Stage 10 - Swinford Bridge to Lechlade - 14th July 2024
- John Tippetts
- Jul 21, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 9
Stage 10 of my 2024 Thames Path challenge to walk from the sea at Grain to the Source near Kemble in 11 stages. 23.76 miles today from Swinford Bridge at Eynsham to Lechlade. It’s a long walk but I’ve done it before so knew it was well within my capabilities.
I knew today would be a long day, so I’d need an early start. However, I never expected it would be as long as it turned out to be. After getting up at 5:15 and driving 65 miles to the Seacourt Park & Ride car park in Oxford, by 7:20 I was waiting at the bus stop for the E1 back to Swinford Bridge. By 7:35 I was back down by the river heading towards Newbridge.
By 10:30 I was sitting by the river at The Rose Revived with a coffee for my first break of the day. Considering the number of times I’d stopped to take pictures with my drone, I’d made really good progress.
Beyond Newbridge, I didn't desperately enjoy Chimney Meadows this year as the path was quite overgrown in places & uneven.
I reached Tadpole Bridge at 13:00. By then I’d completed 13½ miles so was still doing well. I stopped off at The Trout for a pint and surreptitiously ate my shop-bought sandwich in the beer garden. After a half hour break I carried on towards Lechlade.
Progress in the afternoon wasn’t as fast as it had been in the morning but I wasn't too fussed as I was enjoying my walk.
By 18:00 I reached Lechlade. Then the fun started. My plan for getting back to my car in Oxford had always been to get a taxi to Faringdon from where I’d catch the S6 bus into the city. All being well, I’d be back home in front of the telly for the start of the Euro 2024 final. Unlike Lechlade which has no buses on a Sunday, the S6 from Faringdon runs at 30 minute intervals for much of the day, reducing to hourly after 18:15. I’d used this method on a number of previous occasions, so saw no reason why today should be any different.
The thing is, today was different from previous occasions. Today was the final of the UEFA Euro 2024 competition between England and Spain. Today was also the final day of FollyFest 2024 in Faringdon. FollyFest is the town’s annual music and community arts festival which takes place in the market place.
I began phoning for taxis. I had a couple of numbers in my phone of firms I’d used before. No answer! I then did a google search and tried a few more different numbers. Again, no answer. I finally widened my google search further and tried a couple more numbers. No answer! I assumed that taxi drivers were putting watching the football on telly ahead of earning some money from a fare, plus it was a Sunday.
I made up my mind there was nothing else for it but to walk the 6½ miles along the A417 to Faringdon. This road is normally quite busy but thankfully tonight it was quiet (people staying in to watch the football maybe?), so I could walk on the road most of the way rather than the hit-and-miss grass verges. I could see from the timetable that there would be a bus at 20:14. Goodness knows where I got the energy from but by 20:00 I reached Faringdon.
I walked to the bus stop in the market place. It had a notice on it saying that due to FollyFest, buses were going to be rerouted from the town centre until 18:00. Fine I thought. That means the 20:14 bus will stop here. Needless to say, the bus didn’t turn up. The next one was due at 21:14 but I wasn’t going to risk waiting here for it, so I walked to the stop where I knew the diverted buses would stop. Thankfully the bus turned up on time!
The bus got me back to Seacourt P&R just before 22:00. I was tired, hungry and had missed the football – which was no big deal in the end as we lost. There’s a McDonalds opposite the P&R so I bought a meal from there – never has a McDonalds tasted so good! I then drove home, arriving back just before midnight. Looking at my FitBit stats for today, I’d walked further than I’ve ever walked before in one day – more than 32 miles. I could afford a day off tomorrow!
Comments