Thames Path - Henley to Marlow to Windsor

April 27:  We got started early, caught a 9 am train from Windsor and were in Henley by 10:15 am.  The day was dry and mostly sunny.  We walked 10.5 miles.

We passed through the main downtown section of Henley, over an 1780 era bridge to the historic Leander Rowing Clubhouse.  We watched four gentlemen in their 70s launch a shell and set off for a morning row. We could imagine that they had been rowing together for fifty years.



Eight young, strapping men were putting their shell away as we walked by.  We saw a single women disembark and picked her shell out of the water.  The shells don't weight much, one guesses.

Just a few shells in storage at Leander

While the famous Henley Regatta isn't until July, setup of large tents and grandstands were underway.  We walked the "metalled surface" path (means "asphalt") to Temple Island, the straight racing course starting point.  Interestingly, they race upstream.

Betsy with Temple Island in the background

Using our new bird book,  we identified several new waterfowl species including a tufted duck and a great crested grebe.  We have also seen lots of mallards, red kites, wood pigeons and crows.  Later we tried to identify some smaller perching species.  We were practicing.

We passed several locks, small marinas, small villages and some amazing country estates. The most amazing was Culham Court, House and Farm - handsome buildings and expensive landscaping. It had an astonishing large herd of white deer and our path traversed their pasture.  We had a brief encounter with a small herd of cows who were blocking our path and showed no interest in moving aside.   We pushed through politely but firmly.

We detoured off the path at Hurley to have lunch at The Olde Bell.  It was a charming pub in a quaint village, built in the 12th century.  I bumped my head going to the upstairs toilets.  We had sandwiches with side salads and chips (fries for us Americans).

The Olde Belle of Hurley

We crossed the river and bumped our way into the pretty town of Marlow.  It is famous for an iron suspension bridge that resembles the Hammersmith Bridge in London and a bridge in Budapest.

An "iron bridge"

We had booked a room for the night on the ground floor of a modern row house, owned by Helen, a business coach.  After a long day of walking, we were grateful to have a predetermined place to sleep, even if it was a bit off the path.

Helen recommended her favorite pub, The Two Brewers, down by the river, where we had dinner.

Note, there is Betsy, again with her layers of warmth on

April 28:  We continued our walk today, leaving Marlow and going all the way to Windsor.  We are tired and footsore - we walked 15.5 miles today, for a  total 2-day walk of 26 miles.

The day started with DIY french toast in our flat (Helen does not do breakfast) and we embarked near 10:00 am.  We walked back to the river, passing the church, the famous bridge (which is narrow and a bit fragile, having been completed in 1832) and The Two Brewers, our dinner spot last night.  I took photos of these spots, see above.

We walked along the north bank (or left side, going downstream) to Bourne End, passing other walkers or joggers and dogs, numerous attractive riverside homes (or "piles" as I call them) and meadows.  The homes were representative of all styles ranging from classical revival, victorian to tudor; there was even a home built in the "castle" style.  These homes back up to Quarry Wood, which is believed to serve as model for author Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows story.  At Bourne End, we crossed the river on a pedestrian-only bridge to the right bank.  The homes opposite got much grander, possibly why they moved the path to the other side.  We walked by Cock Marsh and on into Cookham.  This was the home of Kenneth Grahame and Sir Stanley Spencer, a 20th century painter of some note, who is buried in a local churchyard.

We next crossed some flat, marshy areas (3 ferries were needed to cross the river here) to a long straight stretch into Maidenhead.  We passed Cliveden Estate, high on hill and across the river.  This is a National Trust property and rates some mention as a tourist stop.  We arrived in Maidenhead and stopped for a snack in riverside cafe.  While there, we got talking with a man who is serious walker and traded stories.  He was off to do a part of the Pennine Way next week.  He also said it took him 10 years to complete the 600+ mile Southwest Coast Path.

After crossing the river again and for the last time until Windsor, we passed under the widest arch bridge at around 185 feet, made entirely of brick.  It was designed in 1839 for the Great Western Railway.

Two arches spanning the river

It was a long haul, past a couple more locks, several marinas, boat houses, swans and ducks, and lots of boats, to Eton, and across the river to Windsor.  One interesting note, we walked next to Dorney Lake, which is a long, rectangular, artificial body of water, inland from the river.  It was the site of the Olympic Rowing competitions.  It is nearly 1.4 miles long, though it seemed much longer when we were walking beside it.  There is a rowing regatta scheduled for this coming Sunday there that involves all manner of boats and age classes of rowers.  It lasts over 12 hours with a race about every 6 minutes.  There were lots of "fours" and "eights" out training on the river, and many more smaller boats using Dorney.

We padded into Eton, seeing Windsor Castle from yet another perspective.  The Queen is still here (note the banner).



We came home and collapsed.  The weather for our 2-day walkabout was dry, under partly cloudy skies, but cold.  The forecasters predict snow in the highlands of Scotland today, with a possibility of snow reaching the lowlands, too.  We are ready for a change in the other direction.