This was a day walk. Henley is around one hour on the train from Paddington. We arrived around 11.30am. The day was beautiful and warm. Close to Henley, an unsafe bridge meant a diversion through a local farmer’s property. It turned out to be a pleasant diversion, and we were soon back on Thames Path. A short walk and we were in Shiplake, where we stopped to have our packed lunch. We considered going to The Baskerville pub for a cup of tea before setting off again, and this was our big mistake. We didn’t! A regret that would live with us until Reading!
The next stretch of the walk took us alongside the railway track and over the line at Shiplake Station (a station on the Twyford to Henley line), and at this point, we temporarily left the Thames. Coming back to it, we were disappointed we couldn’t see St Peter & St Paul Church through the trees. It hides up beyond Shiplake College Rowing Club. It would have meant a walk uphill, and knowing we still had a fair way to walk, we reluctantly didn’t venture up there. However, I can tell you that the poet Tennyson married here and paid the vicar with a poem instead of the fee! Also the author George Orwell grew up in Shiplake.
This was perhaps the more interesting part of the walk and seemed well spread out.
The next section of the walk seemed to be a slog. There were no real landmarks to tell us how far we still had to walk, or locate on the map. My map of the route was over several pages of the book, but we seemed to be stuck on one page for an eternity. At this point, we were in desperate need of a cup of tea! We were holding on for Sonning where our books said there was a riverside tea shop.
We arrived at Sonning Lock where there should have been a tea shop. There wasn’t! The Lockkeepers said it had been closed for two years. My friend asked if they would make us a cuppa, but no. We asked how much further it was to Reading and were told it was about three miles. So we sat on a bench to eat our last snacks and drink our water. We both needed plasters for our feet, and then we set off again dreaming of cups of tea lined up on a bar!
The final slog along the Thames seemed daunting. However, it wasn’t long before signs of Reading emerged, like a school rowing club with Reading in its name! This urged us on.
We pressed on as we saw tall building through the trees. We could also taste the tea!
By the time we reached Caversham Lock, I knew we were close to Reading. We came to a part in the path I remembered from a previous trip to Reading. For a moment, we came off the path and headed for the big Tesco store because they would have a cafe. Our spirits plummeted again when we found the cafe was closed due to lack of staff. Dispirited, we used the customer loos and headed back to the path.
Finally, we saw Reading Bridge. We were there. And the station was just over the road. We finally got our cuppa. Pure nectar!
After we recovered, we headed for the train. Our plan had been to use the new Elizabeth Line back into London, and this we did. As I have Freedom Pass, I was able to ride this for free! Nice to have some advantages to getting older! It took around an hour. The fast train probably takes half that time, but this was our dream to ride the Elizabeth Line. I’ve followed every development of Crossrail, now the Elizabeth Line, and this was a good opportunity to travel a whole length of it. The train was less crowded than the fast train (which we saw flying past!). It was a nice relaxing ride back to London.
Door to door we had walked just under thirteen and half miles, the longest Thames Path walk we’d done. Each section of the path is different. There are boring bits and beautiful parts. We were just glad to reach the end this time. We have our next walk planned, but due to National Rail going on strike, we have already had to change the date. Whether it happens remains to be seen. I have walked this next section before when staying in Reading. It seemed a long walk last time, but it says in our books the walk is seven miles. It should be a doddle after what we’d just walked!
My London+ 