Blog No 12  Marlow to Henley, 8 and a half miles. Monday 14th July '25

Here we go, Adrian is with me for our walk from Marlow to Henley, 

We started off along the towpath with lots of very impressive and probably very expensive boats tied up alongside. We walked about half a mile before spotting a small blue A4 size poster telling us that the bridge we needed to cross about another mile up the path was closed. Our only option was to turn back and cross the Marlow Bridge taking a diversion into Bisham and Temple before accessing the path again. I find these minor detours a bit worrying when I know I have prepared myself for a certain distance to then find I will have to walk further than planned. 

However it was a good day for walking with a good strong breeze offsetting the sunshine which in any event was a lot cooler than the heatwave which ended the day before. There were some beautiful scenes of the river which also took my attention. As Adrian spent much of the time walking in front of me, I could not help but notice how similar his walking style was to Elizabeth, I spent most of my time on walks with her lagging behind as well. I was wondering how I had not realised before just how similar brother and sister were in so many ways. The bone structure of their faces were so similar, the difference being their hair, Elizabeth dark and curly Adrian straight and fair. 



Adrian was very impressed with the narrow boats and we chatted about what it would be like to live on one, particularly the winter months. 

We walked along the path with wide stretches of grassland and saw large flocks of Canada and Greylag geese foraging close to the water. 


As we continued along the way the path took us away from the river until we reached Culham House, an impressive building surrounded by meadowland which accommodated a large herd of white deer. By this time I began to be aware that we had passed no stopping places with toilets or ice creams both of which I was needing. We had walked a good 2 and a half hours with just minor breaks to drink water and gobble a few jelly babies and nuts. After about another 45 minutes  having passed through Culham House grounds on the footpath, we walked to a hotel at Aston and guess what.........it is shut on a Monday!!

We found the road curved round following the flow of the Thames but on higher ground, it was a bit of a shortcut called Remenham Lane, at this point I was prepared to forego the Thames path for the lane as not only tired but pretty desperate. I think it was almost another hour before we reached Henley Bridge passing all the Regatta tents in the process of being taken down. I had run out of water and just hoping I could complete the walk. 

Unfortunately the picture of Henley riverside did not take, but at least when I return to walk Henley to Reading I will be able to have another go. 

After meeting up with Jen our faithful driver who had had a very relaxing time at the Little Angel pub we pulled back into their car park and drank full bloodied sugary coke and took advantage of the much needed loo facilities. We had walked just over 9miles.

We did not talk a lot on this walk, but I believe we were both caught up in our thoughts as we managed this stretch of the Thames Path.  Sadly for me Adrian returns to California at the end of the week, so I will be responsible for ensuring that I manage the route to Reading on my own. 

I will as far as possible let you all know when I plan to walk next and would welcome anyone who would wish to walk with me.

I would also welcome comments if you wish to do so.

Maureen



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