Thames Path: Henley-on-Thames to Staines-on-Thames

 

Teams practicing for the Henley-on-Thames Regatta. There is a Rowing Museum here, but we saw the live version instead...

Oh these are our joys, and this our toil;
And this is truth that I now record;
Rowing is – what with blister and boil, 
And the rain and the sewers – its own reward.
Yet every day it is just the same 
Though my nose be red and my fingers blue,
I visit the river and sink my name 
And become one-eighth of an eight-oared crew.

Anon, a la Newbolt

Henley-on-Thames was in full "about to have a world famous regatta" mode when we arrived the following day to make our way further along the Thames. It reminded us of Bonnaroo or even a UT football game (without the tents.)

Lodging for some during the regatta

The lanes in which the rowing takes place for 2,112 meters (a little over a mile)

Where it all begins

From here, our next stop was a "deer park"-- a large private property which amazingly allows easement for walkers. We didn't see any deer, but the grounds were large and well-manicured.  Temple Lock  which has been around since the 1700s was a good rest stop. 

We encountered many beautiful wildflowers along the way and there were still many meadows in addition to many lovely homes on the river 

Temple Lock and Lock Keeper's home

Hurley Lock, next on the river, had a tea shop and numerous people were lounging about at the lock, which we haven't seen before, although they nearly all have a bench. We often stopped at locks for water breaks or even lunch and watched the boats come through. For anyone expecting bathrooms for the public at the locks (as sometimes mentioned in guide books), we haven't found many have one and if they do, they aren't open. 

Lounging at the Hurley lock

Marlow, next town on the lock, is noteworthy for literary works of Mary Shelley (Frankenstein) and her poet hubby, Percy Bysse Shelley, and Thomas Love Peacock who wrote Nightmare Abbey. If you happen to pass through, scribble something down. It might become a masterpiece! 

All Saints Church in Marlow is next to the bridge,  right on the river and the bells were tolling for a wedding when we arrived.  There's a lovely bakery, Burgers, where we ate lunch just up on the high street and also Amarino's which is a gelato shop that shapes ice cream as roses. We didn't eat it but it looked awesome.

Next Stop: Cookham. This was a quiet hamlet with not much to either recommend or detract you from it (except a particularly nasty unisex public restroom at the rail station), but it is the home of Stanley Spencer, a former soldier and then famous artist with unique outlook on the world , and also Kenneth Grahame, author of The Wind in the Willows. 

Stanley Spencer interpreted many situations within the confines of Cookham, his home town.  This one is Christ Preaches at the Cookham Regatta. There are several paintings in this series. There is a gallery of his work in Cookham for anyone interested. 

On now to Maidenhead, the former constituency of Theresa May, ousted and retired Prime Minister who implemented Brexit. Notable of this town is that if you let the riverside be the judge, everyone here appears to be very wealthy!

The river gets ever wider!

A little riverside "cottage" Maidenhead style.

And then it was Boveney Lock...

This is the only lock keeper's house on the entire path without a garden and in fact, the yard was disheveled. We sat on a bench to eat our lunch and it was a memorial bench to the "retired" lock keepers wife, so perhaps no one is living here now. 

Paul always has a smile for chocolates for dessert on the trail!

Next stop: Eton/Windsor. We overnighted at the George Inn which has been a coaching in since 1750 and currently also has a brewery.  It's in Eton, directly across from the Windsor Castle. We were shocked at the sheer size of Windsor Castle. How does anyone find their way about inside of it?  I would need a map app just for that. And there is a massive amount of property owned by the Royals and about the same amount owned by Eton School much of which we walked past (but not inside of) the following day. 

No air-conditioning, but a quiet inn on the High Street of Eton. Take a meal Cote if you can. It's nice French food at reasonable prices with a view of Windsor Castle. 

I had to pinch this photo from the internet. No way I could get this view from the "outside." 

From here we passed through Old Windsor, mostly riverside, with not that many towns or such. We did meet an interesting mechanical engineer from Australia who looked slightly older than us. He is hiking select areas of the Thames Path and I wish I had gotten a photo of him, as he designed his own device for hauling his bags and luggage out of recycled items from "the trash heap and recycle. " Interesting, inventive  chap that we walked with for about a mile. 

