Wednesday 25 May 2022
Today was our windiest day, grey and a bit showery, but oh the wind!
We took ourselves back to The Red Lion in Castle Easton and set off away from the river on The Thames Path, seeing some beautiful cottages and gardens.
We were in our walking boots today, as we knew there were plenty of meadows, fields and uneven surfaces ahead, plus we'd had some heavy rain showers since last week.
Susan is identifying our crops below with her app Picture This it's been so useful to have on our walks.
We finally spotted the River Thames, with cow parsley and reeds in abundance. Yellow Iris and buttercups added the colourful touches today.
I think this cottage must be one of the most photographed on the walk, we came through the fields and onto a little lane.
Their flower beds at the front of the cottage were beautiful, so pretty and colourful.
Some nice puddles to splash through and time for Susan to get out her new cagoul!
Although every time she put it on the rain stopped, it was brilliant, and happened EVERY time!
We had read in the guide book that there has been a change in The Thames Path near to Upper Inglesham, previously you walked along the verge of the A361 for a mile (not nice, it's a very busy road) so a new pathway has been created thanks to local landowners to create a safer and more attractive route. So check your map, but thankfully this sign was obvious enough!
We found ourselves in an 'active airfield', could have been exciting, but nothing landed or took off, rather disappointing. As we arrived at the far end of the field, you could see where they'd cut an air strip.
We'd met a fellow walker with the skin no longer covering his back ankle, he was hopping bare footed waving his sock around, but luckily in my rucsac of 'everything but the kitchen sink' I had a blister plaster thick enough to sort him out. Men, you get blisters, be prepared!
It was here by the air field we saw our very first boat, a significant moment.
It was also here that I saw a great opportunity for the 'gram', a rope for Susan to swing across on! It could have gone viral .... but no she wasn't up for it. 😄
We started to see a few of these banded demoiselles about today.
Their habitats are mainly slow-flowing lowland streams and rivers, particularly those with muddy bottoms! Yep, that's just where we were.
We came across a field full of canada geese with their goslings, ever so cute. Some were in the water in their little family groups.
But then we came across a field full of cows, who we spotted following the previous walker en-masse, they were all around our exit gate ....
I started to google what to do when confronted with cows in a field, I mean I knew, but I think I was looking for a magic spell or something, but I did find out some information, which is worth sharing if you are about to head off on a countryside walk soon ...
Look for an escape route, that you can hop over if a cow's getting too close for comfort.
Make a little noise so they know you're there, they don't like being taken by surprise.
If they have gathered round to greet you, try shooing them away, if they back off this is usually a good sign and will let you pass without becoming too aggressive.
Walk quickly and try not to make eye contact.
Give the cows a wide berth.
Don't run, cows can run at speeds of 25mph, you don't want to get trampled.
Make yourself as big as possible by stretching out your arms and waving them.
Just don't panic, cows can pick up on your emotional state and may become agitated or aggressive if they sense you are uneasy.
Cows tend to match their pace to yours, so if you up your walking speed or break into a run they're likely to do the same.
AND I wish I hadn't read this bit, cows are the deadliest large animals in the UK, having caused 74 deaths in the last 15 years - 18 of which occurred on public footpaths or popular rights of way!!!!!
(Elsewhere in the world, they only appear lower in the 'cause of death' rankings due to stiff competition from the likes of crocodiles, bears, moose, snakes etc)
Here is Susan's heart rate peaking at the point we were negotiating our exit from the cow field!
And here we are safe on the right side of the fence. What a relief.
Luckily calm was restored as we arrived at the old and beautiful St John the Baptist Church in Inglesham. In Victorian times, thanks to William Morris, who lived nearby, it was restored to it's earlier character with 13th century stonework, wall painting and texts, a Jacobean pulpit and box pews.
It is tended by the Churches Conservation Trust, they help save and conserve over 340 historic churches no longer used for regular worship.
Due to theft of lead from aisle roofs there has been devastating damage to the prints and paintings on the wall, so fundraising is being done, to help protect it further from water.
It is amazing inside
£2,200 is needed each year to keep the church open and safe for visitors
They also need £607k for conservation repairs
You can donate to help Inglesham Church by texting ING to 70970 to donate £5.
It would be awful if special little places like this were left to wither and die, we loved our quiet time spent inside.
But tummies were a rumbling, we'd eaten several polos by now and needed lunch!
We knew we were nearly at Lechlade when we spotted the Roundhouse Farm.
Here you find what remains today of the Thames-Severn Canal which once branched off from the river, to carry it's trade, via the Sapperton Tunnel and Golden Valley down to Stroud.
