Towpath Rambles: October 2014

Monday, 13 October 2014

Thames Path Day 3: Castle Eaton to Lechlade, about 8 miles, walked on Thursday 18th September 2014

What a good start some of us had today: tea/coffee and cakes and a friendly welcome! While waiting for the returning drivers in Castle Eaton, a passing lady informed us of the weekly coffee morning in the nearby village hall/PO. It didn't take us long to decide.

So, 11 of us walked through Castle Eaton and along a long minor road to rejoin the banks of the Thames by Blackford Farm.

The weather was super again.

We met some other Thames Path walkers today and briefly asked about their walk and the section we were coming up to along the busy A361 road. Some guides recommended arranging to catch a bus (not a frequent service) or going by taxi. In the end we 'did it all' and the path was close to the road but easily passable all the way along. We deduced from notices that a path nearer to the river and away from the road is being planned.

The small, quietly-positioned church at Inglesham is delightful, with box pews, wall paintings and a lack of straight lines. We had our picnic lunch here and then crossed another field (more cows and a bull) to see the Round House. Here was once the junction of the Thames and Severn canal (now disused) with the Thames river. It is also the point to which larger boats and barges can navigate to, today. We were on the home straight and soon saw the graceful spire of St Lawrence church Lechlade, come into view, across the meadows.

We crossed the Ha'penny Bridge and marked the completion of our first three walks with, you have guessed, a cuppa and cake. This time in a newly established cafe cum antiques shop. The proprietor brought us several pots of tea and we made ourselves comfortable on period furniture and looked at the price labels.

Thames Path Day 2: Ashton Keynes to Castle Eaton, 9½ miles walked on Wednesday 17th September 2014

Thames Path Day 2: Ashton Keynes to Castle Eaton, 9½ miles, walked on Wednesday 17th September 2014.

All 13 of us set out and we played 'cars' first. By leaving some cars at Castle Eaton meant that we could return to Cirencester, our base, easily.

We had another gloriously warm day of walking; a little cooler first thing but plenty warm enough later on.

Julie's ankle didn't stand up to the rigours of walking along the stoney ground in the first half of the walk so she dropped back and with John, they made their way back to the hotel via Cricklade.

We stopped at the Red Lion PH in Cricklade for lunch. It was from near here that we deviated slightly from the route (lack of signage) and saw someone with a ferret.

We met a large herd of cattle, including a big bull, near to Eaton House. They all stampeded at once and then suddenly stopped. A little unpredictable; so concerning.

As you can see from the photo above, we couldn't resist some food for free when we saw some plums in the hedgerow.