Day 14: Goring - Shillingford

A beautiful morning for a walk through the Oxfordshire countryside along the Thames and today the Thames Path felt the most rural of all the 14 days walked so far. Not only was it because the path was, in parts, relatively remote from any form of settlement, but it was also a walk where we met very few people en route.

The walk began with a stroll across the long wide bridge that links Goring with Streatley. Then we turn done a small lane fronted by cottages with the church at the end. The path skirts around the churchyard and eventually leads into the fields bordering the river. From here it is a short walk through fields and woods to Cleeve Lock with a few sheep and their lambs relaxing in the grass. The path ahead is in the wide open through a riverside field. Approaching the next village of Moulsford we walk past the bottom of various gardens of large house. However, one of these houses is a little different to the others and to any I’ve seen so far on the Thames. The house is themed around Egyptian architecture, but has the air of a 1980s leisure centre. At first I thought this was in fact built in the 1980s, but further investigations on the web have revealed it to be built in the last few years.

Then the path has to divert away from the river and we are led through the yard of The Beetle & Wedge pub, up Ferry Lane, and onto the main road through Moulsford itself. Eventually we come to edge of the village and carry on along the main road. Down to the right in the valley we can see the river and the next bridge, another of Brunel’s brick railway bridges. Then the path is directed down a track opposite a bard conversion. The path leads down to the bridge and crosses over an elevated stage under the bridge itself. Then its back to a riverside walk through fields, in one case passing a field of bright yellow oil-seed rape. Then we come to a broad road that leads straight into the river and it is here we divert from the path for lunch, and head up, past some of the redundant buildings of Fair Mile Hospital, to the nearby pub. Its OK, but nowt special.

Back to the river and a walk through a local nature reserve followed by more idyllic riverside walking. Then suddenly the peace is broken by a rowing eight passing with their coach blasting instructions down a megaphone. After walking past a small stand of pines, we see the first evidence of Oxford upstream as we pass Oxford Brookes University’s boathouse. Later on the on the opposite bank the half-timbered boathouse of Carmel College stands proudly on a small promontory, but it has seen better days and is on the verge of collapsing into the river.

the riverbank Then we catch glimpse of a concrete road bridge, hinting that we are closing in on Wallingford. This is the by-pass bridge over the river and then soon after a new building which almost incorporates the path. Again it’s a university boathouse, but this is a far grander affair and shows some money has been spent on it and it belongs to the bigger, richer Oxford University Boat Club.

Then we’re into the built up area of Wallingford and we are walking past more houses, this time literally walking though people’s back garden – the path isn’t fenced off. Then the path hits the lanes of Wallingford, past St Leonard’s church and through alleyways between small cottages. Then the street opens out into a area dominated by the stunning spire of St Peter’s Church. Beyond this is the High Street, which we cross and drop back down to the river by Wallingford Bridge. The path continues northwards and is quickly back into the Oxfordshire fields. To the left are the ruins of Wallingford Castle, and a great silhouetted view of St Peter’s is behind us.

The path then leads to Benson lock where we cross the walkway by the weir. A short stop is then made at the well place tea rooms by the marina at Benson (they do very good homemade cakes and traybakes by the way!). Then its just a short walk to Shillingford where our car is waiting in the hotel car park.