Leaving Lechlade was lovely, we walked along the bank of the Thames in open parkland.
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| Leaving Lechlade |
As we reached the end of the park, a B52 from RAF Fairford flew overhead.
We soon reached St John's lock, a little oasis watched over by old Father Thames who has moved about from Crystal Palace then to Thames Head and finally to St John's lock. The other excellent provision at locks is water and toilets.
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| St John's lock |
The Thames was a last line of defence in WW2 and a line of pillboxes guarded the north bank, Fortunately they were never needed as we felt they were rather too far apart. This part of the Thames is navigable, but although we saw lots of moored boats, there were very few moving. Unlike the past 2 days, we spent the whole day walking along a lovely peaceful river bank.
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| River views |
We did see and meet some interesting people including a canoeist and a group of lady walkers from Wanganui in New Zealand. We also saw lots of wildlife - the number of swans on the Thames is remarkable, but we heard birdsong rather than traffic noise for most of the way.
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| River life |
We stopped to talk to friendly lock keepers and boat owners. One man was rebuilding a narrow boat so he and his family could live on it. He had made friends with a family of swans who came right up to his boat and could be fed by hand.
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| Clockwise from top left - Grafton lock, river birds, Radcot Bridge |
Our lunch stop was right on the river bank and we were entertained by 2 families of geese.
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| Rushey weir and lock and (bottom right) the first sighting of Tadpole Bridge |
The locks are beautifully kept and little oases along the way. Some are manned while some are 'do it yourself'' but all are really lovely. Finally, we arrived at Tadpole Bridge, home to the Trout Inn, where we enjoyed a cool drink by the riverside before setting off back to our cottage.
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