Old Windsor Lock

A friend who walked ahead of us on the path

And it keeps getting wider

We felt obligated (especially so close to the 4th of July) to see the location that the Magna Carta was agreed to by King John and the barons in 1215. Apparently, although it is said it was signed there, there is of course, historical controversy. Mostly likely it was signed elsewhere by the king but there was a meeting somewhere around Runnymede to hold a discussion. Paul and I both remember studying about the Magna Carta as early as grade school. There's a great large park there to commemorate the document. 

They are proud of the Magna Carta. Why not? I am too!

Lovely display in the fields leading up to an art exhibit symbolizing freedoms and made from thatch

A better look at these sculptures

To mark 800 years since the sealing of Magna Carta at Runnymede, the National Trust unveiled The Jurors, an intricate artwork in the Runnymede landscape celebrating the endurance of Magna Carta. Created by artist Hew Locke to examine the changing and ongoing significance of Magna Carta. The Jurors is not a memorial to the barons who met with King John , but an invitation to sit down and reflect upon the histories depicted in the artwork. Each bronze chair incorporates a main image on the front and back, representing key moments in the struggle for freedom and civil rights worldwide , and is embellished with flowers, keys and other significant symbols. The artist has colored and polished some areas, as well as adding slashes and gouges to the surfaces. The result is a rich layering of imagery, marks and textures.

This is the actual Magna Carta memorial site. The Magna Carta was established due to a struggle between King John (brother of Richard the Lionhearted who was NOT as successful of a military campaigner as his sibling) and the barons during the reign of feudal law.  Feudal barons were depended upon for both monetary support and to supply an army.  Traditionally, barons were consulted prior to any additonal taxation, but after returning from France and losing control of land there, King John made a mistake oft repeated by the British monarchy--taxation without representation. He didn't consult with the barons prior to imposing new tax burdens. They rebelled and captured London. That probably didn't sit well, but...eventually they would "come to terms" in Runnymede.  The Magna Carta, mostly written by the Archbishop of Canterbury,  was not the first document to provide a "bill of rights" of sorts, even though it is the most recognized but it gave certain rights to people 'no matter what" and allowed all men the right to access to the legal system and limited the power of the king. Today the document is seen as a first step toward democracy and has influenced the constitution of many countries.  Interestingly, this monument was erected by... The American Bar Association on property deeded to the USA by Queen Elizabeth for purposes of establishing a John F Kennedy memorial in tribute to his contributions to civil rights in the USA.

The JFK Memorial in Runnymede

 

Onward we trudged from this point toward our goal of Staines-on-Thames and the last lock we were able to see (there were some only accessible from the other side of the Thames) was the Belle Weir Lock .

Belle Weir Lock does not have a garden but does have civil rights paintings on the building. 

It's a short distance from here to Egham and across the river, Staines-on-Thames. Most of the day we were accompanied by  passenger trains and/or planes on the flight path to Heathrow. We did see a few bovines, but I suspect this is the last stop for livestock? Time will tell!

There's fifty-two stations on the Northern Line

None of them is yours, one of them is mine 

--- Robin Hitchcock

Paul's Ponderings:  We had quite a busy period of walking; we've been humping it mileage wise for most of the past several days.   Both of us have some minor blisters but otherwise all good.   The good news is that this path is mostly flat, albeit long-ish if you do it all in one go, as we are.   The weather has cooled, thank goodness, after a few days of VERY warm walking.    Seeing Runnymede was pretty impressive -- having been taught about the Magna Carta early in in school, I had not realized it was "here".   Likewise, Windsor Castle is massive -- we did not have time to go take a tour (maybe one day), but it dominates the town in a major way.   The path was much improved over the early days; no overgrown Queen Anne's lace/etc.    It is both scenic and heavily trafficked here and no doubt on through London.     We now take off to attend Wimbledon for a day, which is going to be great.   We are now 2/3 of the way through this walk.    Looking forward to the remainder!