After gathering up the laundry which was hung to dry anywhere and everywhere there was a space for it to dry, with Ken frying himself an egg for breakfast, and doing a quick tidy, we headed out the door for what was supposed to be a 22 km walk. Sadly the path was on the other side of the river… So we had to walk back to the bridge, even though we could see the trail across the river.
We have seen very few cats on this trip. France and Spain had so many strays that I used to carry cat food. In Italy there were strays but most appeared to be looked after. Peter was worried about this cat but a guy walking by said she was there every day and later I saw it sitting with someone. Super friendly if a little thin. We later saw these two from across the river. The two swans as seen from the other side of the river. We had to walk two kilometres back over the bridge as the path was on the other side of the river… To reach the street we had stayed on. Annoying.There’s a few fishermen to be seen through the day. White pinnacle asterMeadow crane’s billNothing motivates you to walk faster than the over whelming scent of “eau de manure” wafting from this farmer’s field. I pay good money for this ivy at home and here it grows like a weed everywhere. Lots of doggoes today, half of which seemed to called Polly or Molly. I missed the photo opportunity of chaos when 3 dogs met at a T Intersection of the trail at the same time. While waiting for Ken at a lock, I noticed this gentleman trying to take his boat through the deep lock by himself, which is tricky. I asked if he could use some help which he gratefully accepted (even after I told him I have been accused of being terrible rope crew). Ken helped by pushing the buttons to open and close the slices and gates. Or rather, Ken didn’t help because he kept pushing buttons and screwing up the lock system. This young guy (obviously living in his small boat) came over to help. He was really interested in Canadian music (Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot) and our wildlife. Paul kindly offered us a ride to the next lock, which we gratefully accepted. There is a heron in the middle of this picture. Cows in the water. Moo. Not sure what the Smurf hat was alll about but the guy in the pirate hat said “sorry to be a pain but please don’t film as they are all minors”. I said no worries, only a couple of pictures from the back. Apparently one of the best pubs on the Thames. I had picked up this line and rolled it up as it can be devastating to wildlife. Dogs rule here! Thatched roof. Rich peoples. Not so rich peoples. Hard to tell in this photo but the farmer put his electric fence right on top of parts of the trail. Grrr. They have cut off the top of the tree and it is sending out new shoots. The guy on the right is adjusting his knee brace. Huge wasp nest in the ground in the middle of the trail. No one was stung thankfully. No defib today! Just a chance to rest the knee and the butt. More bad swan parenting. Moochers, all of them. These two trees were being choked by vines. So the vines are cut off from their roots and the vines above the cut die. But you can see the vines growing up again. Seems late for young calves. Mom. Moo. This pillbox was beautifully painted and poignant. We haven’t seen many in the last few days. There were more nearer to the Source.In the Town Arms, our home for the night.
We didn’t get to our hotel until 700 pm. And unfortunately it is Friday night so the pubs are hopping… Although I guess it’s not unfortunate for everyone. Just those hoping to sleep. 😴
Kens thoughts: this was a serious day for distance even with snagging a ride. Good thing the guy wasn’t in a hurry as punching one button out of sequence seems to scramble the fairly primitive brain on the lock computer. I know what’s that’s like. However, the rest of the day I was heroic and tough and even had cool drinks ordered for the slow walkers when they finally staggered into the Benson lock. Terry keeps arranging these killer days so we’ll see if the ancient body will recover overnight!
