When we walked the 800 km Camino de Santiago in 2019, we were driven to walk every step. If we took a taxi one day due to fatigue, the next day we would taxi back to the spot where we picked up the taxi. For the 2200 km Via Francigena, we also had the purpose of reaching Rome…but we ended up skipping a few stages due to injury and didn’t worry about missing a stage, not when you have so far to walk in a defined timeframe. Our walk in 2025 along the Francigena Britannica, Via Campaniensis, and Via Lemovicencis was similarly broken, especially with a week long canal boat and Peter going home in the middle of the 3 month 1000km journey. Although the five day walk from Santiago to Fisterra along the Camino de Finisterre at the end was true to the path.
And so we come to this Thames River Path walk. The previous walks were pilgrimages, following ancient routes…and there seemed an underlying purpose to them. This one is…a long walk. We’ll end at Southwark Cathedral where we began our Via Francigena and our 2025 Francigena Britannica, which seems to close a circle. For Ken, the end will be the Angel Pub on the Thames, where last year we met up with the Chair of the Confraternity of Pilgrims to Rome and hope to do so again.
All this is to say that on this walk, we start off the day hoping to go the full distance of the stage but we aren’t feeling guilty if we fall short and have to hop on a bus or in a taxi when someone has had enough. And today…well…it’s similar to arriving at Lake Geneva in Switzerland in 2023 and having the choice of a two day steep hike through vineyards around the lake or a few hours on a paddle wheeler across the lake. I am sure Archbishop of Canterbury Sigeric, whose route we were following to Rome, had no qualms about taking the boat across either. So today was a choice between a 15 km walk or a 2 hour cruise. Which would you choose?
Leaving our B&B in the morning. Two barky bichon frise lived downstairs. Yap. Yap. Yap. Did I mention yap? Beside the local funeral home door. Waiting for the Number 3 bus to the city center. Uh oh! A book shop! This is the actual chatty little girl that Alice in Wonderland was based on. Let’s not look at the Mastercard bill when we get home. Everything is card here, even for just a bottle of water. I was feeding him the orzo from my salad. Thankfully he kept it on the down low and didn’t bring any friends. Ken is squishing my head. Plants growing on top of their garbage bins. Kissy faces will not get you out of the cage. Lots of small fishHmmmm. We are supposed to walk 15 km to Abingdon. Walk or scenic cruise. Hmmmm. Well, duh! Ken was very excited to see this boat. We have now rented canal boats 7 time in France, Italy (the Venice lagoon), and Belgium with my Venturer Scouts in 2012. Our very first rental was in France in 2005 on this style of boat (it was the Corsair). It turns out that Salter’s Steamers here in Oxford actually built the boat we had rented. Very cool, almost like coming full circle. Taking a photo of the barometer just like the one he has at home. 2 hour river cruise or 6 hours of walking. Was it cheating? Nah! The Lady Ethel, our friend who passed away in November and was sent home to be with her mother in Newfoundland last month. For Christine and Kendra. It would take a long time for you to work your way through that big of a Toblerone chocolate bar…but maybe not so long for me… White fronted geese…maybe the two white ones are snow geese? Tons of Canada geese, swans, and blue winged teals. Plus a couple of camera shy herons. Another rowing and paddle club, not associated with the 39 colleges of Oxford University. Where Salter’s Steamers work on their boats. Boaty McShed. Squish my head, will you, Ken? There is much anti-Trumpism here. Everytime we are asked if we are American, we get huuuuge apologies when we say we are Canadian.A lot of abandoned boats along the river, as well as some being lived. Heron and blue winged teals. Took these two a long time to get out of the way. Motor cross tracks in the distance. Ha ha. Hungry lock keepers! Someone at this lock has a sense of humour! Poor birds have to flap their feet like crazy to get out of the way of the boat. 1.2 km walk to our flat. Not so bad. Here we have Ken in earnest conversation with a fellow who wanted to know how far we had walked today and how tired we were. Ken was being extremely vague. I love how they post the stories behind the names or history of buildings. Terry took this snap of a mid 70s vw van sort of like the Westy her dad used to own. Not quite a proper Westy though. Nice to see blooming flowers as dry as it has been. Ended the day with a lovely few drops of rain, Hoping for more! These are suckers growing from the base of the tree…someone has been keeping them trimmed back.
