It's the day after I finished and I keep stubbing my little toe which ended up with a blister on it, largely thanks to yesterday's wet socks, I think. However largely the aches and pains of last night are fading and I kind of wish I'd spent today, which has been gorgeous, outside walking again.
I stitched together the whole length of the walk on Strava, which produced a map that is pretty mind-blowing. As one of my friends noted on Facebook, I basically walked across the whole of England. She's a long old river, the Thames.
Strava also told me that I spent a total of just under 64 hours walking at an average pace of 12:30 per km and burned 26,761 calories doing so. My fastest kilometre was the 23rd, at 9:39; the slowest kilometre 136, at 16:29, when I was strolling with friends in Henley.
I'm not sure what my favourite day was - there were so many lovely parts to the walk. Possibly Friday, day 11, which was short and quiet and sunny. Day 5, to Hurley, was stunning though long; and I enjoyed most of day 6 to Reading until I got tired in the last 5k.
Catching up with friends and family en route was also a joy: thanks to Maya, Jane (and Blondie), Karon & Peter, Jon & Laura, Gav, Carrie (and Bella), and Frank & Julia for the company and gifts of food and drink. And to all friends who joined me virtually, as the comments and likes were a great morale boost when I was feeling tired.
My least favourite part remains the short walk alongside the A404 in Shillingford, although the hardest part was the last 2k through fields to the source!
Things I'm glad about
I'm glad that I did this walk! It was really beautiful and it is immensely calming to walk by a river. It was fascinating watching the Thames change and seeing the variety of houses and boats on it and its banks. For a short while I felt like I was part of a special community of river-dwellers. I definitely fantasised about buying a barge and spending my days cruising the waterways, or becoming a lock-keeper.
I'm glad I took the opportunity to do it in one go while I had the time. I could have paced it out in chunks as many people do, and that would be nice too, but I don't think you'd get the same impact of the river changing.
I'm also glad I left my big camera behind! It would have added way too much weight and my phone does pretty good photos.
Things I wish I'd done differently
I should have carried less stuff (see gear list below). It would have been easier if I'd shed a couple of kilos somewhere.
In an ideal world I would have taken more time, walked more slowly and had a rest day somewhere. However, I had enough issues finding accommodation for the days I did do. It would have been easier from a practical perspective to do this in 'normal times' but then I don't usually have this much free time in summer when things are normal. I would have loved to stay at the lock campsites and that would have made things easier too, but they're all still closed and who knows when/if they'll re-open?
As far as regrets go, that's about it!
What next?
I am now very keen to tackle more of the National Trails, although quite when I'm not sure. They all look fantastic. I also want to try a bit of bikepacking (restricted slightly by current bikes, which are really road-suitable) as I need to get more use out of my awesome tiny tent.
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Accommodation
I stitched together the whole length of the walk on Strava, which produced a map that is pretty mind-blowing. As one of my friends noted on Facebook, I basically walked across the whole of England. She's a long old river, the Thames.
Strava also told me that I spent a total of just under 64 hours walking at an average pace of 12:30 per km and burned 26,761 calories doing so. My fastest kilometre was the 23rd, at 9:39; the slowest kilometre 136, at 16:29, when I was strolling with friends in Henley.
I'm not sure what my favourite day was - there were so many lovely parts to the walk. Possibly Friday, day 11, which was short and quiet and sunny. Day 5, to Hurley, was stunning though long; and I enjoyed most of day 6 to Reading until I got tired in the last 5k.
Catching up with friends and family en route was also a joy: thanks to Maya, Jane (and Blondie), Karon & Peter, Jon & Laura, Gav, Carrie (and Bella), and Frank & Julia for the company and gifts of food and drink. And to all friends who joined me virtually, as the comments and likes were a great morale boost when I was feeling tired.
My least favourite part remains the short walk alongside the A404 in Shillingford, although the hardest part was the last 2k through fields to the source!
Things I'm glad about
I'm glad that I did this walk! It was really beautiful and it is immensely calming to walk by a river. It was fascinating watching the Thames change and seeing the variety of houses and boats on it and its banks. For a short while I felt like I was part of a special community of river-dwellers. I definitely fantasised about buying a barge and spending my days cruising the waterways, or becoming a lock-keeper.
I'm glad I took the opportunity to do it in one go while I had the time. I could have paced it out in chunks as many people do, and that would be nice too, but I don't think you'd get the same impact of the river changing.
I'm also glad I left my big camera behind! It would have added way too much weight and my phone does pretty good photos.
Things I wish I'd done differently
I should have carried less stuff (see gear list below). It would have been easier if I'd shed a couple of kilos somewhere.
In an ideal world I would have taken more time, walked more slowly and had a rest day somewhere. However, I had enough issues finding accommodation for the days I did do. It would have been easier from a practical perspective to do this in 'normal times' but then I don't usually have this much free time in summer when things are normal. I would have loved to stay at the lock campsites and that would have made things easier too, but they're all still closed and who knows when/if they'll re-open?
As far as regrets go, that's about it!
What next?
I am now very keen to tackle more of the National Trails, although quite when I'm not sure. They all look fantastic. I also want to try a bit of bikepacking (restricted slightly by current bikes, which are really road-suitable) as I need to get more use out of my awesome tiny tent.
