Newsletter February, 2025

View from Avoncliff Aqueduct on the Kennet and Avon Canal

The weather has been unseasonably dry these past few days. Although, truthfully, we are relying on second hand reports for this as we are currently in South-East Asia avoiding the end of winter. We return at the end of the week. It seems we missed the best of it!

The warm and dry weather bodes well for the start of the season – now just a month away – with the Thames Path mostly free from floods. Of course, that can all change quickly. We shall be doing a “pitch inspection” at the end of the month and will have more updates in our next newsletter.

Our first walkers start in early April. We’ve been encouraging walkers tackling the upper reaches of the Thames from Source to Oxford to avoid setting off in the first half of the month. So our first walkers are actually on The Ridgeway and on the Thames Path going upstream from Woolwich. Our first packs have been going out this week.

Pinkhill Lock

Thames Path Route News

A new diversion has opened up between Pinkhill Lock and Swinford Bridge as you approach Oxford. This is caused by a wooden bridge over a tributary that is deemed unsafe. Instead of crossing the river from the left to the right bank at Pinkhill Lock the diversion makes use of footpaths which take you through fields to the Eynsham Road. From there you can safely walk to Swinford Bridge. The diversion adds about 0.6 miles. Responsibility for the repair is with Oxfordshire Council and not with the Environment Agency and so hopefully it will not take too long.

Speaking of the Environment Agency, they have closed access to Penton Hook Island due to a number of unsafe trees. The island is found midway between Staines and Chertsey and can be visited by leaving the lock and crossing the Thames Path.

Long-standing diversions:

The diversion to avoid the closed boardwalk at Marsh Lock Henley now starts at Shiplake and takes you briefly into the Chilterns. The diversion adds an extra 1.0 miles to the walk although feedback that we’ve received is that it feels much longer! But, bear in mind that the distance from Shiplake to Henley is already 2.4 miles. So the diversion is therefore 3.4 miles in total.

The diversion at Temple Bridge is still in place following its closure. The diversion makes use of the lane running from Temple to Bisham and then a road with a pavement into Marlow

And damage to a bridge over a tributary has caused a diversion from just past the Runnymede Hotel to shortly before Staines. The diversion uses the A308 (pavements) returning the walker to the riverbank just before the bridge at Staines. The diversion replaces about 0.6 miles of the route with minimal added distance. The diversion is set to be in place until 2026. The signage for this diversion is not that obvious. Also note that you might find that the barricades preventing you getting onto the bridge have been removed. If so, this will have been unauthorised.

Between Richmond and Kew a section of the embankment has collapsed into the river. There is no way around meaning that section of the Path is temporarily closed. We advise you to follow the left bank through Isleworth and Brentford. However, development work is ongoing at the Grand Union Canal in Brentford with the Path being blocked. This can be avoided by skipping the walk along the canal and following Brentford High Street instead.

For a full list please see our route alerts page on the website.

Penton Hook Lock

Other Thames Path News

The UK Ekiden is returning in 2025. The Japanese-style relay race will be on Friday 20th June. This time it’s from Windsor to King’s Meadow in Reading and back. There will be 30 teams, 15 from universities and 15 companies. Nearer the time we’ll endeavour to share a list of participants.

TV presenter Clare Balding is hosting a new show named Tales from the Riverbank. It features 6 English rivers including the Thames. It’s showing on Channel 5 and also on catch-up – although not available outside the UK as we’ve just discovered!

A further two episodes of Ed Pratt‘s kayaking trip down the Thames has been released on YouTube. Those who saw his early exploits between the source and Cricklade, where he had to crawl through culverts and fight through thick undergrowth, might find it a little boring. But some of the views, particularly the overhead shots with a drone, are quite spectacular. It also makes you realise how fortunate we are that we don’t have to operate locks! He’s now just past Goring. We’re looking forward to seeing how he copes with the busy and choppy river in London.

It’s been announced that Diana Ross will open the Henley Festival on Wednesday July 9. We trust she’s booked her room already because a night at the Relais is currently selling for £1,150!

UK Ekiden Year 1

Camino Ingles/St James’ Way

It is now a year since we launched our St James’ Way – Camino Ingles walking holiday packages. No one else was offering this service. However, we felt sure there was the demand for a personalised accommodation and baggage transfer facility along the route between Reading and Southampton.

Now entering year 2, we’ve been thrilled with how it’s taken off and the positive feedback we’ve received. Local businesses are embracing our venture and we continue to forge new relationships with hotels, cafes and pubs along the Way. Our bookings have quadrupled this year and there’ a real buzz in the air as we await our first 2025 guests’ arrival in Reading. We remain the only provider of this walk.

Look out for the April edition of BBC’s Countryfile magazine which features the St James’ Way and whose writer, Dixe Wills, we supported along the route. Around 750 walkers completed this Camino in 2024 and the numbers this year are estimated between 1,500 and 2,000.

Navigating the streams around the River Itchen

Winter Webinars

These are now finished. Thank you to all those who joined. We managed to get through the schedule with only one technical hitch which we think is a good achievement.

We’ve run these webinars for 5 years now and we feel they’ve run their course so we plan to try something different next year. We enjoy the interaction with prospective walkers. And the questions we receive are very helpful in terms of understanding peoples’ needs. But the timetable is a little rigid and it’s hard to accommodate folks from the US and Canada at the same time as those from Australia and New Zealand. We’ll give it some thought and come back at the end of the year with a new format.

In the meantime, if you found the webinars helpful and you are not on a package with us, it would be great if you could make a donation towards our zoom subscription. Please follow the link below. This will take you to our website where a further button will allow you to donate.

Donate

Kennet and Avon Canal Walk for 2025

We’ve continued with our exploration of this walk which we are introducing this year. The last section that we walked was from Bradford on Avon to Bath, which is probably the best section walked so far, passing two splendid aqueducts. We still have 3 days of walking to complete: Devizes to Bradford on Avon (1 day) and Bath to Bristol (2 days). We hope to finish by March at which point we will put our proposed 9 day/10 night itinerary up on our website.

In the meantime we’ve added a teaser page.

That’s all folks. We’re back Monday. See you on the Trail.

Walking.Holiday