make them up for themselves. 

Not your average city phallic symbol, the Henley-on-Thames obelisk, now stands on the Thames. Built in 1788 of Portland Stone, and marking the center of the city, the obelisk was inscribed with the distances to Reading, Oxford and London and a water pump was built nearby to wash down the pavement after each Thursday market.

Two gas lamps were later affixed to its northern and southern faces. In the 1970s when a roundabout was fashioned in the center of town, the obelisk was moved. It was found to be in sufficient disrepair that having it fall over was a real concern, so it now decorates the Thames Path in a location unlikely to cause any real harm. 

Five-arched Henley-on-Thames bridge

From here, we were having a lovely walk on the Thames toward Shiplake (birthplace of George Orwell)  when it was so rudely interrupted by a "diversion" (better known to Yanks as a detour). The bridge at Marsh Lock has been out for two years and in a very American maneuver, no one can agree who is to pay for the repairs, and therefore, none are done. I don't mind diversions too badly, but this one was poorly marked and led to a bit of additional walking besides the detour itself. The good part was that we got to walk through the Harpeth Woods which was a lovely place and eventually we did get back to the river. 

Paul in the forest 

Our walk back to the Thames led us past St Peter and Paul Church in Shiplake  with its lovely graveyard full of weathered stones. 

Alfred Tennyson was married here and instead of paying the vicar in cash, he gave him a poem. 

We had a nice lunch next to the boathouse for the exclusive Shiplake College and met a nice couple and their furbaby dog. They told us to watch out in Marlow, because there is a bridge out there as well. We will certainly be checking the Thames Path website in the future!

The remainder of the walk was fairly uneventful with mostly waterside perambulating among the usual ducks, geese and swans...and even some swoose (a hybrid from mating by a goose and a swan. Swans, we learned, can also mate with ducks but those eggs never hatch.) We are starting to see fewer and fewer farm animals. 

The next bridge was Sonning Bridge near another expensive private school, the Blue Coat School. 

The only lock we were able to visit today was the Sonning Lock. As usual, the lock keeper's home had beautiful gardens. We also went in the vicinity of Marsh Lock which wasn't accessible and missed Shiplake Lock due to the detour. Caversham Lock was on an island and not on the path. Bad day for viewing locks!

Obviously, we made it into Reading and had a coppa. 

The walking has been long today, but much easier as the Path is better maintained and we are passing through more towns/hamlet which often have very well-kept and often paved paths.  

The river Thames that by our door doth pass,
His first beginning is but small and shallow;
Yet, keeping on his course, grows to a sea.       

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Paul's Ponderings:  We had a pleasantly cool day out walking today but it ended up being about 13 miles.   We had a very lengthy unexpected detour just past Henley On Thames that added quite a bit of distance.   All good though as we still were back in Reading by 4 pm in time for a pint at a restaurant near the path.    Tonight we had a dinner with a work colleague from the UK.   We are now over 100 miles into the path.   The next couple of days will likely put us over 125 miles, so we are making great headway.  

Thames Path: Cullham to Reading

 

The non-tidal Thames grows ever wider as we sojourn its banks

“There is no river in the world to be compared for majesty and the witchery of association, to the Thames; it impresses even the unreading and unimaginative watcher with a solemnity which he cannot account for, as it rolls under his feet and swirls past the buttresses of its many bridges; he may think, as he experiences the unusual effect, that it is the multiplicity of buildings which line its banks, or the crowd of sea-craft which floats upon its surface, or its own extensive spread. In reality he feels, although he cannot explain it, the countless memories which hang for ever like a spiritual fog over its rushing current.

("The Phantom Model")”
― Hume Nisbet, Gaslit Nightmares: Stories by Robert W. Chambers, Charles Dickens, Richard Marsh, and Others

We took a very nice rest day after a week of walking and visited Oxford University. That would be an entire blog on its own, with all the history and famous figures (not to mention Harry Potter--oh wait-- I just did!), and I will omit any other mention of this other than seeing the bar where William Jefferson Clinton did NOT inhale marijuana. If you get to Oxford, allow yourself at least one day if not two to see the campus and the many colleges and historical sites. 

Now, on to the walk.  I will cover various features from Culham to Reading.

We returned to Culham to start where we left off and toward Clifton Hampden, named for Oliver Cromwell's cousin who owned a manor there. 

The Clifton Lock keepers cottage. Red brick which is a standout since most are stone. Also a standout, is that this lock keeper sold ice cream. I wish I had a photo of the smile on Paul's face when ice cream was offered. 

