Having done the Goring to Reading stretch of The Thames Path a couple of weeks ago, we were keen to have the weather to do another stretch. That weather duly arrived this weekend, so we packed a picnic, drove to Dorchester, left the car there and took a pre-arranged taxi to Goring.
There are established paths on both sides of the river North of Goring. We chose the West side because it skirted the river more. Apart from a short detour onto the A329 around Moulsford, the path between Goring and Wallingford was mostly on typical Thameside meadows, looking out over some lovely properties on the other bank. Even though the schools had broken up, there were fewer boats than South of Goring, and fewer walkers.
We ate our picnic just South of Wallingford. I was pleased that we came across a pub in the town, but less pleased when I tasted the beer. I suggest real ale drinkers avoid The Boathouse.
The path crossed to the East bank at Benson lock for more meadows en route to Shillingford. After another short road stretch, Dorchester Abbey came into view. However, we and decided to walk to Day's Lock' so this meant a loop around the church back to the car.
The weather had been lovely - 25c or so. Having walked around 13 miles, we felt that an ice cream was in order, so we changed out of our boots and headed into the village. Having passed a couple of unpromising looking hotels, we'd almost given up. However, at the other end of the village is a lovely independent coffee shop that served great sundaes and proper coffee. Perfect. It's a shame that I didn't notice the name so I could recommend it properly.
View Thames Path - Goring to Dorchester in a larger map
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