Thames: The Source to Cricklade ------- The Finish!!

It was a dodgy start. The nice taxi lady pointed out the Thames Head pub and railroad tracks before dropping us (Carrie, Kris, Kris's childhood pal Rangu) off at a public footpath. She assured us it led directly to the Thames Path and was the shortest walk to The Source (she knew I did not want to walk a centimeter more than necessary). We soon got to a fork and of course turned left instead of right. We crossed the tracks and reached the same Thames Head pub the taxi driver had so kindly pointed out earlier. We were told to go back the way we came and take the other path.

We were so happy to finally reach The Source marker and "spring", no matter how unimpressive they were. We took pictures of other hikers and they took pictures of us. We were now on our way to walking the last 12 miles of our 200+ mile journey (depending on what source you use).

It was quite a long stretch of dry bed and we were well past Kemble before we saw our first signs of water.
We passed through picturesque and historic villages.

Although the Thames often resembled a small tributary or a lily pad pond, we did pass through many sizable lakes enjoyed by water skiers and birders.

At long last, we reached the lovely town of Cricklade.

We were grateful to be lodging at the Red Lion pub with a GREAT assortment of ales, lagers, bitters, porters. We all slept long and well that night.

AWC Hastings to Rye

This was one tough hike courtesy of Time Out Country Walks Book 2. I left Kew at 8:30 am and did not return until 9:30 pm. Some of the directions were confusing and we got to see the windmill on the pre-hike that we did not get to see on the "real" hike. But the weather and views made it all worth it. I will let these pictures speak for themselves.