Thames Path - Maidenhead to Reading (★★★★☆)

Today is the second of five days spent walking the Thames Path - having spent the previous day walking from Weybridge up to Maidenhead. And today's walking will take us from Maidenhead to Reading.

The day begins with a fairly early start, but even this early in the morning Maidenhead is already very busy - with the roads full of traffic trying to beat the crowds to work. 

And having seen the delight of the river side houses the prior evening - here was a chance to see what must be done to pay for these homes.

Having joined back up with the river we are set for a section following a road, but whilst the stretch out of town heads north alongside the A4094, it is at least quite a pretty stretch of road to walk along.

Heading north out of town along the road

From here it is on up to Boulter's Lock and whilst there is a footbridge over to the islands, we ignore this potential diversion and continue on up the road, before turning off onto a quiet footpath.

A boat arriving at Boulter's Lock

Once on the footpath this is a very pleasant route out of town that is busy with morning walkers - and here I stop off at a bench to eat my breakfast.

With this done, we continue on across the fields - and here there are a few sights to see across the river in the grounds of Cliveden House. But soon after those sights, the path turns to the left, to head through to village of Cookham. 

As we head along this path we cut beneath Cookham Lock (to the north) - and beyond that lock lies Sashes Island. 

This island is itself pretty notable, both for both being the point where a Roman Road called the Camlet Way is thought to have crossed the Thames (running from St Albans to Silchester), and for being the site of one of the thirty or so burhs (forts) constructed by Alfred the Great.

It is possible to head up to that island from Cookham, but there is not much to be seen once you get there, and no evidence of the burh remains.

At the village of Cookham, I also manage tick off a more modern first on my travels - as, for the first time ever, I get to see a collection of nannies taking their charges to school. Which seems quite a strong indication that this is quite a wealthy area.

And the village is full of history, both visually and in the historic records - with this once again being a spot along the Thames were signs of prehistoric life have been found, including Bronze Age axeheads and older stone age tools.

But for us the attraction of Cookham is mostly that it is a pretty village to walk through - and we head on through, past the church, before joining up with the river again as we head on towards Bourne End.

Church in Cookham

Back following alongside the Thames, the path heads on up through open fields, before crossing over next to the railway bridge - and then continuing along on the far side - passing the boats moored up at Bourne End.

From here, the Thames Path continues on through open fields until we pass by Quarry Wood on the far side (apparently an inspiration for the Wild Wood's in The Wind in the Willows), before cutting through Marlow.

Looking back at Marlow Bridge

Here I make a bit of a navigational mistake - not realising that there is a diversion that starts at Marlow Bridge. 

At this point I should have gone over bridge and on down along the roads, to rejoin the intended route of the Thames Path near Hurley.

But whilst it is some distance down this path before I realise that I should have crossed this bridge, my mistake proves to be a worthwhile one to make- for this section of the path is very lovely, as we head on down past All Saints Church.

All Saints Church on the far side

Eventually I do realise my error and head back to Marlow, cross over the Thames and then complete a very forgettable section walking along pavements and quiet roads, before at long last I get to be re-united with the river just before Hurley.

It does look like the bridge is being worked on, and I do hope it is fixed before you get a chance to visit - because it really is a lovely stretch that should be walked, and a poor replacement that you are forced to head along instead

But now we are back on the Thames Path, and able to proceed (for now), without having to turn off down local roads.

Back at the river

With this fairly long section on tarmac complete, and with there being a rather inviting bench in front of me, I decide to stop here and have a rest - and finish off the rest of my food.

Having got going again, we continue on, and upon reaching Hurley, the path cuts onto the islands, and then back to the river side.

Hurley Lock

Just past Hurley

By this point, there is now a very rural feel to the walk, and this continues as we head on past Frogmill - and then on towards Aston.

But before reaching Aston, we get a bit of an unexpected section of path, as we pass through the grounds of Culham House - and it is here that everything shifts to a country park vibe (this is because it is a country park).

Grounds of Culham House

Continuing through the grounds

Heading through the grounds, I come across a herd of animals that are hard to identify - and whilst from a distance they look a bit like llamas, as I get a bit closer they start to look more like white reindeer.

And with a bit of Googling, it turns out that these are white fallow deer that are kept on the estate.

White fallow deer at Culham Court (had to zoom in a bit, so apologies if it is grainy)

Soon, we leave this park behind, and head into Aston - where the path joins up with a road (passing warning signs about peacocks crossing the road!). At the end of this road we reach the river and turn left, continuing on alongside the river once more.