Clifton Bridge, also red brick and lovely. Paul and I from here walked through many many meadows toward Reading. A nature trust appears to own most of the land along the Thames as wildlife preserves, although there are also a considerable number of private properties that allow a narrow band of easement for which we were very grateful. In areas where owners did not allow such things, there were often long detours around hamlets and walks on roads, some major thoroughfares. 

From here we wandered past Dorchester on Thames which we could see less than a mile from the path. In retrospect, I wish we had wandered into the tiny village as it was quite historical and once a Roman garrison with an amphitheater. We saw no evidence of that, but what was apparent was a large church in a small hamlet.  Dorchester Abbey mostly survived the wrath of Henry VIII. Also here Bishop Birinius in the 7th century converted the Saxon king, Cynegils to Christianity. He made an alliance with already Christian King Oswald of Northumbria and essentially paved the way for Britain to become the Christian nation that resulted thereafter as they "overcame" pagan Mercians. 

Then we were off the the Day Lock and just beyond it, the Wittenham Clumps--a pair of chalk hills that probably wouldn't stand out so much if they weren't planted on an area of extreme flatness. 

Lock keeper's cottage at Day's Lock 

 A standout just past the bridge at Day's Lock: Wittenham Clumps--basically, a hillock.

Onward we marched to Shillingford, where we had to walk on the road for a very hot distance. I can't say much to recommend this small town except that we had a very nice and cool lunch at the Shillingford Bridge Hotel. 

Shillingford Bridge Hotel. A nice respite on a very hot day. Try the Croque Monsieur

During the walk, we passed a way from Benson, an RAF Base, and although we never saw it on the path, we often saw helicopters and airplanes overhead. We eventually reached Wallingford which is a nice little town with tons of history. There is a castle (or remains thereof) built by the Normans in the 12th century. And lots of historic churches, cafes, and a very amazing Waitrose where we secured lunch one day.  

We didn't see Benson, but we did see Benson Lock where the lock keeper has a beautiful garden. 

From Wallingford to Pangbourne, there is mostly walking along the river through meadows and encountering only the twin towns of Goring and Streatley. During the Ice Age, the Thames River was forced through the valley by glaciers to follow its current course.  

Mouldsford double-arched railway viaduct: Paul and I stopped underneath for a water break on a hot day.

Due to some construction detours, Paul and I missed two locks but we did get a ride upriver on a ferry for about a quarter of a mile which was very enjoyable. The Thames path crosses the river many times, and this was our only option. We didn't mind not walking a short distance on a 12 mile walking day!

Another thing we encountered that was unique was a walk UPHILL (the back down to the river). This has been almost all either flat or minor up/down for a few feet, but this one was for real. 

Wallingford Bridge. 

Spectator on the Thames Path

When we reached Pangbourne, we walked along a paved road to the rail station where we were treated (not) to a dose of the problems we read about in the paper regarding Great Western Railway: cancelled trains. Since we were > 20 miles from Oxford, it presented quite an issue, but we eventually were able to secure a long bus ride back. I really enjoyed the ride, even though it wasn't planned, as it gave an interesting view of the area we didn't get on ground level and walking speed. But it was still frustrating and I would warn anyone following in our path to make sure there are at least two ways to travel if you are using a city as a "home base." 

Pangbourne to Reading was also a series of meadows and small villages until just before Reading proper. 

It keeps getting wider!

A church claiming Lewis Carroll preached there.

Mapledurham Lock. Last one before Reading

Rowing is massively popular, especially in this area between Oxford and Reading. There are many boathouses and we saw rowing teams of many sizes and compositions come by. 

Rowers need somewhere to leave their shoes!

The last village of note before Reading was Purley-on-Thames where we made a big detour on the river to escape the GWR train tracks. This appears to be a bedroom community for Reading.

Farming is still practiced in Purley and, although the vineyard of the past has apparently gone, arable farming, dairy and livestock farming still exist in the parish. Purley today is a village of more than 1,600 households and is still growing.  There is no doctor’s surgery, no pub, no police station, no cash dispenser/ATM, no petrol station and only a limited mobile library service.   The Post Office in Purley on Thames having closed a local voluntary group has organised a post office service to take place on Monday afternoons (other than Bank Holidays) between 2.15 and 4.15 pm in the small Barn at Goosecroft Recreation Ground. 

From here it was a flat walk into Reading amongst ducks, several types of geese, swans, marsh hens, and narrowboats on the river.  Tired feet beneath us, we were ready for our evenings rest at the Ibis City Center!

