Thames Path: Day 8

It will be six weeks since my Iceland trip before I return to the coast path. This is due to Jude and Hayley hiking the West Highland Way, leaving me in charge of domestic affairs. I’m still not sure they were in Scotland, as they barely wore waterproofs over nine days. I swam the first three days when I hiked it in early April last year. To manage withdrawal symptoms, I’m back on the Thames Path.

Does any other country produce this grey-white sky? A poor day for photos. Not that I’m tempted to capture the grim route from Didcot train station through a trading estate, past a sewage treatment plant and a waste recycling yard.

Who put a railway crossing here? I phone the signalman.

“Please can you raise the gate at Appleford Crossing?”

“Are you an authorised user?”

Huh? I note the Big Blue Sign. Oh oh. This is only for the large vehicles carrying waste. Time to play the clueless card — again.

“No. I’m a hiker.”

“Well, this is not a public right of way.”

“Oh. But my OS map shows it as a right of way.”

“Hmm. This one time.”

A grand raising of the barriers and I dart across before he changes his mind.

Of course, I’ve misread the OS map. All good fun.

I rejoin the Thames Path at Culham, pausing to admire the red kites scouting for prey in the nearby fields, before crossing a weir to the north side of the river.

Charming Abingdon, which claims to be the oldest town in England, is the perfect place for morning coffee and a croissant.

The town is full of narrow lanes, one of which perfectly captures my navigation skills.

I manage to capture the 17th-century Baroque County Hall without being run over by busy traffic.

Although some monastic buildings remain, there’s nothing left of Abingdon Abbey in the pretty gardens.

Trendell’s Folly, created in the 19th century, is often mistaken for remains of the abbey.

Back on the riverbank, news of the overnight felling of the iconic sycamore tree on Hadrian’s Wall casts a shadow over my day. How many times did I visit that section as a child? What drives a person to plan and commit such a violation of nature? Sometimes I despair of the human race.

Topical graffiti lies beneath the A423.

Some benches are not meant to be sat on, especially when wearing shorts.

It’s only 3pm when I reach Oxford, giving me plenty of time to explore the city.

It’s my first time here, and I’m not prepared for the heaving masses, with guided parties on every corner. It is beautiful and I can see why it’s popular, but my plans to visit Christ Church are thwarted as it’s an hour’s wait for tickets at the door.

I make do with a wander round the lovely grounds.

I’d like to see inside the 18th-century Radcliffe Camera, a reading room for the Bodleian Library, but there are only three guided tours each week.

A short day but good to be out walking again.

It’s back on the coast path in October, walking through Cumbria, including a diversion up Scafell Pike. The plan is to hike Yorkshire in November and my home coastline of Northumberland in cold and windy December, allowing me to complete the England Coast Path by the end of the year. Of course, the weather may decide differently.

Walk distance: 17 miles.

Total distance: 154 miles.