With the trains running a wee bit late from Paddington, it meant it would be a late start to what was already a long haul of a walk. I needed to get 22 miles done in around 7 hours! Ugh! This is probably the reason there aren't many photos as I just wanted to get my head down and slog it out. That being said, I did take to the road at points in the walk which cut some mileage down and made it around a reasonable 19-20 miles.
Upon arriving at Reading, with its new ski slope style roofing (ugh...), it's a short walk back to the Thames Path and my first port of call (this is how I manage my walks, I break it up into various points of interest that I'd like to hang around for five min! Good mental process...) at Mapledurham Lock. I totally missed the mill though, which will be a common theme of the day's walk!
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Mapledurham Lock |
After Mapledurham, we follow the curve of the river down to Pangbourne. Here I go straight on the road and completely miss Whitchurch-on-Thames, heading straight for Goring. I eventually hit the river again near the Goring Gap, passing a IKB bridge along the way (another missed pic opportunity! IKB is a hero of mine...) The lock at Streatley is magnificent, and I have a quick look around the two villages, spotting the link to the Ridgeway Path, another National Trail path, before moving onto Wallingford.
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Pangbourne Meadow, muddy as hell! |
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Lock and weir near Pangbourne |
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Goring village signpost |
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The lock and weir at Streatley |
From Goring, we head up to Moulsford, passing Cleeve Lock and the open meadows below South Stoke, where we can see smashing views of the Chilterns! Through the village of Moulsford quickly and keep tramping on though surprisingly lush trees and wet meadows until we reach the ancient town of Wallingford. Wallingford has some nice architecture which I take in while having some refreshments.
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Church at Wallingford |
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Wallingford Bridge |
After leaving Wallingford, we head on up to Benson. Benson village has a seriously great weir and lock, with water thundering over it! We have to cross over it to reach the other bank and you can feel it through your body!
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The weir at Benson |
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Benson lockhouse |
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debris in the weir? |
After Benson, we carry on around the river towards Shillingford and my final destination for the day, Dorchester-on-Thames. It is a hard slog through increasing drizzle and the sun going down rapidly makes for a lot of missteps! However, I eventually arrive at my hotel for the evening.
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Bridge at Shillingford |
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Sunset |
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Tree in the darkness |
I have to recommend the hotel I stayed in, the Fleur-de-Lys (
http://www.fleurdelys-dorchester.co.uk)
, nice welcome, smashing beer and food, and a roaring log fire. Bliss.
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