Thames Path – Nearing the End : Lechlade to Cricklade to Ewen
/Lechlade to Cricklade – 10.5 miles
Beautiful St. Lawrence Church - Lechlade
I wrote last time about St. Lawrence, a landmark church, that dates from 1476 and is considered to be one of the finest in Gloucestershire. We couldn’t leave Lechlade without exploring the church, photographing its grotesques and gargoyles and wandering through the centuries old graveyard.
Percy Bysshe Shelly stayed at the New Inn in Lechlade in August, 1815 and was inspired to write a poem about his visit: ‘Summer Evening Churchyard, Lechlade’. The path through the graveyard is now named after him – ‘Shelley’s Walk’.
The morning was cold and sunny … cold enough to see our breath as we walked. We wore extra layers of clothes and our jackets. I had my gloves on, too, and was still a bit chilly as we set out from the New Inn heading for Cricklade.
The swans were swimming on the river
and the swan boats were all tied up at the Riverside Inn.
We walked across Halfpenny Bridge to the south bank of the river and joined the path once again. Constructed in 1792, the bridge obviously took its name for the toll assessed when crossing it … a half penny. The toll house remains, but the toll is no longer collected.
Half Penny Bridge
The toll house at Half Penny Bridge remains in tact, but the toll is no longer collected.
Lechlade is the highest navigable point on the Thames. We passed by the Round House, built c. 1789 as the lock keeper’s house.
While walking through the tiny village of Inglesham, we happened upon St. John the Baptist Church. Built c. 1205, we were unable to gain access to the inside and had to settle for admiring it from afar.
St. John the Baptist Church in Inglesham
Today’s walk seemed longer than usual, perhaps because there was no tea shoppe en route. We walked through meadows and fields and muddy tracks. Farmer’s have installed electric and barbed wire fences along their property boundaries and as the narrow, single shoe width track inches along the edges of the fields, it’s tough walking.
Some areas of the path were only one shoe-width wide with electric fences to keep us alert.
Hmmm … would this be called ‘watergate’?
Our pub inn for the night was The Old Bear in Cricklade. This was a disappointing choice. Though clean, the room was tiny and cramped. The bathroom and shower were postage stamp-size. The pub didn’t serve meals and the promised wifi was not working. Otherwise, it was great. Two other inns in town, The White Hart and The Red Lion might have been better choices, but for one night, we managed.
The Old Bear was barely acceptable.
We walked 11.5 miles today; 12 miles remaining on the Thames Path.
Cricklade to Ewen – 10 miles
It was another see-your-breath morning as we headed back to the trail en route to the little village of Ewen. We’re nearing the end of the path now and we’re trying to savor every moment we can. The fields glistened with morning dew and our shoes were wet and muddy in no time. Once again, however, the sun did its best work and we shed our jackets by late morning.
The river is narrowing considerably now and is choked with reeds and rushes in many areas.
One section of the path warned us to keep to the edge of the field as this was an active airfield. I’m not sure the cows and sheep had noticed the sign though.
We met several walkers along our route today … all just starting out. We chatted with all of them. Most were only planning section hikes for a few days and asked about our journey from London. We were thinking that the Cotswold area was by far the prettiest part of the path and had we started at this end, we might have been a bit disappointed further along. As we headed towards London, we would have left the countryside and had to walk on the road and through neighborhoods and industrial areas. This way, we saved the best parts till last.
A gorgeous butterfly landed on the path just in front of me. I was sure it was a rare beauty, but found it to be a peacock butterfly, evidently quite common. It was, at least, rare for me.
Ewen is a small, picturesque village and the Well Cottage B&B was right on the path. It was unmarked, other than a small sign on the house and we passed right by it and had to retrace a few steps to find it. The hosts were wonderful. Our room was gorgeous and it seemed a fitting place to spend our last night on the path.
Charming Well Cottage B&B
Dinner was at the Wild Duck Inn, a charming 16th century coaching inn, only a 10 minute walk from the Well Cottage. We indulged in roast partridge, the evening special … fancy, schmancy and obviously, not too bad.
11.25 miles walked - 2 miles left to walk on the Thames Path