The final stage - 24: Cricklade to Source

Dear Bertie,

Today you are 3 years and 2 months old, and we completed the Thames path. The path is 184 miles long and we walked the entire length over 23 stages. What an achievement! This weekend we are staying at our friend Sarah's house in Cheltenham which is close to the end of our walk - the source.

After another late night drive in your jim jams and sleepover a Sarah's house, you ate 2 Wheetabix then drove to the start - The Red Lion pub in Cricklade where we left the path on that hot August day with Papa and Mamie - 

It was a chill and very foggy morning, visibility was very limited as we joined the Thames path for the last time - 

The ground was covered in dew and Mummy got wet feet within the first 5 minutes of the lovely fields we started our day in, the sun was breaking through the fog and it was so quiet -

We passed a foggy field full of cows who were on the banks of the narrow river Thames, some of them looked like they were going for a morning dip which you thought was funny! - 

And we found a lovely big spiders web with morning dew all across it next to one of the field gates then sung one of your favourite songs 'Incy Wincy Spider' - 

The river is really narrow and shallow by now, with just small stone bridges occasionally crossing it which we stood on and saw the water slowly trickling past - 

We passed through a beautiful village - Ashton Keyes - where all the houses were made of the beautiful yellow stone - the village is the only settlement substantially on both sides of the River Thames - 

In the village - some peoples houses have gardens on to the river, and there is a history of flooding there, people talked of keeping their back and front door open so the water flowed straight through! We met a postwoman delivering post to them 'good morning!' - 

Back on the river, we went through a long woodland where the water was very shallow and full of 'river trees' you called them - 

At the half way point, we stopped in the middle of Lower Mill Estate, a 550 acre private nature reserve made up of loads of lakes. The largest, Somerford lagoon, where we stopped, is used for canoeing and sailing in the summer, and closed in the winter so that overwintering birds can use it without being disturbed. Here, you and Lola clambered on funny animals made of wood, you ate cheesy puffs and drank blackcurrant juice  - 

We passed a sign which read 174 miles to the Thames Barrier and 5 miles to the source, haven't we walked a long way together, and we are nearly there! - 

We passed some logs with lots of champignons on them, but decided they might not be eating mushrooms. You love having champignons in your pasta or on pizza - 

We passed more lakes which were beautiful but unfortunately not allowed to swim in - 

And you and Papa went to see a beautiful big lake bathed in sunshine - 

Then it was on to some quiet roads as we made out way into Kemble, the last village before the end of our long walk. We see some small aircrafts in the sky and Papa found out it is Cotswold Airport - which used to host the RAF Red Arrows aerobic display team from 1966 to 1983 - 

Into the last big field before the end, the sun was shining brightly and Papa was getting a little tired! - 

And then the special moment arrived, we reached the source of the Thames, a funny pile of stones and a headstone and post pointing east in the direction of where we first started in London in November 2018 - 

The spring water comes from the limestone aquifers of the Cotwolds and these springs are the source of the Thames. The source doesn't actually have a fixed location as it changes dye to level of groundwater in the limestone. In drier conditions the springs dry up and the river begins to flow lower in it's course, like it was today. When it rains, the groundwater rise and the river begins at one of the springs here. 

With our rumbling tummies, we headed back towards Kemble, crossing a railway line where we had to stop, look, listen and cross the rails very carefully for trains, you did a great job - 

Then we arrived at the pub where you ate a cheese sandwich, drank squash, and played balancing on a big log while we waited for Papa to collect the car - 

Then it was back in the car to Sarah's house and you immediately fell asleep exhausted with white bunny, puffin and your camion de pompier - 

I am so so proud of you Bertie, it was a big adventure with lots of long days of walking, you did brilliantly. What a brave, courageous, inquisitive, lovely boy you are and I am so proud to be your Mummy. I love you loads. Mummy xxx

TOTAL DISTANCE: 21 KM

Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/6087290416

Nappy changes: None, in big boy pants now!

Crying episodes: 1, it was a very long day!

Feeding stop:
Picnic of snacks at Somerford Lagoon 

Late lunch at The Head of the Thames Pub, nr Kemble - traditional pub with standard and filling food 

Travel:
Parked in Cricklade, walked to source nr Kemble, Papa got taxi back to Cricklade then picked us up at the pub before heading home

Kemble does have a station so possible to walk back there via public transport

Accommodation:

We stayed at our friends house in Cheltenham this weekend

Head of the Thames Inn - has camping

Logistics:

Overnight Sarah's

0700 breakfast

0800 leave, drive to Cricklade

0830 arrive Cricklade, park, pack, top up Lola milk

0845 walk - Lola naps 0900-0935

1045 feed lola, Bertie snack - Lola naps 1145-1400

1430 arrive pub, late lunch

1500 Nico get taxi back to Cricklade

1530 Nico drives back to Thames head pub

1600 Head home

Overnight Sarah's

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

Stage 22: Tadpole to Lechlade (backwards)

Dear Bertie,

It's day 2 of our August mega family walk with Me, Lola, Papa and Mamie. 

The sky was a bit grey and drizzly as we packed up the car and headed out East, this time along the big river. 

You helped Mummy in the posh cafe to get a lovely pastry-tastic picnic lunch for today and bravely petted a big yellow dog. 

