[Note: I am posting this three days after completing this leg of the ramble. A complete set of pictures for this leg may be found here.]
On Saturday I began my only two-day journey on my Thames River Ramble. My plan was to travel on Saturday from Lechlade-on-Thames, where I concluded leg 9 of my ramble, to Cricklade, 10 1/2 miles down the Thames Path. After spending the night in Cricklade, on Sunday I would make the rest of my northward journey, completing the 12 1/2 miles between Cricklade and the Source of the Thames, the official “start” of the Thames Path. So on Saturday morning I got up at 4:30 AM to prepare for the start of my long ramble. Honestly, the longest part of this day was the public transit ride back to Lechlade. I left Oxford at 6 AM, taking the train to Didcot, to Swindon, and then to Kemble Station. Departing Kemble Station, I walked to a bus stop where I waited for 30 minutes for a bus to Cirencester, and then another 20 minutes for my final bus that put me back in Lechlade. The 3+ hours of public transit travel had me in Lechlade around 9:30 AM, where I began my journey.
Update on my feet: while in the Lake District I finally chose to invest in some good waterproof hiking shoes. The investment was completely worth it! My feet were comfortable and dry throughout the ramble and were a big improvement over my tennis shoes (which kept my feet comfortable, but wet) and my hiking boots (which kept my feet dry, but also led to blistering on the long rambles). But enough about my feet. Saturday’s 10.5 mile ramble was more tiring than previous legs. My speculation is that the public transit hours contributed to this feeling. Also, previous legs have brought with them a lot of variety. Around every river bend is a new town, or a new historic site waiting to be discovered. Between Lechlade and Cricklade I didn’t get this feeling. There are few “bends” to the river in this area. in fact, Lechlade is the farthest point on the Thames that can accommodate boat traffic. Northward from Lechlade, the Thames becomes increasingly shallow and muddy (and as you will see in my next post, dry). On this 10 mile stretch the Thames Path traverses wide open pastures and farm fields. Eventually every farm field and pasture begins to look the same.
This is not to say that the Saturday ramble was uninteresting. Early in the day I stepped briefly into Inglesham Church, a 13th century church that retains much of its original look. The interior of the church includes a fabulous assortment of wall paintings dating from the 13th to the 19th century.
Heading toward Cricklade, eventually I ended up at Castle Eaton, a historic village that captures much of the charm of the typical Cotswold town. For Thames ramblers, the town is significant primarily because it is the home of the first pub located directly on the river south of the Source. My legs were tired by the time I reached the town, so I stopped for a pint at The Red Lion, sitting by a lovely wood fire that was burning in the entryway. Refreshed, I finished the last few miles of my ramble, making it to Cricklade around 2:30 PM. Outside of Castle Eaton I did snap a few pictures of the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Kempsford, an impressive edifice that is clearly visible from the Thames.
In Cricklade I arrived at my hotel to discover that check-in was not possible until 5 PM. With a few hours to kill I walked down High Street to one of the local pubs where I spent two hours watching Rugby with some locals. Explaining to them that I knew very little about the sport, we shared time together with them explaining the rules and strategy to me over pints. This will be one of the memorable highlights of my time in Cricklade. Initially part of the allure of rambling for me was taking time to stop and learn more about local communities through these sorts of encounters. I haven’t been able to spend as much time talking to people as I initially intended; 185 miles is a lot of distance to cover. Cricklade offered me an opportunity to live into this vision, sharing time with locals who were eager to help a strange American learn more about their community. When the men discovered I was hiking the Thames Path, they recommended some further sites to visit after I ended at the Source.
I checked into my hotel at 5 PM. The room was above a different pub and was absolutely fabulous, small but quite comfortable, and totally worth the price. For dinner I had a “small” fish and chips at a local “chippery” (a word I just learned! It’s a small dining establishment devoted almost exclusively to fish & chips). Small is not an accurate description of my meal. The woman serving me would not stop pouring chips into the paper sack she was preparing. The haddock filet I ordered could easily serve 3 people. I ate part of the meal for dinner and then ate some more for breakfast the next day, though I ended up leaving some of it behind. There simply wasn’t room in my stomach or my backpack for the leftovers.
At the conclusion of the leg, I’ve hiked 132 miles or so of the Thames Path. The following day my plan was to finish my northward ramble at the Source. More about this in my next post! I’ll conclude with a picture of the Thames from this leg of the journey. Notice how much smaller it is! It’s hard to imagine that this is the same river that I’ve been following southward, where the river is wide and the flow is strong.
Return home…