The Thames Path; Source to Cricklade

The Source of the Thames to Cricklade Map

 

      "You absorb about 2000 years of history just by being near the Thames."  Martin Freeman

     So after talking about it for a few years, Paul and I decided to actually DO it...Walk the Thames path from the Cotswolds to the Barrier.  

     Getting to the UK and even to Swindon, a nearby train station  is pretty easy. We chose to stay in Cricklade, the first day's stop and the second day's launching point, uthat ended up being not the best idea as there is no train, cabs or bus service is very sporadic. We recommend going all the way to Kemble on the train and doing yourself the favor of being near the source instead of finding your way there...unless you want to do a 24 mile round trip.  That said, we made it!

     If you are crafty enough to manage a cab, go to the Thames Head Inn. They are close to the source and have so many people ask, they even have a diagrammed poster of how to find the path to the source blazoned across the entrance. 

A good starting point!

     From whatever starting point you choose, it is either a 0.1mile walk down a busy road with no sidewalk taking your life in your hands, or a nice 1.5 mile hike from the train station in Kemble. (We like to live dangerously, so we took the short cut.)

     The nice thing is that you are walking across a meadow full of wildflowers until you reach an "ancient ash tree" (gotta love those UK directions) and TADA! There is an engraved stone that states (perhaps falsely, BTW) that this is the source of the Thames... 150 feet below you in the ground where you can neither see nor hear it.  But that's okay, because you get your selfie here and soldier forward. 

Our walk across a field of daisies and other flowers known as Tewkesbury Meadow  to the ancient ash tree marking the source of the Thames.

The scenery in this section is pastoral

Obligatory selfie. Don't worry if you can't read the stone. Neither could we. 

From here, it about a mile or so before you see the first sign of waters from the Baby Thames, as we called it. 

Lyd Well. The first evidence that, Yes ,Virginia,  there really is a Thames River. 

There is actually quite a lot of controversy regarding where the Thames actually starts and what streams or areas are the source. To me, it's wherever the water comes up, but I am not a limnologist. (I did study it one semester in college though .)

We were often in the presence of "wild things" 

And domesticated ones. Many of the sheep in this flock had been recently shorn. Lambs were plentiful and playful. 

Swans and cygnets. 

As we approached Ashton Keynes and a few other spots, we were walking in a tunnel of trees.

We walked across fields and farms and the first 8 miles, we were never in a town. We skirted a few settlements such as Kemble, Ewen and Somerford Keynes, but didn't really see a town until Ashton Keynes. The only pub/restaurant there closes for lunch at 2pm (and isn't open Sunday or Monday), so be warned if you take a hankering to follow in our footsteps.  The town market is open however and has enough to make a lunch. 

The White Hart Inn, Ashton Keynes. Lunch til 2pm. Beer till 3pm. 

All that said, it is a pleasure to walk on the "Baby Thames" which starts so inauspiciously and ends as a mighty river.

The Baby Thames reflecting cloudy skies

The path is marked with these signs. 

Just before Ashton Keynes and almost to our final destination of today, Cricklade, is the Cotswold's Water Park, the United Kingdom's largest marl lake system, straddling the Wiltshire–Gloucestershire border, north-west of Cricklade and south of Cirencester. There are 180 lakes, spread over 42 square miles.

One of many lakes we past on the way to Cricklade

More four-legged friends along the way. You literally walk right past these guys as farmers have given easement for the Thames Path. 

In case you ever wondered if Paul is outstanding in his field (of wildflowers)

Numerous wildflowers, most of which I cannot name. 

Shetland ponies

This was from a garden. The UK folks sure do have nice ones. 

If your leg and feet hold up, about 12.5 miles later, you reach the berg of Cricklade. 

Cricklade, proud of its Anglo-Saxon heritage, once housed a royal mint in the 9th to 11th centuries. Today it appears to be a sleepy hamlet of about 4000 souls, mostly pensioners. The high street contains several restaurants, a few service related businesses, banks , a petrol station and a TESCO express. 

A well deserved bitter at the bitter end of the walk

We are staying at the White Hart Hotel--essentially a few rooms above a pub and it's quite comfy. 

Once a market house and finally a stagecoach inn, something has been on this site since the 1700s.

Overall, a good long walk amongst fields and streams and a good start to journeying with the Thames.

"Because of the Thames I have always loved inland waterways - water in general, water sounds - there's music in water. Brooks babbling, fountains splashing. Weirs, waterfalls; tumbling, gushing."    Julie Andrews

Paul's Ponderings:   We are off on our way on the Thames Path.   Today was a great day for hiking, mostly overcast, slightly cool, and no rain at all.   Mostly it was a walk through fields and flat, but plenty scenic.    Lots of local wildlife including birds and sheep (OK not all that wild) and of course, the Thames suddenly starts to appear at Lyd Well and then it is seen repeatedly.   As noted, getting to/from Cricklade to where we needed to go to start the hike, where we stayed, was a bit of a challenge, but we have mastered it (never to need it again, most likely) using taxis and our feet.   Cricklade is not a bad town to stay in at all, it is just not well served by public transport.   But, we had some good food and a comfortable stay at the White Hart in Cricklade.    Now it is on to the next 173 miles or so!