Lifetime of Walks by Derek Harwood

Parked in the 'overflow' car park of Swan Hotel at Radcote and cycled to St John's Bridge along A4095 towards Clanfield, then turned left onto Langley Lane, passing Kelmscott Village. Locked Bike to tree by 'Information Hut' at St John's Lock, where Sally was reading her book. Started the walk by passing under St John's Bridge, over plank bridge across brook to arched wooden bridge where path changes to northern bank of river. A well intentioned lady tried to tell us to walk on the southern bank, she was so insistent I had to show her the map we were following. Started the first river meander of the day as barge 'One Off' passed just before the first of many grey concrete pillboxes. The path followed all river meanders closely due to the single electric wire to control the cattle and walkers. Plenty of variety followed around the next bend, with fishermen, swans, a family in a rowing boat and lots of pleasure boats before Buscot Lock. A very busy well kept lock, with boats going through the lock and others waiting their turn. Continued over the concrete bridge by weir, past the small herd of calves, fields of 'Corn on the Cob' and line of very tall trees (not populars, probably beech), to Eaton Weir and more pleasure craft. Rustic footbridge here, but no weir. This was the location of a 'Flash' weir, but the present weir and lock system has made the original weir at Eaton redundant. Shortly after the wide track to Kelmscott Village we passed a field of cattle straddling the path, with hundreds, literally, of Canada Geese in the river or on the field opposite. The line of geese in the water was over 100 metres long. Steady walk onwards to Grafton Lock, another well kept lock with huge steel gates. We stopped at the little shop and enjoyed a welcome ice cream on a bench made for two. As we left the lock behind we could hear a strange tapping noise from behind some scaffolding in the adjacent field. A glance back saw a lone man working on the hull of his boat. At the rate he was going, it will take him a month of Sundays before the is on the water. After the river bend to the left before Radcot, we passed numerous fishermen with extremely long fibreglass fishing rods, some partially obstructing the footpath. We stopped to chat to a fisherman landing a 4 pound bread fish (approx 9 kilograms). I took a photo of his prize catch as he explained that a competition was in progress. Soon arrived at Radcot Bridge and welcome refreshments at the Swan Hotel. We sat on a decking and enjoyed the idyllic setting, commenting that a little sunshine would have made the situation perfect. As we left the table for the car, Sally grabbed the bill. Another perfect day's walking on the Thames Path with Sally.

Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, - Start: from St John's Brdige 422222/199045, - Finish: at Radcot Bridge 428596/199525, - via: Grafton Lock 427074/199275. (Click on location and use Zoom and BACK Buttons).

Hazards:
Always take care when passing electric fences. Apart from the obvious precaution of not touching the wire, preventing the possibility of an electric shock, but do not lean anything on the wire, shorting the electric circuit to earth, or more the wire enabling the cattle in the field to escape at a future point in time.

Click Here to Go to 'Thames Path - Section 3'
Click Here to Go to 'Thames Path - Section 5'
Click Here to Return to 'Lifetime of Walks' Homepage

	LIFETIME of WALKS by DEREK HARWOOD Derek Harwood's Walking Records If you have any queries about the pictures or descriptions e-mail me at: derek@harwoodonline.com

	THAMES PATH KELMSCOTT
	St. John's Bridge to Radcot Bridge - Oxfordshire Sunday 13th September 2009 ..............................Walk No. 771
	THAMES PATH No. 4 Total 32 miles Time Taken: 2.5 hrs Distance: Enjoyment: Weather: Breezy 11:17 - 13:51 pm 6 miles 90% Cloudy Temp: Cloud: Rain: Visibility: Ground Conditions: Wild Life: Swans 18^oC 90% None Average Excellent Blackberries & Canada Geese Total AA: Total MH: Total LD: Total AW: Other: Total Distance: 1043.5 mls 931.5 mls 2152 mls 162 mls 1251 mls 5540 miles Companions: (Derek) Sally Points of Interest and LINKS: Thames Path River Thames Lechlade Town St John's Bridge Buscot Lock Buscot Village Eaton Footbridge Flash Lock Thames Locks Grafton Lock Tadpole Bridge to Lechlade Kelmscott Village Kelmscott Manor Concrete Pillboxes Description: Parked in the 'overflow' car park of Swan Hotel at Radcote and cycled to St John's Bridge along A4095 towards Clanfield, then turned left onto Langley Lane, passing Kelmscott Village. Locked Bike to tree by 'Information Hut' at St John's Lock, where Sally was reading her book. Started the walk by passing under St John's Bridge, over plank bridge across brook to arched wooden bridge where path changes to northern bank of river. A well intentioned lady tried to tell us to walk on the southern bank, she was so insistent I had to show her the map we were following. Started the first river meander of the day as barge 'One Off' passed just before the first of many grey concrete pillboxes. The path followed all river meanders closely due to the single electric wire to control the cattle and walkers. Plenty of variety followed around the next bend, with fishermen, swans, a family in a rowing boat and lots of pleasure boats before Buscot Lock. A very busy well kept lock, with boats going through the lock and others waiting their turn. Continued over the concrete bridge by weir, past the small herd of calves, fields of 'Corn on the Cob' and line of very tall trees (not populars, probably beech), to Eaton Weir and more pleasure craft. Rustic footbridge here, but no weir. This was the location of a 'Flash' weir, but the present weir and lock system has made the original weir at Eaton redundant. Shortly after the wide track to Kelmscott Village we passed a field of cattle straddling the path, with hundreds, literally, of Canada Geese in the river or on the field opposite. The line of geese in the water was over 100 metres long. Steady walk onwards to Grafton Lock, another well kept lock with huge steel gates. We stopped at the little shop and enjoyed a welcome ice cream on a bench made for two. As we left the lock behind we could hear a strange tapping noise from behind some scaffolding in the adjacent field. A glance back saw a lone man working on the hull of his boat. At the rate he was going, it will take him a month of Sundays before the is on the water. After the river bend to the left before Radcot, we passed numerous fishermen with extremely long fibreglass fishing rods, some partially obstructing the footpath. We stopped to chat to a fisherman landing a 4 pound bread fish (approx 9 kilograms). I took a photo of his prize catch as he explained that a competition was in progress. Soon arrived at Radcot Bridge and welcome refreshments at the Swan Hotel. We sat on a decking and enjoyed the idyllic setting, commenting that a little sunshine would have made the situation perfect. As we left the table for the car, Sally grabbed the bill. Another perfect day's walking on the Thames Path with Sally. Location Map: - www.streetmap.co.uk, - Start: from St John's Brdige 422222/199045, - Finish: at Radcot Bridge 428596/199525, - via: Grafton Lock 427074/199275. (Click on location and use Zoom and BACK Buttons). Hazards: Always take care when passing electric fences. Apart from the obvious precaution of not touching the wire, preventing the possibility of an electric shock, but do not lean anything on the wire, shorting the electric circuit to earth, or more the wire enabling the cattle in the field to escape at a future point in time. Click Here to Go to 'Thames Path - Section 3' Click Here to Go to 'Thames Path - Section 5' Click Here to Return to 'Lifetime of Walks' Homepage



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Derek Harwood: Copyright 2009 Devised: October 2009