Back on the Thames path, we walked through the cow field opposite our hotel and you said 'good morning' to everyone living in their boats waking up for their breakfast. We were very brave marching through 3 big cow fields today and you were very friendly to them 'hello vache'. 

We passed our first lock of the day, St John's Lock. 

Here is the famous Old Father Thames statue next to the lockeeper's house. The statue was commissioned by Crystal Palace, but was rescued from a fire there in 1936 and positioned at the source. After it was vandalised, it was brought to this lock instead where Old Father Thames reclines in glory - 

We crossed a rickety old wooden bridge and crossed into fields with enormous tall slim trees. 

Dotted along the river were a number of pillboxes, on the GHQ stop line, a 300 mile long dense line created across southern England as a second line of defence in case of invasion in World War II.  You loved looking into their hidden doors. 

During our morning snack break you practised your skiing with the walking poles, while Lola learnt to roll for the first time!

Next was Buscot Lock and weir, where we stopped for our picnic lunch, but you were too busy working at the lock to eat! You learnt all about how locks work, and used your strong arms to push.

You loved waving to the retired people cruising through the lock. 

Then you stood on the jetty next to the lock with Papa, being careful not to fall in, and watched 2 young paddle boarders climb in to head upstream like us.

We then walked through a very nice village called Radcot and saw a big camping site and some teepees which you would like to stay in 'when my bigger'.  We also saw lots of houseboats and you picked a yellow flower to give to a young boy playing in the mud which was very kind, you made him so happy. 

We walked along the river just south of RAF Brize Norton, the largest RAF station, with over 5,800 service personnel working there. We saw lots of large carriers coming in to land which we thought might be from the Afghanistan evacuation from the Taliban occupation, which you may learn about at school one day. 

On the latter part of our walk, the sun came out and it was getting rather hot! We kept seeing the paddle boarding couple, but Papa's short cuts through the thick grassy fields meant we beat them to the pub end point. 

We crossed our last lock of the day, Rushey Lock and weir. 

Just before the end you went to sleep in a rather uncomfortable side slump and woke up quite surprised as we approached our end point, the Trout Inn at Tadpole.

We had a lovely afternoon at the Trout Inn with hot chocolate, rocky roads, dipped our feet in the chilly water and explored the pub with our bare feet! Before heading home  via (another) pub for dinner and back to your bed and toys at home. 

Well done Bertie - that was a big 2 days of walking the big river!

TOTAL DISTANCE: 17 KM

GPS route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37254471

Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/5854685735

Feeding stops: 2

Nappy changes: None, in big boy pants now!

Crying episodes: None, you loved today

Feeding stop:
Lunch - Picnic on the river

Afternoon drinks and cake - The Trout Inn, Tadpole

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

Accomodation: New Inn Hotel, Lechlade

Stage 21: Bablock Hythe to Tadpole

Dear Bertie,

It's back to Oxfordshire to complete stage 21, with Papa this time! We left home the night before, you wore your jim jams in the car and had a picnic dinner of cheese sandwich and big pear slices. 

                                          Then we tucked you into another big boy bed in our big shared room in the

                                          Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge.                            

                                          In the morning, we drove to our starting point, Bablock Hythe - 

And headed on to the path in the drizzle. 

                                           We watched a big white dog chasing a stick into the river - 

We passed under some enormous pylons with electricity buzzing and you told 

 me how you would like to build a pylon when we get home and we talked about what you would need for that 

Our first lock was Lockmoor with pretty tall flowers but no boats going through for your strong arms unfortunately. 

We passed a big field of cows and you were so brave and said 'morning vache' as we tip-toed around their giant poos, but Papa managed to get some poo all the way up his leg and was rather grumpy about it. 

On a narrow path we met a big brown Mummy horse and her baby and you bravely stroked them. 

We had a lovely snack stop at Newbridge on a small pontoon on the river.  You met a giant St Bernard dog, found some funny pedaloes and had a wee, then we headed back on the walk. 

We passed some very tall silver trees with bird boxes on them. 

And we crossed a big, rickety, old wooden bridge - 

We passed the enormous Chimney Meadow Nature Reserve; an ancient landscape and vital refuge for wading birds, and popped to the bird hide overlooking the wetlands. 

Then walked through a beautiful tunnel of pink flowers which smelt very sweet, 

before arriving back at The Trout Inn at Tadpole Bridge for macaroni cheese on the lawn  

and your favourite strawberry ice cream. 

While waiting for Papa to collect the car you ran around the garden with a giant stick. 

And you sat by the river watching a big family and their brave yellow dog swim  

and we talked about going river swimming together 'when my bigger'  

Then you played in the summer house 'train station' before we hopped in the car and drove home. What a great day and long walk again.  Well done Bertie!

TOTAL DISTANCE: 15 KM

GPS route: https://www.strava.com/activities/6016399603

Feeding stop:
Picnic on the river then pub at the end.

Travel:

We drove. In the morning we all drove to Bablock Hythe and parked at the Ferryman Inn, walked back to The Trout. Nico then got a taxi back to Bablock Hythe to collect the car and then us!

Travel from London possible via train - Paddington to Oxford, or CLJ - Reading-Oxford, then using the S1 bus from along the route back to Oxford stn

Accomodation: The Trout Inn, Tadpole had lovely, smart and comfy bedrooms, spacious too for toddler and baby cots, and amazing food too.

You can also stay at the start at The Ferryman, Bablock Hythe.