“The Thames here had a vastly different character to the wide, muddy tyrant that seethed through London. It was graceful and deft and remarkably light of heart. It skipped over stones and skimmed its banks, water so clear that one could see the reeds swaying deep down on her narrow bed. The river here was a she, he'd decided. For all its sunlit transparency, there were certain spots in which it was suddenly unfathomable.”
― Kate Morton, The Clockmaker's Daughter

Paul's Ponderings:  A couple of very warm and somewhat long days of hiking along the path.    Due to failures of the GWR trains, we spent quite a bit of time on buses moving around, but it all worked out.   We are now over 1/2 way through the path and pretty much no rain, which is great.   Lots of good food in the evening after all these long days out -- and long means it gets dark at 10 pm here.    Once we get past Reading, our transport issues should lessen quite a bit    For now, our walk continues and we are moving into cooler weather, which is great.  

Thames Path: Culham to Oxford

 

Lock keeper's cottage at Culham Lock

The yellow leaves begin to fade
And flutter from the Temple elms,
And at my feet the pale green Thames
Lies like a rod of rippled jade.

OSCAR WILDE

Unlike our prior mornings, this morning we were returning to the Burlington House Hotel and did not need a parting shot of the place we stayed before. We aren't sure if this is a good idea or not yet, but we decided to use public transport here and in Reading and have a home base for venturing out on the Thames Path. It was nice not to have bags in the lobby by 9 am and a 10am checkout, but public transport isn't always entirely reliable. In fact, our train was cancelled. But we eventually got to Culham by bus. 

Culham is a village  in a bend of the Thames, 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Abingdon. The parish is bounded by the Thames to the north, west and south, and by present and former field boundaries to the east. It is low-lying and fairly flat, rising from the Thames in the south to a north-facing escarpment in the north up to 260 feet (80 m) above sea level. The population as 453, so it is amazing a bus even goes there. We didn't see much to attract us to the village except the Thames Path. 

From here, it was advertised as an 11 mile walk back to Oxford, but it ended up being closer to 14 miles.  

The walk included some meadows and eventually the city of Abingdon, a historic market town.   The area was occupied from the early to middle Iron Age and the remains of a late Iron Age and Roman defensive structures lie below the town center .Abingdon Abbey  was founded around 676, giving its name to the emerging town. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Abingdon was an agricultural center with an extensive trade in wool, alongside weaving and the manufacture of clothing. Charters for the holding of markets and fairs were granted by various monarchs, from Edward I to George II. 

The town survived the dissolution  of the abbey in 1538 by Henry VIII, and by the 18th and 19th centuries, with the building of Abingdon Lock  in 1790 and the Wilts and Berks Canal in 1810, Abingdon was on important routes for goods transport. In 1856 the Abingdon Railway opened, linking the town with the  Great Western Rail. The canal was abandoned in 1906 but a voluntary trust is now working to restore and re-open it. Abingdon rail station was closed to passengers in September 1963. The line remained open for goods until 1984, its role including serving the MG car factory, which operated from 1929 to 1980.

Abingdon's brewery, makers of Old Speckled Hen ale, was taken over and closed in 1999; the site of the brewery has been redeveloped into housing. The rock band RADIOHEAD  formed in 1985. The 2011census recorded the parish's population as 33,130. The population continues to grow. 

A look at Abingdon from the river

Abingdon Lock Keepers cottage. 

Obligatory widenings of the Thames photo just outside Abingdon

From here, it was walking in mostly quiet areas of meadow or riverside between locks and mostly quiet and lightly travelled until Iffley Lock.

Graffiti under the rail bridge

Sandford Lock Keeper's Cottage

Boys being boys and jumping off the bridge into the river

All our ducks in a row (well, technically geese)

Just beyond Iffley Lodge is a the Isis Farmhouse which is a pub only reachable on the Thames Path. No automobiles. You have to come by foot or bicycle or boat. It was a hopping kinda place and on a hot day, like today, a cold beer was welcome! They had jazz at 7pm (we didn't stay for it) and while we were there, a group of fiddlers playing live music. 

Iffley Lock Keeper's Cottage

Fiddlers in the pub

A trumpeter in the Isis Farm Pub

A big crowd enjoying the pub on the lawn

Here forward, we had barn fever and hurried our way back to Oxford and our dinner at Gee's Cafe which is an old greenhouse and conservatory serving theoretically Mediterranean food. It didn't seem too Mediterranean to me, but it was very tasty! 

When in Oxford, check out Gee's Cafe!

It is a mere rivulet compared with the greatest rivers in the world: the Nile in Africa, the Mississippi in North America, the Amazon in South America, the Ganges in India, the Yangtze in China, to name only a few. It is shorter and less impressive than the Danube, the Rhine, the Loire or the Seine in Europe; it is not even the longest river in Britain. Yet who would deny that the Thames is more an avenue of history than any other waterway, that it is a national river in a way that the other rivers are not?

