Oh wow! How could I possibly have used the word 'boring' yesterday? Today was so amazing. The wind of the first two days had gone, the river was glassy smooth and the sun shone. I had to stop myself taking photos, everything looked so picturesque.
Lechlade is the first navigable bit of the river and the first lock, St John's, is not far downstream. There are 43 locks between Lechlade and Hampton Court and two more at Teddington and Richmond.. Very quickly I decided that it would not be a good idea to take pictures of all them. I did wonder though, if part of the job description for a lock keeper is to love gardening. There must be a competition for Best Kept Lock or something, they all have such beautiful gardens, perfectly manicured lawns and postcard quality cottages.
Something I didn't expect were the Pillboxes. These are ugly concrete constructions built to protect against invasion and hordes of foreigners reaching the Midlands. They must have worked, obviously. They are on the banks of the river or slightly further away, some remain open, others are blocked up. Apparently at least one is being used as a hang-out for bats.
The locks, weirs and bridges added more variety to the meanderings of the river. Some new varieties of butterfly went by, some geese to keep the swans company and, near Newbridge, lots of seagulls of some sort. I do try to look up these birds and butterflies (I'm alright with bees 😄). I find what I'm sure is the right one and then the small print says "Only seen in Yorkshire on Tuesdays" and it's back to square one.
My walking seemed to be quite slow but there were more people to say hello to and chat with, if only briefly. Funny how you can tell Americans before they say anything! They were being pursued by a cat referred to as "she" until I explained the truth which was very evident at the rear of the feline. I bumped into my chums from yesterday a couple of times and we even shared a beer at the end of the day. They were being collected to go back to their accommodation from the place where I'm currently typing to you.
An 'interesting' bit of the day was catching up with a couple of chaps who seemed to be shouting and waving at 20-30 cows. Didn't seem like a good idea to me. Turned out it was my chums and the cows were simply being very friendly. Where they were staying the hostess explained that if the cows have been kept indoors until quite recently (I'm sure David Archer put his out weeks ago) then they're still very inquisitive and friendly. These flipping cows wouldn't take no for an answer. Or shoo. Or any other words. We only escaped by getting to the other side of a nice metallic gate.
Later on there were more swans and geese, some of them loitering on the path.you always hear that swans can be dangerous and this is baby swan time of year, so I was apprehensive. I walked slowly past the birds and they were fine, so I thought I'd try for a picture. While I was getting my camera out one of the swans came up to me so it was about a yard away, with that labrador look of "Have you got some food by any chance?". I clicked, breathed a sigh of relief and moved on.
This part of the walk is about as remote as it gets. Choice of where to stop for lunch, somewhere to stay overnight is minimal. I have a sneaky feeling that means you get taken for a ride, just a bit. My room is a large double with en-suite shower, separate toilet but the washbasin is in the room. Not very private if you were sharing, even if with your nearest and dearest. And the ceiling to the shower room needs serious attention, in fact
the windows of the room itself although double glazed have a serious mildew problem. Impressed I am not. Still, I had a bath in one of the non-en-suite bathrooms :D Tomorrow, the joys of Oxford YHA. At least I know what to expect. And it's cheap.
Such a Perfect Day.
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