From here it is a short walk up to Hambleden Lock, opposite to Mill End.

Hambledon Lock

On a bit from the lock

From here, the Thames Path heads out alongside very flat open fields, as it continues to bend round - ready to head south and into Henley. And as we turn to head directly towards Henley, we pass Temple Island.

Temple Island

The folly (the building photographed above) was built as a fishing lodge  by someone who obviously had a lot of spare money - and belonged to Fawley Court, which is the big house coming up on the far side of the river. 

And Fawley Court is one of the numerous buildings that claim to have been the inspiration for Toad Hall in The Wind in the Willows (and to be fair to it, it does at least make it onto the list of the three most likely inspirations).

To be honest, I don't actually remember Fawley Court - and nor do I have any pictures of it - but I have checked and you should be able to see it from the river - but only for a brief movement as you pass directly opposite (with trees lining an inlet from the river, that runs all the way up to the house itself).

From here the path heads pretty much in a straight line on past Remenham, and then into Henley - and after having mostly walked very quiet paths today, the tow path is getting increasingly busy. And here we cross over at Henley Bridge, and start to head down along the river on the far side.

Coming up to Henley Bridge

Looking out from Henley Bridge

The next section is a busy stretch of tow path that heads on down past the moored boats, on the way to Mill Bank Lock - and this is another great stretch of tow path.

Walking out from Henley

Continuing on down the tow path

Just before Mill Bank Lock

But here the dreaded D-word strikes again - with another diversion.

And this one is a pretty frustrating one, because we are now only just over a mile away from Shiplake, but the diversion route will add on about two miles of additional walking - all of which looks pretty dull when viewed on the map (with a good chunk of road walking).

And here, a chink forms in my resolve to walk every inch of the way along the Thames Path - and I decide to head back, and take the train from Henley to Shiplake (taking the plan B suggestion offered up by the diversion notice). 

Given the distance back into Henley, I will still be walking a similar distance to the one I should be doing, but it is still a shameful decision to make all the same. That said, the path has been riddled with diversions so far - and I still have a few more diversions lying ahead of me.

With this cheeky little jump in progress complete, it is time to head south from Shiplake - initially along a minor road and then across the fields.

Here the Thames Path joins back up with the river, and starts heading in a more westerly direction along the river.

Down at the river near Shiplake

And this stretch from Shiplake round to Sonning is a wonderful stretch, with a lovely quiet rural feel to proceedings. And once we reach Sonning it is time to cross over the river, and continue on the opposite side.

The mill ponds at Sonning

Continuing on along the far side

From here the going is a initially pretty good, but it steadily gets a little less exciting as we head past Thames Valley Business Park (funnily enough, not a place full of joy and mirth).

And after crossing over the connection with the River Kennet (and with the Kennet & Avon Canal, which runs on from here to Bath - maybe more on that next year!), the going gets less exciting as we now enter a long phase where there are a load of boats parked up alongside the river.

At this point, I should be clear that I am all for boats travelling up and down the river - and I make sure to wave at them, even when they have no interest in waving back, but on this stretch you get a lot of boats that clearly don't go anywhere.

And whilst some of these often have neat little gardens, a lot more are pretty wild and mucky - and through this section the path is fairly well littered with debris. 

This certainly reduces the enjoyment of this stretch around Reading, but in the end it is not too far a walk before we reach Reading Bridge - where I cut down into town to stay over for the night in the busy and bustling town of Reading.

Reading Bridge

And here we find an interesting town - for whilst Maidstone is clearly the place to be as a corporate high flier in need of a fancy home, Reading seems to be the place to be if you are young - and it is a surprisingly short journey back into London from here (25 minutes on Great Western Railway).

And it is pretty vibrant as I walk through - and I feel like I will be back at some point, as it feels very tempting to return and walk the Kennet & Avon Canal one day.

Total Distance: 26.5 miles (24.9 miles on the Thames Path)

Total Ascent: 332 feet (302 feet on the Thames Path) 

Note that the distance assumes no diversions (it is longer with them) on the naive belief that the diversions will one day end.

Enjoyment Rating : ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Click for a writeup of the walk on the following day, continuing on up the Thames Path from Reading to Goring.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 175 OS Landranger map - while there is also a Thames Path guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked.