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| River Thames near Kelmscott from one of our alternative routes |
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Welcome to our last newsletter of the year. It’s been a quiet month where the weather has dictated our activities. If it rains, we stay indoors and handle bookings. If it’s dry but overcast, we check the state of the paths. If it’s sunny, then we’re working on our new project: the Kennet and Avon Canal Walk. More of that later.
Another project we are working on is to publish a guidebook whose sole purpose is to help you navigate the Path when it’s flooded. So it seeks to provide alternative routes: paths where possible but also advising which roads are safe to walk on. We’ve covered the path as far as Shillingford so still have some work to do. The inspiration for this came in September this year when we found ourselves providing alternatives to many walkers, some our customers, some complete strangers.
It was during the course of investigating alternative paths around Radcot that we caught the photo below of a bridge stuck on Radcot Bridge. Like many bridges on the Thames, Radcot Bridge uses an island to reduce the required span. The photo shows only half of the bridge. The other half, to the left and not in the photo, is the oldest surviving bridge on the Thames.
Our bookings are looking very promising. We are currently more than 50% up on this time last year. As there is a finite availability of accommodation, you might want to book early to avoid disappointment.
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| Radcot Bridge |
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Thames Path Route News
The Path has been slowly drying out following Storm Bert which hit in the last week of November. So keep an eye on our route alerts page. As we’re not on the Path much at the moment, much of this input comes from members of our Thames Path Walkers Facebook Group, many of whom take day walks.
Some good news: the diversion at Bloomer’s Hole near St John’s Lock past Lechlade has ended with the bridge having now been repaired.
The ferry at Benson, which helps walkers avoid following the diversion on account of the weir being closed, is itself closed for the winter and will re-open in the spring.
Long-standing diversions:
The diversion to avoid the closed boardwalk at Marsh Lock Henley now starts at Shiplake and takes you briefly into the Chilterns. The diversion adds an extra 1.0 miles to the walk although feedback that we’ve received is that it feels much longer! But, bear in mind that the distance from Shiplake to Henley is already 2.4 miles. So the diversion is therefore 3.4 miles in total.
The diversion at Temple Bridge is still in place following its closure. The diversion makes use of the lane running from Temple to Bisham and then a road with a pavement into Marlow
And damage to a bridge over a tributary has caused a diversion from just past the Runnymede Hotel to shortly before Staines. The diversion uses the A308 (pavements) returning the walker to the riverbank just before the bridge at Staines. The diversion replaces about 0.6 miles of the route with minimal added distance. The diversion is set to be in place until 2026. The signage for this diversion is not that obvious. Also note that you might find that the barricades preventing you getting onto the bridge have been removed. If so, this will have been unauthorised.
Between Richmond and Kew a section of the embankment has collapsed into the river. There is no way around meaning that section of the Path is temporarily closed. We advise you to follow the left bank through Isleworth and Brentford. However, development work is ongoing at the Grand Union Canal in Brentford with the Path being blocked. This can be avoided by skipping the walk along the canal and following Brentford High Street instead.
For a full list please see our route alerts page on the website.
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| Temple Bridge still closed |
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Other Thames Path News
We’ve published a new Source to Woolwich easy itinerary on our website. We had already broken up the Thames Path into four sections: Source to Oxford, then Reading, Staines, and Woolwich which, when combined together, was 18 days of walking. This alternative continuous itinerary takes 17 days with an average distance of 11 miles per day. It’s a day shorter than the four sections combined as, instead of stopping in Staines, you walk on to Chertsey. Remember that we also have our route planner for those who wish to plan their own itinerary.
Some of you may recall earlier this year someone attempting to travel down the Thames without ever leaving it. That might sound straightforward from Lechlade, where the river is navigable, but how about in the early stretches where it’s a trickle running under a bridge or through a culvert? The first chapter of his exploits is now available on YouTube.
We have a new stamping station. Well, it’s not entirely new. We used to have a stamping station at the Guildhall in Windsor which served as a museum and a visitors’ centre. But the visitors’ centre closed and the museum was left to open only twice a week. Hardly suitable. So we put a stamp at the Eton Information Centre instead.
