The Thames Path (Cicerone Guide)

by Leigh Hatts (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2000

  $3.25

  After many years of negotiation a long-distance walk along rights of way and permissive paths has finally opened up England's most famous river from the Thames Barrier to the source - marked by a stone under a lonely ash tree in the fields above Cricklade, in Gloucestershire. Following the river, this 180-mile walk not only crosses some marvellous countryside but is virtually a pageant of history. It passes the Millennium Dome, Runnymede of Magna Carta fame, Windsor Castle and the Oxford colleges to name just a few. Because of the ease of access those who may not wish to do the entire walk can easily tackle sections for ideal days out. There are sketch maps of each stage of the path and descriptions of the sights en route and their historical or literary connections.

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $3.40

  A guidebook to the Thames Path National Trail following the popular route from the Thames Barrier in London to the source of the Thames 180 miles away in rural Gloucestershire. The Thames Path towpath route, opened as a National Trail in 1996, has been improved by the addition of new footbridges and the creation of 20 miles of new riverside path. More than 90% of the Thames Path is either public footpath or bridleway. The Thames, once an important water highway, links a string of historic sites. In the capital there is Greenwich, the Houses of Parliament and Lambeth Palace. Hampton Court Palace lies just outside London, and before reaching Windsor there is riverside Runneymede where King John agreed to the Magna Carta. The water and towpath in the Upper Reaches can be both beautiful and lonely, with cormorants, herons and swans, as appreciated by Shelley and William Morris. The climax is the 22 miles of the infant Thames leading to a field with its often dry spring situated just below the Roman Fosse Way.