The penultimate leg - Stage 23: Lechlade to Cricklade

Dear Bertie,

Time has flown by and it has been a whole 2 years and 3 months since our last Thames walk! A very busy television series (The Savoy) and then a pandemic has delayed our walking challenge and since our last walk in April 2019.  You are now 3 years old and have a little sister Lola who is nearly 4 months old!

You have become a fun, energetic boy with a cheeky sense of humour and are an absolute joy to be around. I am so proud of the boy you have become and am excited to see you grow and start school next year! In the meantime, we need to crack on with finishing this Thames walk!

So it is now summer 2021 and with your little sister in tow, I need more hands to help on this walk so Papa and Mamie join us for stage 23 of our big challenge.

During Mamie's summer visit, we made a last minute plan to walk 2 long stages of the Thames. Due to lots of places being booked up near Oxford, we jumped ahead to the later stages as that was the only place I could find a hotel. The night before, you wore your pyjamas in the car and we drove in the dark, (you were awake until 21h30!) and saw the sun go to sleep and learnt about what a sunset is with Papa: 'good night sunshine'. 

We arrived at a very rustic old coaching Inn in Lechlade and you went to bed in a big grown up bed sharing with Mamie, what a brave boy you are!

In the morning, you went to the local supermarket to buy our picnic lunch with Papa and we headed out on the path. 

Lola was crying so Papa quickly got her to sleep so we could crack on with our morning leg of the walk -

It was beautifully sunny. Just outside Lechlade, we passed a beautiful old church St John the Baptist Inglesham, a 13th Century church where paintings cover the walls 7 layers thick. 

You were very brave as we walked through big fields full of cows blocking the path. 

At our morning snack stop you had a delicious strawberry juice and raisins, did a stand up wee (well done!) and found a barrier to play on with Papa whilst looking for noisy insects in the long grass. 

Later we found a big straw field and you made big fires with the grass and told one man passing to be careful and jump over them!

We passed south of RAF Letchworth and saw lots of fighter planes doing exercises, they were so noisy in the sky and you loved watching them with Papa. 

We passed many fields of sweetcorn and Mamie opened one for you to check.  It was very green and not ready for eating yet.

Towards the end of the walk, Mummy got the route wrong and we ended up doing another 2k in the hot sunshine before reaching Lechlade and a nice pub for a pint of juice, shortbread and many toilet trips. 

We went to a playground next to a big old church while Papa took a taxi to get the car and collect us. Then it was back home for a nice pub dinner of fish and chips, some fun twirling in the garden by the river and seeing more cows before another late bedtime in your big grown up bed next to Mamie again.

TOTAL DISTANCE: 20 KM

GPS route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37254412Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/5845980553

Nappy changes: None, in big boy pants now!

Crying episodes: None, you loved today

Feeding stop:
Picnic on the river 

Red Lion, Cricklade - traditional pub and big garden, also has rooms

Travel:
Parked in Lechlade, walked Lechlade to Cricklade, Papa got taxi back to Lechlade then picked us up in Cricklade before heading home.

Accommodation:

We stayed in The New Inn, Lechlade which is a rustic coaching inn with small rooms within converted stables, benches outside the rooms for eating/ drinking whilst listening out for the kids!

Red Lion in Cricklade has a few rooms at the back of the pub/ next to the garden which look nice