JONATHAN SCHNEER

Paul's Ponderings:   We got a bit of a late start on the actual walking due to transport issues between Oxford and Culham, but it worked out.    Soon (read: London) this will not be an issue anymore.    But GWR had canceled the train to Pangbourne, where we were originally going to start for Wallingford, so we just went to Culham by a combo of bus/taxi.   That said, turned out to be about 14 miles of walking once we did the actual path and dealt with on-foot to the bus and such.    It was mostly overcast in the morning, but once again, turned a bit toasty by the afternoon.     Mostly it was rural walking with a few locks, similar to the last few days.    We finished it up with a very nice dinner at Gee's just down the road from Burlington House.    Tomorrow is a rest day now that we are about 70 miles into this walk!

Thames Path: Eynsham to Oxford

 

Last look back at the Talbot Inn in Eynsham as we continue along the Thames Path

The silver Thames takes some part of this county in its journey to Oxford.

John Aubrey

This was a shorter (8 mile), but much more historical day along the path, starting with our hotel, the Talbot Inn. The family has posted a sign with the lineage of the inn. Due to the Wharf Stream--a tiny creek really originating on the Thames but leading into a smaller waterway- that lead into the area of Swinford for the transport of building stone and agricultural products. The commerce originating at least as early as the 11th century, there is suspicion that there was an inn or public house in this location long before the proven lineage of late 18th century presence of this inn. The current owners, unrelated to the original owners of the 1770s, have been here since the late 1990s. The bedrooms are modern, but the old pub area is decidely historical in appearance. 

 We followed the public footpath back to the Thames Path this morning and originally proceeded to the Kings Lock. 

Lock keeper's cottage at Kings Lock. Many of these appear empty (if anyone needs a job)

We then journeyed along a very long farm/animal/agricultural area for about two or more miles. 

Obligatory photo of the widening Thames 

Open space of the meadow which is part of a massive conservation projects involving open spaces, agriculture and animal husbandry. One of their "brags," (and I was not aware of this) is that whereas confined swine often have their tails removed and teeth filed because they have a tendency to bite each other's tails off, the swine raised in large open spaces do not have these aggressive behaviors. These fields are either fallow and left to their own devices or sporadically home to grazing livestock of various ilks.  

Eventually we reached the Godstow Lock, where we enjoyed liquid refreshments at the Trout Inn and ran into even more history! Just past Godstow Lock are the remains of Godstow Abbey. 

Godstow Abbey, a nunnery established in 1133 by Edith de Launceline, served as both a religious community and a "finishing school" for young ladies of wealthy descent. Edith was a wealthy widow looking for good use of her inherited money.  Henry I of England also lent support.  Henry II gave a lot of concessions to the abbey when he fell in love with a local (non-nun) lady of great beauty, Rosamund Clifford, who bore him (rumored) two sons. Her untimely death prompted further concessions to the abbey.  Faire Rosamund was buried beneath the church alter, but eventually removed due to her impure sexual tendencies and buried in a nearby cemetary. The gravesite has since been lost to posterity and various nearby conflicts. There were ups and downs for this reasonably well-run abbey, but the community survived and even thrived at times until... enter the other Henry...the VIII.  Dr John London, agent for the king tried to persuade the nuns to give up the property but they resisted. Even the dastardly Oliver Cromwell tried to support the nunnery, but Henry VIII was having none of it and in his suppression scheme, closed the abbey in 1539. Dr. John London made the abbey thereafter his private home. It's actually quite large, so I hope it was drafty! The abbess in concession arranged by Cromwell received 50 pounds a year as a pension. Who knows what happened to the rest of the residents? Obviously, the ruin still stands and has been many things, but never a religious building in the interim period. 

Full frontal on the Godstow  Abbey with cows to the left. 

Godstow Lock Keeper's Cottage

Very frightening sign regarding security at Godstow Locks

 From here, we were only about 3 miles into Oxford. The path which had been mostly empty to this point filled up with walkers, dogs, bikers and runners all the way to Oxford. Our last completely serene view was cows having a sip along the river. 

Ordinarily I might not include such a photo, but Paul's guidebook literally has a diagram of cows drinking water in exactly this spot. 

One thing that made me go, "Duh!" was the naming of the towns along the river: This is the order in which we encountered these hamlets and they literally are a guide to how deep and difficult a crossing would be: Duxford (duck crossing); Shifford (sheep); Swinford (swine crossing) and Oxford ( ox or bovine crossing). Now I get it! 

