The River Thames: a familiar feature to everyone in our little county of Berkshire. Some of us may live or work close by to it, and very likely walk, run, drive or cycle along it. Indeed it formed the basis of how most of the towns in our neck of the woods were built hundreds of years ago. In fact, if it wasn’t for the Thames London wouldn’t exist!
The national Thames Path which runs alongside it should also be very familiar to most of us. My very first walk with the Berkshire Walkers 9 and a half years ago involved it, where the group walked from Maidenhead where I lived at the time, to Marlow along the Path. Various walk routes since then have incorporated sections of it in one way or another. Indeed it is probably one of the most famous National Paths in the country.
This year, Angela and I will be attempting to do something for the group that has never been done before. Some of you may recall a few years ago that we planned a 30ish mile route along the Thames from Reading to Windsor. It eventually became 14 miles from Marlow to Windsor after Angela picked up an injury during our recce but this time round we thought, why not go further and try do the whole 182 miles of the Path?
So starting towards the end of January, we will be leading a series of walks from the start of the Path at the Woolwich Tunnel in London and hope to eventually arrive at the Source of the Thames just outside Kemble. A chance to see the Thames in all its glory, from the landmarks that accompany it in London to the very big riverside houses that we all dream to live in if we had the money.
To add some fun to our Thames Path adventure, we will be encouraging everyone to buy a Thames Path passport, where you can collect stamps at over 30 stations along the Path and once you have got them all, you will be emailed a certificate for completion of the Thames Path. The link to buy the passport is here and will be included in all our walk descriptions: https://walkthethames.co.uk/thames-path-passport/
On a personal note, this series will be a special one for Angela and me as once concluded, we will be stepping back from regular walk leading with the group as we look to begin a new phase of our lives after tying the knot last year (we hope to still lead the odd walk every now and again, and come on other walks and socials when we can!).
So whether you are planning on doing the challenge of the entire Thames Path, or a few sections here and there, we look forward to everyone joining us on 24th January as we begin our Thames Path adventure!