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 10b - Pangbourne to Wallingford

Sue and I woke up to a very wet morning. As we had to carry our overnight stuff from Henley to Wallingford I'd had to make some decisions about what to bring, and what to leave behind. I had decided to bring my new summer walking "shorts" in case the weather warmed up. It was August after all. I decided to leave my expensive and very comfortable, if bulky, walking trousers behind. This was a mistake. On every walk after this I have carried my trousers through roasting sunshin. I did appreciate them on the Abingdon to Oxford stage, but this morning I could only regret their absence.

The Whichurch - Pangbourne toll bridge was active despite the early time on a Sunday morning (about 9.15am), and despite the weather. Can it really be worthwhile collecting 20p from each car that crosses? Fortunately pedestrians don't have to pay to pass any more (they were charged 1/2d each until decimalisation made this impractical).
Once over the bridge, the walk wound through Whitchurch, past the church of St Mary the Virgin, and then up away from the river. Away from the river is always frustrating on a walk that feels that it ought to be a "river walk" , ie by the river, not someway above it.

It just got wetter and wetter. My trousers were soaked through. However, by the time we came back down to the river opposite Beale Park the rain had cleared and my trousers dried out quickly. The cows didn't seem to mind the wet grass.

Buildings along the Thames vary greatly, from the grand to the not so grand, and the new to the old. This old boat house caught our imagination as a once loved building.
We found an alternative route to this poorly signposted diversion.

We arrived safely in Wallingford, by which time the weather was quite bright. Whilst we refreshed ourselves with a rather late lunch, Malcolm and the boys drove up to collect us. By a strange co-incidence, who should we meet at the castle but my friend Ann and her family - I hadn't seen Ann for about 5 years, and had arranged to walk the next stage of the walk with her, so it seemed a fitting end to the longest stage of the walk.

Sue, Matthew, James, Bridget, Ann, Hannah and Abi.