An unofficial “Visitors’ Information Point” has opened up inside the gift shop Indelibly which is right opposite the Queen Victoria Statue in front of the castle. They were so keen to have a stamp that we now have one in both Eton and Windsor.
The current edition of the Passport is therefore missing a few stamping stations. When we send out new ones, we stick a small printed label to show the correct list. However, if you purchased your passport some time ago, it’s probable that you won’t have these amendments. But please refer to the website which has the complete list and is always up date.
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| The new Windsor stamping station |
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The Ridgeway
It’s not often that we report of route news on The Ridgeway. However, Storm Bert did bring some tree damage with trees being felled along Grim’s Ditch between Wallingford and Nuffield.
The only other problems to look out for are flooding at Little Stoke – which can be avoided by following the parallel road and path between South Stoke and North Stoke; and the long-standing closure of the road as you enter Wendover from Coombe Hill – turn to your left and follow the road around.
You’ll notice that both these have been written as if walking from west to east. We did a quick review of the parties that we helped this year and it seems that 83% walked in that direction. So that is definitely the preferred direction, presumably on account of walking with the wind behind you!
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| Grim’s Ditch between Wallingford and Nuffield |
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Camino Ingles/St James’ Way
Our friends from Itchen Navigation have been out checking the St James’ Way following the recent storms. Fortunately fallen trees have not blocked the path. Yet, as we go deeper into the winter, the trails are getting muddier and less walkable. Our fingers are crossed for a kinder, drier winter than the last one.
Meanwhiile we’ve now published our 8 day itinerary on our website. This means you can choose to walk the 67.5 miles in 4,5,6, or 8 days. The 8 day route is identical to the 7 day itinerary except that the 11 miles from New Alresford to Winchester, arguably the most beautiful section of the walk, can be done leisurely. It also allows pilgrims a chance to spend time in New Alresford, the watercress capital of England, perhaps taking a ride on the Watercress Steam Railway; or arrive early in Winchester and take a tour of the cathedral which has the longest nave in the world. |
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| The village of Itchen Abbas between New Alresford and Winchester |
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Winter Webinars
Thank you to those who joined in our early webinars. We experienced a major technical hitch shortly before the end of our last webinar forcing us to abort early. It’s the first time this has happened – although one is always aware that it may happen at any time. Apologies to those who were on that webinar. We have since identified the issue so are confident for the next series. We will be restarting on January 8 and running through to February 12.
Wed 8/1 Introduction to the Thames Path
Wed 15/1 Thames Path: Source to Oxford
Wed 22/1 The Ridgeway
Wed 29/1 Thames Path: Oxford to Windsor
Wed 5/2 St James’ Way/Camino Ingles
Wed 12/2 Thames Path: Windsor to Woolwich
You can register for these on our Walking.Holiday website here.
Kennet and Avon Canal Walk for 2025
We have started the “field work” on this walk which means, as you might expect, walking it. As the guidebook is written as Reading to Bristol, we decided to follow that. It also means we get to do the nearby sections first.
So far we’ve made it to Great Bedwyn, about a third of the way, aided by Great Western Railway which runs from Reading out to Theale, Aldermaston, Newbury, Kintbury, Marlborough and Great Bedwyn. It means we can walk in one direction and take the train back. It’s somewhat ironic that we’re using the railway to help us when it was the railway that destroyed the canal as a means of transport.
Thoughts so far: Very peaceful – hardly anyone about except in the towns and villages. Path muddy in places. Easy navigation. No road walking. Lots of bird life. And the surrounding countryside must be teeming with mammals.
But perhaps the biggest takeaway was for the appreciation of the engineers and workers who built this 200 years ago. Reading the information points at the locks one name stands out: John Rennie. It’s a familiar name as he designed “New London Bridge” which was finished in 1831 and stood until 1967 when it was replaced by the modern concrete bridge we see today. The old “new London bridge” was sold to Robert McCulloch who had it shipped out in pieces and used as a bridge in Lake Havasu City in Arizona. The rumour goes that he thought he was buying Tower Bridge although that has never been proved.
We’ve left you with a few shots of our walk from Newbury to Great Bedwyn.
That’s all folks. Our office will not be manned over the festive period (lasting until January 6) but we will continue to answer email. Perhaps not as promptly as usual.
We would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
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