The Thames drops only gently across the flat countryside. Meaning that the Locks are spaced quite a distance apart. So we walked for some way before encountering Clifton Lock, with it's "standard" design of Lock Keepers "office".

Just past Clifton Lock and we approached the "Chocolate Box Cover" village of Clifton Hampden, with it's famous bridge coming into view first.

My companion provided lots of interesting detail from her guide book about this wonderfully picturesque village as we wandered though looking for the famous Jerome K Jerome, Three Men In A Boat pub, the Barley Mow.

No, The Barley Mow is not this side of the river, but it was worth the detour and a quick visit to the very friendly village Post Office, (behind the van), where the kind lady told us where to go!

There it is! Under new management, but looking superb, and well worth the visit for a rather substantial Ploughmans Sandwich lunch washed down with a large glass of apfelschorle.

After lunch our path was to wind through a very large semi-circle in open countryside. Always by the Thames with it's busy boat traffic, which sometimes had to find their way past very large numbers of Canada Geese.

That evening we ate a "rustic" meal in a "rustic" pub, (The Plough), with customers speaking in a strong country dialect, or in accents from indeterminable parts of the UK. With locals playing an old pub game in the courtyard. Morning saw neither of us request being piped into breakfast, but the lift back to the Path did see us accompanied by bagpipes played at full blast: from the car CD, rather than from our host who was a member of the Oxfordshire bag pipe band! We soon left this pocket of old Britain behind and in lovely weather passed Shillingford Bridge.

The path crossed the Weir at Benson Lock over a long, narrow bridge as we continued the route by the Thames in warm and windy weather.

By now the weather was perfect for gentle walking. Deep blue skies and fluffy white clouds with a cooling breeze as the three of us ambled down the Thames Path. Passing many boat houses, maybe this was the most pleasant looking.

Our walk had taken us past many meadows, a number of which were being especially managed to retain their character. But perhaps none were more beautiful than this one as we got near to Moulsford.

The very warm and wet Spring weather had translated into sections of the Path that seemed more like we were walking next to the River Amazon, rather than the River Thames!

But no. This was really the River Thames. With the superb riverside Beatle and Wedge pub at Moulsford to stop for afternoon tea, as our "guide" read sections of the Thames Path book to us!

As we neared Goring the view along the Thames was superb. Lovely weather supplementing the various activities we had passed, from rowing eights being trained hard, to gentle sailing in small boats.

With boots tied to rucksac and sandals in hand some true "Northern Grit" was obvious as my companion of three days showed enormous determination to complete the section despite a very painful problem with one foot. I doubt many before her have walked significant distances on this Path wearing just a few pairs of socks on their feet!

Sadly this very colourful and inviting pub was the wrong side of the River Thames for us. Or our recently joined companion would surely have stopped for a few more cups of his favourite beverage. No, not local beer. But a decent cup of tea!

And so my three days walking ended as we left the Thames Path at Goring. Inset is the photo I had taken some weeks earlier that had inspired me to ask if I could join this walk. But it is the main picture that will give the best memories of those wonderful three days.