---
Accommodation
Laleham Camping Club - on the path! Friendly, small, volunteer-run site. Facilities were clean and the shower superb. A bit of traffic noise from the M3 nearby.
Hurley Riverside Park - on the path! A large site with excellent facilities including WiFi, friendly, but expensive at £32 for a non-electric tent pitch.
Reading Central Premier Inn - not on the path. Their other branch at Caversham Bridge, which is, was closed. Large comfy room with air conditioning and a bath! Not bad for £39 flexible booking.
The Swan at Streatley - lovely hotel right on the path with gardens by the river. Room was comfortable but a bit hot (there was a fan but it was a touch noisy). Good restaurant and very pleasant staff. However not cheap.
Bridge House Caravan Park - on the path! Small, simple site on the riverbank, lovely welcome, and a good pub (the Barley Mow) next door. A bit of traffic noise from the bridge. Not to be confused with Bridge House sites in various other places on the path.
Oxford Central Backpackers - welcomed me despite my booking being for the wrong day. Have been refurbishing. Decent sized dorm rooms, decent location, not too far from Osney Bridge on the path.
Hardwick Parks - a bit away from the path but the X15 bus runs infrequently from the path at New Bridge (the Rose Revived) to the site. Another big site, also a touch pricey at £28 for a non-electric pitch. Pitch not especially scenic but loads of room. Facilities clean and an excellent shower. Lake for swimming in!
Ye Olde Swan - on the path! Smallish camping field and a glamping field, basic but functional facilities (Portaloos). A little shop selling essentials like ice cream and a wonderful pub opposite where they also rent out paddle boards and kayaks.
Second Chance Holiday Park - 15 minutes' walk from the path in Castle Eaton (in fact the path goes along the opposite bank). Very quiet, simple, right by the river. Facilities basic but functional and it was only £6 so I can't complain.
Osprey 65L women's rucksack - apart from the waist straps rubbing until I worked them out, very comfortable even with a decent weight inside.
Alpkit Soloist tent - worth every penny I paid for it. Pitches really quickly, can be brought down in minutes, and big enough for me and all my stuff!
Alpkit down sleeping bag - maybe a touch too warm but I get a bit chilly when camping. Fairly light and compact. I can't remember which model it is.
Eurohike silk sleeping bag liner - I like that it's easy to wash!
Multimat Superlite Air mattress - I've had this for a while. It's pretty comfy and packs down to a tiny package, but does have a tendency to condensation inside.
Decathlon travel pillow - I need something for my head, and this works well on top of my bag.
Alpkit Kraku stove - a miracle of engineering. It's minuscule and weighs next to nothing. Works reasonably quickly, although not super-fast.
Gas canister - a 100g canister got me through four evening meals, four boils of water for porridge and coffee, and a couple of extra coffees. Having to buy a bigger one to replace it when it ran out was irritating.
Alpkit 650ml titanium mug - the stove and small gas canister fit inside this.
Enamel mug - I should have left it behind and just used the Alpkit mug, although I did use it for coffee.
Sea-to-Summit XKettle - I bought this in NZ. It's brilliant. Metal base and collapsible silicone sides, works as bowl or kettle!
All-in-one plastic knife/fork/spoon.
Osprey 1.5L water bladder - fits in a special pocket in my rucksack.
Travel towel
Travel towel
Clothes
Salomon walking boots - these did well and blisters were minimal except the last day; however they need re-waterproofing.
Bridgedale hiking socks x2 - one lightweight pair, one midweight.
Merino t-shirts x2 - one Rapha, one Icebreaker.
North Face walking shorts
DHB lightweight long-sleeved merino top
Rohan walking trousers - actually only worn in the evenings but glad I had them.
Old t-shirt and leggings as pyjamas
2x crop-top style sports bras
4x knickers
Patagonia Torrentshell jacket - thankfully barely needed
Rohan travel shawl - useful extra warmth or something to sit on, although I could have left it behind without too much stress.
Bikini
Bikini
Food
6 x Firepot dehydrated meals. All tasty. The dal was especially nice. However ... I might have been better off carrying less stuff and buying more en route.
9 x homemade granola bars, based on this Jamie Oliver recipe with a few modifications.
5 x Moma porridge sachets
Taylors' coffee bags
Jelly Babies for emergencies
All other food bought en route
Jelly Babies for emergencies
All other food bought en route
Other stuff
Factor 50 suncream
Antibacterial wipes
Hand sanitiser
Toiletries
Boots Extra Tough Plasters - these really stayed put!
Assorted blister plasters
Fabric strapping tape
Anti-histamines, and assorted other hayfever/bite remedies
Ibuprofen and Deep Heat cream - the Deep Heat was buried at the bottom of my bag and I forgot I had it for a day or so. Then I used it once or twice and never got around to it again. It was a good idea, but I could have left it behind.
Matches (and a lighter, but I can't get the darned thing working).
Kindle
Head torch - could have managed without this, it was dark so late. I used it about twice.
Microsoft Surface tablet - for a few work things, a Zoom meeting, and watching a few downloads at night. Ideally would probably not have brought it, it added weight I could have done without.
RAV Power powerbank - chunky but holds a lot of charge.
Samsung Galaxy S9
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