A 20s and 30s Ramblers group.
Jack L.
The Thames Path is a 182 mile National Trail stretching from London to Gloucestershire. This year, the group will aim to cover the whole trail from start to finish! Following the success of our London legs, the following 4 walks in this series will take us through our humble county of Berkshire from Windsor to Goring!
To add some fun to our adventure, you are encouraged to purchase the Thames Passport where we will collect stamps at over 30 stamping stations along the Path. Collect stamps at all the various stations and you can receive a Certificate of Completion for doing the whole trail from start to finish! The link to purchase the passport is here: https://walkthethames.co.uk/thames-path-passport/
The first Berkshire leg of our Thames Adventure! Heading out of Windsor and Eton Central station, we will make our way down the hill into Eton and pick up the towpath where we previously left off, making our way towards Eton Wick and Boveney Lock.
We will pass the boathouse at Dorney Lake where the rowing took place at the London 2012 Olympics before making our way towards Dorney and eventually Bray Lock.
After passing through the lock and admiring the houses on the other side in Bray, we will catch a glimpse of the Waterside Inn then pass under two famous bridges at Maidenhead, Brunel’s Railway Bridge and Grade 1 listed Maidenhead Bridge which connects Maidenhead to Taplow. We will then arrive at Boulters Lock, the most famous lock on the Path, for lunch and our half way point.
After lunch, we will head on towards Cookham with the path passing the back of several fancy houses. We will also catch a glimpse of Spring Cottage at Cliveden on the other side, with the cottage a key setting of the Profumo affair in the mid-1960s.
After arriving in Cookham, we will have a pub stop at the Bel and Dragon and collect another stamp for our passports.
Following refreshment, we will continue through Cock Marsh and conclude this leg by crossing Bourne End Railway Bridge to make our way into Marlow.
To get to Windsor from Reading, please get the 9:12 from Reading station, changing at Slough to get the 9:50 to Windsor & Eton Central. If either train is delayed, the start of the walk will also be delayed. If driving, you will either need to get the train back to Windsor to collect your car at the end of the walk or park at Marlow and get the train from there for the start of the walk. If doing the latter, please get the 9:00 changing at Maidenhead to get the 9:26 from there to Slough which the same train any Reading folk will be on. Trains back to Reading/Windsor are on the hour.