The waterway was completed in 1789 at that time the Sapperton Tunnel at 2.17 miles was the longest canal tunnel ever built. The last boat to travel between the Severn and the Thames did so in 1927.
The Roundhouses were the unusual quarters for lock-keepers and several can still be seen today, even though much of the canal is dry.
It was here that we had a little pre lunch rest in Riverside Park.
Plenty more boats appearing
This is the Ha'Penny Bridge as you enter Lechlade, it's the first of 106 navigable bridges between here and London, it has spanned the river since 1872, when it replaced a ferry crossing. There is a tiny toll house, you can just see the roof below on the left hand side on the photo below, and everyone had to pay a halfpenny to cross the bridge, until the people of Lechlade rebelled and the charge was dropped in 1839. Great story.
Before the Thames and Severn Canal was opened in 1789, Lechlade was the highest point on the Thames that laden barges could reach.
The riverside was a busy wharf with boats being loaded with salt from Cheshire which had been carried down the Old Salt Way by pack horses. Wool and cheese was brought from the Cotswolds for the markets in Oxford and London.
The honey coloured Taynton stone from nearby Burford was shipped from here and used for iconic buildings such as St Paul's Cathedral and Windsor Castle!
Finally at 1:40pm we found lunch; we had been walking for 3 hours and 17 minutes covering 6.46 miles and over 17,000 steps. We stopped at Lynwood & Co
We went for the local sourdough and scrambled eggs that the hens laid at nearby Cacklebean Farm, delicious and they restored some of our energy. Obviously we needed cake to really top us up!
Vegan apple, date and pecan
Susan and her brownie, becoming a firm favourite on walks so far!
There was an opportunity to buy their great coffee, granola, sourdough, honey, eggs and oil.
We had a lovely view looking out over the market square,
We had a little explore before heading back onto the Thames Path, the local WI had been very busy yarn bombing the letter boxes and benches, it was very colourful.
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have"
Maya Angelou
A beautiful church and very pretty vicarage next door ... what a beautiful doorway with of course the addition of a pretty wisteria.
If you follow us on instagram
@emandsusangowalking
you will have seen I put this photo on stories to ask whether you thought we did or did not enjoy ourselves on one of these ....
... Sadly no, but I bet they're popular in the summer!
There's a pub right by the river there called The Riverside it also has rooms if you want to stay overnight whilst walking the Thames Path.
We then came upon our first lock
St John's Lock
And in front of the lock Old Father Thames himself, reclining with symbols of commerce around him. He was commissioned for the grounds of Crystal Palace in 1854, he was then bought to Thames Head (where the Thames Path starts) but as we know that's a bit quiet and in the middle of nowhere (the Source) so he now reclines by the edge here watching the boats and people go by.
Under the bridge and through the buttercups to Bloomers Hole footbridge, as you can see there are 21 steps up and 21 steps down, so if you can't manage that there is a diversion you can take, turning right behind the Trout Inn (left over the bridge and on the right hand side).
The bridge was put in by helicopter!
The trees that ran alongside here were so tall and in the winds were so loud, it was like walking beside crashing ocean waves
From here the river serpentines it's way along, it's fenced off so you have to snake your way around next to the edge, no opportunity for short cuts!
Along the way you can spot these brick pillboxes.
They were used as defence in the Second World War. In 1940 they formed a line along the river, a last attempt to stop the invaders from reaching the Midlands.
In the end they were only used once and manned, and it was a false alarm!
We saw so many church spires today in the distance, this is a beauty 'Buscot Church'.
And the daft boat name of the day goes to 'Sotally Tober'
We reached Buscot Lock and weir, gushing water everywhere!
This is where we stopped our walking for the day along the Thames Path, another 10 miles done and 26,381 steps!
The village of Buscot is National Trust, it's very pretty and has a lovely village tea room and here's another village with a use for it's red telephone box, it's now the Buscot Library.
We pushed ourselves (or I pushed Susan she'll say) to Buscot Park, where we were to meet our driver (he was rather worried about us as there had been a HUGE downpour at home, so it sounds like we were lucky)
I sent out a distress signal to him at this point!
It had an incredibly long, double tree lined drive, Susan had to take painkillers when she saw it ....
But we aimed for the tea room, with beautifully painted murals by Ellen-Ann Hopkins in the 1990s with lovely ladies behind the counter.
It's open 2pm - 5:30pm
No lunch or sandwiches, it's cream teas and cakes, hot and cold drinks.
We sat underneath this very interesting clock as it chimed 5pm.
The House and Gardens looked lovely as we peeped through, but we will need to save a visit until another day.
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