Today we were back on the Thames Path for the first time since last year. We had intended to do this stretch in December but cried off as we thought that it might have been wet underfoot. Having walked it today I now don’t think that would have been the case as the majority of the walk was on hard paths.
The starting point for today was Staines which necessitated an hour’s train journey from Reading. The more we do the closer we are getting to our home town. There’ll be a time in a few legs where there’ll be no need for trains but we are still some way off that.
The little I saw of Staines didn’t have me wishing to rush back there. This wasn’t helped because we knew a bridge was closed so we couldn’t follow the path next to the Thames until we were well out of town and had reached the M25. I would say that on this leg we probably spent less than 50% of the walk next to the river with it in sight which was odd.
We stopped for tea and an ice cream at Runnymead where the Magna Carta was allegedly sealed. Of course, it turns out that it probably wasn’t sealed there at all but, more likely, at nearby Windsor Castle which makes more sense given that there’s nothing at Runnymead. Still, why spoil a good story? There were three wicker sculptures but I doubt they were there when King John (probably) wasn’t signing the Magna Carta.
From there we pushed on to Windsor stopping only for lunch in a niche on a bridge watching the cars pass on the road in front of us and the low flying planes above coming in to land in Heathrow.
It’s good to be back into the swing of it and we have a number of future dates planned in order to get as much done as we can this year, although I am doubtful that we will complete the whole thing this year.
To Date
Day: 7
Start: Staines
End: Windsor
Distance: 9.51 miles
Cumulative: 67.18 miles
To go: 123.05 miles