Luthien home page  
Thames Barrier to Tower Bridge with Liz and Stuart
Tower Bridge to Putney, Sue, Thomas, Tanya and Natalie
Putney to Ham House via Kew Gardens
Ham House to Shepperton with Lucy
Shepperton to Laleham with Liz, Chris, Dominic, Maddie and Claire
Laleham to Windsor with Tanya and bump
Windsor to Cookham with Sue
Cookham to Marlow with Marie & Andrew
Marlow to Henley early in the morning
Henley to Pangbourne with Sue
Pangbourne to Wallingford with Sue
Wallingford toClifton Hampden with Ann
Clifton Hampden to Abingdon with David
Abingdon to Oxford in the rain
Oxford to Wolvercote with David, Alison, Francis, Sarah and TIggy
Wolvercote to Farmoor helped by David
Farmoor to Bablock Hythe on Boxing Day
Bablock Hythe to Radcote with Lucy
Radcote to Castle Eaton, sometimes by the river
Castle Eaton to Ashford Keynes with Malcolm and overnight stay
Ashford Keynes to the Source with Malcolm
Thames Path: stage 16 - Farmoor to Bablock Hythe

Having been thwarted by fog and time (needing to get back for the school pick-up at 3pm) I'd only made it as far as Farmoor on the previous walk. This left me about two miles to walk before reaching the point opposite the Ferryman, so called because it used to provide a Ferry. The walk book still suggests it does, but when I phoned the Ferryman before Christmas about its use they'd been particularly unhelpful about whether or when it might run. I realised that to stay on track I needed to fit a short walk in over Christmas to get as far as the point opposite the Ferryman, so we could start on the right side of the Thames for the next walk.

So, two days after Christmas I dragged the family including mother-in-law Brenda up to Farmoor, and suggested they had a stroll around the reservoir watching birds whilst I hiked to ferry point and back.

The first part of the walk was very peaceful, with black silhouettes of leafless trees against the winter sky.
The alternative suggested in the walk book is to cross the river before Farmoor, and take a detour away from the river. After a few sheep, the cause of this detour became apparent. For most of this walk the view on the opposite bank was of caravans. Acres of caravans.
Unlike many of the homely traditional hostelries along the Thames, the Ferryman is basically a caravan club-house, with angular looks to match. On reaching this point, I turned around and walked back to Farmoor.
At Farmoor, I found that the family had made it about a quarter of the way around the reservoir!