It cost extra to have a cooked breakfast at The White Hart, and we hazarded a guess that it might not be of great quality, so we didn't hang around in Cricklade. However, as we expected to pass the only pub on the route at mid-morning, we did visit the Tesco Express to pick up the wherewithal for a picnic. No local pork pies today!
The first section of the walk followed the widening river closely in typical meadows. It was a very quiet stretch, enlivened by a great deal of birdsong. A while ago, Rosie bought a birdsong CD and has got pretty good at identifying birds. However, we kept hearing a loud and persistent song that she couldn't identify. When we got home, the BBC web site led us to believe that we heard Reed Warblers.
As predicted, we got to the pub at Castle Eaton before 11:00 and used their bench while the locals were setting up their stalls for the 1940's recreation day.
The path wandered away from the river for most of the stretch between Castle Eaton and Upper Inglesham. However, there were nice glimpses of Kempton Church across the river.
We had our picnic just off a wide path in a lonely stretch - or so we thought. I was resting my eyes after eating, only to be startled by a horse that had been startled to find two picnicers. I was pleased that the rider managed to clam the horse quickly.
The Thames Path managers have yet to negotiate a decent route between Upper Ingelsham and Inglesham, so the official route takes you up the A361. The guide book and lots of signs along the way warn you to geta bus (on a Sunday - I don't think so!) or a taxi for this mile-long stretch. Although it's noisy and not pleasant, it's not dangerous because there's a path on a grass verge alongside the road. Health And Safety Gone Mad.
We took a slight and worthwhile detour to the 13th century Ingelsham Church with its box pews, wall paintings and resident swallows, waiting
for the couple with the very large dog to depart before exploring fully.
Back on the riverbank after a while away, we quickly arrived at the junction with the Rover Coln and the Thames and the defunct Severn Canal. This is the point at which The Thames becomes much wider and navigable, and gains a towpath. As we approached Lechlade, we could hear the music festival in full flow, some country-rock to start with and then some indie. It sounded like an interesting day - with fantastic weather. The riverside park was busy with families and a lovely place.
Our expectations of our hotel were not high, so we decided not to hurry there, but to have a quick drink at the busy Riverside pub in the sunshine. The New Inn is on the main road through the town, very close to "Dolci di Lechlade" (I didn't make that up), offering sweets local ice cream. We checked in, dropped our bags and explored the town after picking up very good ice creams. It isn't run down like Cricklade, but it too feels like its in a 1950s time warp. We fancied a coffee, and spotted a tea shop. As it advertises itself as a 'coffee grinders', it was surprising to be served cups of instant coffee! We upgraded to cafetiere coffee, but it was so tasteless that I think the coffee had been ground at the same time as Rosie's wine from yesterday was opened.
We ate dinner at Pino's Italian, also close to the hotel, and this was just fine, with very friendly service, and retired for an early night listening to the festival from a distance. As we were ready to sleep, the other residents were returning from the bar> The all seemed to take showers when they got back to their rooms. This was very noisy, which was not surprising when we discovered that the pipes draining the showers ran in a conduit running under our bed. Well - it was cheap.
The first section of the walk followed the widening river closely in typical meadows. It was a very quiet stretch, enlivened by a great deal of birdsong. A while ago, Rosie bought a birdsong CD and has got pretty good at identifying birds. However, we kept hearing a loud and persistent song that she couldn't identify. When we got home, the BBC web site led us to believe that we heard Reed Warblers.
As predicted, we got to the pub at Castle Eaton before 11:00 and used their bench while the locals were setting up their stalls for the 1940's recreation day.The path wandered away from the river for most of the stretch between Castle Eaton and Upper Inglesham. However, there were nice glimpses of Kempton Church across the river.
We had our picnic just off a wide path in a lonely stretch - or so we thought. I was resting my eyes after eating, only to be startled by a horse that had been startled to find two picnicers. I was pleased that the rider managed to clam the horse quickly.
The Thames Path managers have yet to negotiate a decent route between Upper Ingelsham and Inglesham, so the official route takes you up the A361. The guide book and lots of signs along the way warn you to geta bus (on a Sunday - I don't think so!) or a taxi for this mile-long stretch. Although it's noisy and not pleasant, it's not dangerous because there's a path on a grass verge alongside the road. Health And Safety Gone Mad.
We took a slight and worthwhile detour to the 13th century Ingelsham Church with its box pews, wall paintings and resident swallows, waitingfor the couple with the very large dog to depart before exploring fully.
Back on the riverbank after a while away, we quickly arrived at the junction with the Rover Coln and the Thames and the defunct Severn Canal. This is the point at which The Thames becomes much wider and navigable, and gains a towpath. As we approached Lechlade, we could hear the music festival in full flow, some country-rock to start with and then some indie. It sounded like an interesting day - with fantastic weather. The riverside park was busy with families and a lovely place.Our expectations of our hotel were not high, so we decided not to hurry there, but to have a quick drink at the busy Riverside pub in the sunshine. The New Inn is on the main road through the town, very close to "Dolci di Lechlade" (I didn't make that up), offering sweets local ice cream. We checked in, dropped our bags and explored the town after picking up very good ice creams. It isn't run down like Cricklade, but it too feels like its in a 1950s time warp. We fancied a coffee, and spotted a tea shop. As it advertises itself as a 'coffee grinders', it was surprising to be served cups of instant coffee! We upgraded to cafetiere coffee, but it was so tasteless that I think the coffee had been ground at the same time as Rosie's wine from yesterday was opened.
We ate dinner at Pino's Italian, also close to the hotel, and this was just fine, with very friendly service, and retired for an early night listening to the festival from a distance. As we were ready to sleep, the other residents were returning from the bar> The all seemed to take showers when they got back to their rooms. This was very noisy, which was not surprising when we discovered that the pipes draining the showers ran in a conduit running under our bed. Well - it was cheap.
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