We are now for five nights at a lovely (and air-conditioned boutique) hotel that is a "splurge" for this trip called Burlington House. It is run by Nez who sees to every detail! He recommended a nearby restaurant, Pompette (means "tipsy" in French) and it is a very tasty French bistro. It's a Michelin bib gourmand as well!

Burlington House in North Oxford, a quiet neighborhood and cheap quick bus ride to city center.

We were happy to have a slightly lighter walking day at 8 miles and look forward to a longer 12 mile journey tomorrow. 

The Thames was all gold. God it was beautiful, so fine that I began working a frenzy, following the sun and its reflections on the water.

Claude Monet

Paul's Ponderings:   Another nice day out but a lot shorter walk, about eight miles, from Eynsham Lock to Oxford.    We arrived in time for a late lunch and then went to our lovely hotel at Burlington House to be welcomed by the owner Nes.    We then had a nice dinner at Pompette and otherwise had a slow day as we prepare for another twelve mile hike tomorrow.  Prior to that, we are already 25% of the way into the entire length of the hike.    The weather is still quite warm and is expected to get warmer over the next few days but we are managing pretty nicely.   Another day or two and we'll have a break for a day before we forge ahead.   

Thames Path: Tadpole Bridge to Eynsham

 

Our last look back at the Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge. Good food and a nice inn with only six rooms. 

What better place than this then could we find
By this sweet stream that knows not of the sea,
This little stream whose hamlets scarce have names,
This far-off lonely mother of the Thames.

WILLIAM MORRIS

We are now roughly 50 miles into our 185 mile journey after leaving the inn this morning. In many ways, the path was much like the day before: tall grasses, cows, sheep, crows, doves, swans, mallards, the occasional marsh hen or cormorant, and the river growing ever so slowly larger by our side. We walked through an area called the Chimney Meadows which is indeed a large marshy meadow and a wildlife preserve. Though the signage stated we would see an abundance of wildlife such as deer, voles, birds of prey, etc, the wildlife apparently did NOT read the signs.  Nonetheless, it was a nice walk in good weather, even a bit warmish. 

Obligatory photo of the growing Thames. This was as it passed through nearly two miles of the Chimney Meadow.

Although we did not see any wildlife from this "hide" in the midst of the meadow, it was a nice cool place to sit, have a sip of water and read about the preserve. 

As we meandered along the curvy Thames today, we did eventually see graylag geese in hordes and a pheasant who decided to run along the Thames Path with us for a short distance. We heard a water vole make a plop into the river, but we didn't see it. 

We made a promise to ourselves last night that instead of conducting our usual Bataan Death March hiking method, we would stop at all the locks and sit down for a few minutes since we were hiking 14 miles. And we pretty much kept the promise. 

With the help of the  rugby team who is rowing a good bit of the Thames, we learned to actually operate the locks at Pink Hill Lock and got a bit of an upper body workout. 

The lockkeeper houses continue to be stately and have luscious gardens. This is the one at Pink Hill which is my favorite so far. 

Northmoor Lockkeeper Cottage

At Shiffey Locks, there was no way to cross the river to the lock keeper cottage, so we sat down near the bridge over the weir dam. Paul is contemplating his Motorola. We nearly always have some phone signal on this trip. 

Grayling geese

We had a nice lunch at Newbridge, about 6 miles into the 14 mile walk. The bridge there is lovely and once again, this bridge built in the 14th century claims to be the oldest one crossing the Thames. 

This is the longest day of the year in the UK with about 16 hours of daylight. Although we didn't encounter very many fellow walkers (although we did meet a very friendly older couple whom we saw again later at the Ferryman Inn in Northmoor and they bought us a half pint of ale!) , visit any historic churches, or things along that line, the long walk was a good one. So many steps, one after the other strikes me as a form of meditation:  the feeling of the ground beneath your feet, the rhythm of your steps, your body's movement, and the air's sensation against your skin.  Let's do it again tomorrow!

The river Thames that by our door doth pass,
His first beginning is but small and shallow;
Yet, keeping on his course, grows to a sea.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Paul's Pondering:   The longest day of the hike so far -- 14 miles -- and it worked out pretty well, although it was quite warm.    We had a good lunch at the Maybush about six miles into the walk and that was a nice break, sitting on the river and enjoying some good food.    After that, it was a LOT of time in pastures until we reach Eynsham.     We arrived at the Talbot Inn around 545 pm after leaving Tadpole Bridge around 10 am and enjoyed some Arkell's ale and later a nice dinner in the pub.   Tomorrow is a short walk of around seven miles into Oxford, where we'll be staying for a few days and using as a base for doing several segments of the walk.