Downstream — Trip 2
===================

.. articleMetaData::
   :Where: London, UK
   :Date: 2018-08-21 10:23 Europe/London
   :Tags: blog, downstream, walking
   :Short: downstream02

It had been a few weeks since the previous_ walk. It had been quite hot and
therefore I left it a little to continue along the Thames Path. Today was a
lot cooler to start with, with some scattered showers predicted. As this was
another weekend day I suspected rail engineering works—and indeed, there were
no trains from Paddington to Oxford. The rail replacement bus which took me
from Didcot Parkway towards the start in Oxford was luckily will organised,
and I only ended up being about 15 minutes later than I originally had hoped
for.

.. _previous: /downstream-days1-3.html

Day 4 — Oxford to Shillingford
------------------------------

.. vimeo::
   :ID: 285158224
   :Width: 800
   :Height: 450
   :Title: Downstream — Day 4

It was fairly windy, and a little chilly when I left Oxford along the river.
There were lots of rowers out on the Thames, which didn't come as a big
surprise as that's what Oxford's stretch on the `Thames`:strike: Isis is known for.
Not only were there lots of rowing clubs out, but also plenty of amateurs.

.. _Thames: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Thames
.. _Isis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Isis

After a while it started to become darker and darker, and I started to wonder
whether I was going to keep it dry. I encountered a pair of hikers also doing
the Thames Path having a break near one of the boat houses. After having a
chat, and avoiding a tree branch being blown out of the tree, I decided to
continue and mentioned that I would chance getting rained upon. Without
surprise, 5 minutes later it was pelting it down. I found some shelter under a
few trees to put on my rain coat, but by the time I managed to put on my coat
it was already dry. The additional humidity wasn't that great though.

Just before Abingdon_, and its lock_, there is a complicated section on the
Thames Path that isn't very well signed. OpenStreetMap_ has the Thames Path
(near) perfectly mapped, so it was easy enough for me to find the route, but I
did assist somebody going in the opposite direction and explained where she
had to go.

.. _Abingdon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abingdon-on-Thames
.. _lock: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abingdon_Lock
.. _OpenStreetMap: https://www.openstreetmap.org

In Abingdon I had lunch at the `Nag's Head`_, which is situated on its own
island, `Nag's Head Island`_. I opted for a traditional fish & chips, and had
a pint of the local brew, called `Nag's Island`_. Just when I was finishing
lunch it started to drizzle a little bit, but it had already stopped by the
time I had finished my visit to the little coder's room.

.. _`Nag's Head`: https://www.thenagsheadonthethames.co.uk/
.. _`Nag's Head Island`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nag%27s_Head_Island
.. _`Nag's Island`: https://untappd.com/user/derickr/checkin/630854417

Unfortunately the drizzle did come back a few times over the next hours, while
I was getting closer to the big towers of the `Didcot power stations`_, which
were looming on the horizon. Just before Culham_ I stopped to have a look at
the `Swift Ditch`_, and old short cut for the river Thames ignoring Abingdon.
It is no longer in use, and very overgrown, but it was the fastest route for
nearly a thousand years.

.. _`Didcot power stations`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didcot_power_stations
.. _`Culham`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culham
.. _`Swift Ditch`: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_Ditch

During the next bit of the walk, there were a great many locks to go past and
over, until I came upon the river Thame_. From the source at Thames' Head to
where the river Thames meats the river Thame, the Thames is also called the
Isis. Especially in Oxford do make a big deal out of that. On some Ordnance
Survey maps you will still see "River Thames or Isis" for the whole stretch
from the source to the Thame.

.. _Thame: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Thame

About 20 minutes later I arrived at my finish today at Shillingford_, where I
took the bus into Reading, via a bus-replacement bus in Wallingford_, and via
Henley-on-Thames_ as the schedule worked better for that. Why wait 30 minutes
for a fast route that gets me into Reading 3 minutes earlier while it was very
clearly going to rain soon? In Reading, the trains into London were
unsurprisingly delayed, as they are so often.

.. _Shillingford: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillingford
.. _Wallingford: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallingford,_Oxfordshire
.. _Henley-on-Thames: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henley-on-Thames

----

Photos from my Adventure on the Thames Path are available on Flickr_, and all
videos on Vimeo_. You can also see all the photos on a map_.

.. _Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/derickrethans/43711492811/in/album-72157668662396357/
.. _Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/manage/albums/5306548
.. _map: https://maps.derickrethans.nl/?l=flickr&lat=51.6&lon=-1&zoom=10#fs=DOWNSTREAM