Thames Path - Newbridge to Lechlade (★★★★☆)

Today is the second of two days spent walking the Thames Path, having walked from Newbridge to Oxford on the previous day.

By this point we are now deep into the most rural stretch of the River Thames - and by the end of the day we will have almost walked the full navigable stretch of the river.

The day begins with the same bus journey as on the previous day - catching the X15 bus to Newbridge, where we hop off and cross over the river - ready to begin our days walk.

Heading out along the Thames

As we head out, we pass Standlake Common Nature Reserve- which along with Rushy Common Nature Reserve forms part of the Lower Windrush Valley Project.

This was a project that sought to create two nature reserves from former gravel workings - and whilst access to these nature reserves is limited, we do pass close by as we continue to head up the Thames Path.

Passing one of the bird hides at Standlake Common Nature Reserve

From here we continue on to Shifford Lock - and then head along Shifford Lock Cut. 

Shifford Lock Cut is is one of the 'newer' additions to the Thames, albeit with newer meaning in 1897 - and here there is a rare cut in the path of the Thames, which was built to bypass a particularly shallow stretch of the River Thames.

Whilst halfway along this cut, we cross over to the northern side of the river, and continue through this very empty stretch of countryside to Tadpole Bridge - where the Trout Inn offers one of the options for accommodation along this stretch of the Thames Path.

Reaching Tadpole Bridge

It is only a short run from here down to Rushey Lock - and here we once again cross over the river, to once again walk on it's southern side.

Crossing over at Rushey Lock

From here the river starts to meander quite dramatically - but there is a hard to resist track that takes a more direct route past these meanders - and with the course of the river at times being more than twice as long as this track, we do end up doing some cheeky corner cutting through some of this section.

The meandering stretch of the Thames

Beyond this meandering stretch of the river, we pass by Old Man's Bridge (which is not as exciting as it sounds), and then head past Radcot Lock.

Passing Radcot Lock

From here the river does start to straighten up a bit, and so takes a fairly direct course to Radcot - where there is supposed to be a closed for repairs bridge - but since I'm not all that heavy (and unlikely to sink an entire bridge), I decide to just cross it anyway.

The main bridge here (Radcot Bridge) is the oldest surviving bridge on the River Thames - although it had to be substantially repaired after suffering damage both during the Battle of Radcot Bridge in 1387 and during the War of the Roses.

The first of these conflicts was a clash between troops allied to Richard II, and those directly led by Henry Bolingbroke (who would go on to become Henry IV)

At the time Robert de Vere (Earl of Oxford) had been asked by Richard II to bring troops to London to aid him (supported by Sir Thomas Molineux, who came along to help ensure Robert safely reached Richard).

But at Radcot Bridge, this troop found themselves face to face with Henry's army - and finding that some of his troops refused to engage with the enemy, Robert gave flight.

Molineux initially did take up the fight - but soon he too soon tried to give flight, after realising that the fight was a lost cause - but was ultimately killed before he could escape.

After hiding in the woods Robert (the first to run away) eventually got away, and successfully fled to France - but much of this army were destroyed in the battle, and aftermath.

Following this battle the bridge was partially rebuilt in 1393 - but later suffered more damage during the War of the Roses.

Radcot was also used as a garrison during the English Civil War in the 17th century - and the earthworks sit to the north-west of the bridge on the former site of a Norman keep are a reference to this very small garrison (to protect the bridge).

Today though, we can cross over the bridge unopposed - and now start to make our way up the Thames on it's northern side.

Just beyond Radcot Bridge

Initially we are following the river in a south-westerly direction, but soon turn to head north-west - and then almost immediately after taking a south-westerly heading, we reach Grafton Lock.

Grafton Lock

From here we continue to make our way up the Thames, passing by some very expensive looking houses on the far side of the river - before eventually making our way past Kelmscott.

We don't see much of this village, but reflecting the distance we have made across the country by now, the manor here is made from Cotswold stone.

But on the path we follow, we continue to head across fairly empty countryside until we eventually get round to another section (near Buscot) where the river is once again meandering quite dramatically - and through this section wire fencing ensures that we walk every inch of the path.

Here we find Buscot Lock - which is the penultimate lock that exists along the River Thames, and from here the river continues to meander dramatically - as we start to close in on Lechlade.

Crossing over the weir stream at Buscot Lock

As the most extreme section of meanders comes to an end, we cross over a footbridge - to now walk on the southern side of the river.

Approaching the footbridge

Heading over the footbridge

From here we head under the A417 and past the final lock along the River Thames - St John's Lock.

Here we are rapidly running out of navigable river, but for those concerned about this - there will still be over twenty miles of walk left after we reach Lechlade, before we complete the length of the Thames Path.

But before we even start to think about this, we need to complete this stretch of walking today - and this means a final run across the fields to the south of Lechlade, until we reach Halfpenny Bridge.

Looking towards Lechlade

Halfpenny Bridge

Heading over the bridge (head under and turn left)

Lechlade itself is quite posh, but also very full of cars - and these days it seems to be the site of a permanent traffic jam.

The town itself is named after the River Leach, which joined the Thames near St John's Locks, and sits on a flat plain - and is these days surrounded by numerous lakes that were former gravel extraction pits.

From here I am heading to Swindon for the night (ahead of a train home tomorrow) - and with a bit of time to kill before my bus arrives, set off to get some food - and then settle down, and wait for the bus to appear.

Total Distance:  15.7 miles (15.5 miles on the Thames Path)

Total Ascent: 102 feet (92 feet on the Thames Path)

Enjoyment Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ ★ / 5

Click for the adjoining sections of the Thames Path from Newbridge to Oxford.

Disclaimer: This writeup provides a narrative of what to expect rather than a route guide to follow. The route is covered by the 163 and 164 OS Landranger maps - while there is also a Thames Path guidebook which includes OS mapping (links redirect to Amazon). The route is in general well way-marked, and very easy to follow