Trips 1st & 2nd July – Thames Path & Camel Trail

 Trips 1st & 2nd July – Thames Path & Camel Trail

1st July – Thames Path in very rural Oxfordshire

After a tough week at work (hot weather, broken AC, short formations) I wanted a nice walk to get back to nature.   I decided it would be a good chance to head towards Gloucestershire to walk the long section of the Thames Path from Lechlade (On Thames) towards Newbridge, linking up with the walk I did in April.  Like the walk in April when I was first planning this walk a couple of years ago, the bus service has thankfully improved with a limited service from Swindon (rather than just a limited Highworth – Cirencester bus service).

The day began with a drive to Salisbury, and onto a Bristol bound 166218 to Westbury, where I changed onto 158766 bound for Swindon, a short delay gaining access to the Melksham line but otherwise an uneventful trip to Wiltshire.  I left the railway station, heading towards the modern bus station, otherwise known as bus stops & shelters alongside various roads close to the previous bus station, somewhere which is fine for locals who know which of the various bus stands they need to head to, but with limited information on display it can be a bit confusing for first time visitors.  As well with the shelter alongside the “J” stops being a bit smelly like someone had been inside smoking drugs.

158766 at Swindon Station

The Pulhams route 64 for Witney was running around 20 minutes late due to roadworks, but it was a reasonably fast run away from Swindon, going via Highworth to reach Lechlade on Thames, where my walk began, making my way back towards the Thames from the bus stop within the small town centre, pausing due to following school children heading on a trip to the meadows (I presume for art lessons).  Once I passed the school children as they settled down on the grass I headed east, passing the Father Thames statue from the Crystal Palace at St John's Lock (making use of a nearby toilet block for a quick visit), before going underneath the A417 and towards the wilderness.  This part of the Thames is very curvy as it meanders its way through the countryside, the Thames Path crossing over to the opposite bank (river on my right hand side) with a footbridge I was a bit worried about as Strava had it marked as closed (but seems the data is wrong and it was very much open).

The path was as expected very rural, not one to do during winter months nor after heavy rain.  I continued the stroll passing Buscot Lock heading towards Radcot, enjoying the sunny countryside.  The path flipped sides again in the tiny settlement of Radcot, which was busy with moored boats & a camp site on the 'north bank'.  Part of this section wasn't the nicest to walk as the field had been cut with the ground covered with long grass, a bit slippery in places.  Another section where the Thames was very bendy, although the Thames Path was mostly straight, moving away from the river a few times, with fishermen on the north bank.

Thames Path between Buscot Lock & Grafton Lock

At Rushey Lock the path once again crosses the river to run along the north bank along an access road toward the lock (with the river mostly hidden from view), this headed towards Tadpole Bridge, passing a busy remote pub (The Trout).  My walk continued with some more countryside views mixed up with some woods however this section was the worse in terms of being a bit overgrown with thorn bushes & nettles.  Ready to pounce on any exposed skin, my water bottle coming in handy to help push aside some of the thorns, I was glad when the path opened up a bit more near Chimney Meadows where I reached the Shifford Lock Cut with the original river heading towards Duxford.  I crossed over the river into some more woodland, the river disappearing from view for a good half mile (hidden by trees and with the path moving a bit more inland).

I guess there must be some sort of RAF base in this general area, owing to the number of military aircraft I saw in the sky, a good walk for those who like to spot military aircraft.  Anyhow the woodland gave way to open fields with another section of bends, passing the path leading to Harrowdown Hill before I made the final push with my walk ending in the small settlement of Newbridge with a choice of pubs (The Maybush on the south bank, Rose Revived on the north bank), although as I had around 10 minutes before the next Oxford bound bus I didn't visit either (had I faced a longer wait I would have popped into for a cold soft drink).

River Thames (Isis) between Tadpole Bridge & Tenfoot Bridge

An enjoyable walk in the countryside, other than a couple of parts which were hard going, lots of sunshine & wildlife.  It was onto the Oxford Bus Company run X15 service which I took a couple of stops to Kingston Bagpuize, swinging via the Co-Op only to find it being quite bare boned, before jumping on a late running Stagecoach run S6 service to Osney Island in Oxford (the temporary bus terminus whilst the road bridge at the station is still closed), this one goes more direct to Oxford compared with the X15 which goes a more indirect route taking over an hour.  A fast walk to Oxford station where I arrived in time for a Reading bound XC service which ended up losing 15 minutes due to congestion, with 220006 being very busy on departure (didn’t help the following Paddington service was cancelled).  At Reading it was a short walk to board 165106 on the stopping service to Basingstoke, losing enough time to miss the connection for a Salisbury bound service at Basingstoke giving me 25 minutes to pop to Sainsburys for some supplies & dinner before taking 159107 & 159018 to Salisbury where I drove home.

2nd July – Bodmin & The Camel Trail

The Camel Trail is the name given to the former railway line path running from Padstow towards Wadebridge & Bodmin with a branch heading towards the small settlement of Wenford Bridge, a walk I split into two sections owing to the awkwardness of getting towards Wenford Bridge as it’s not served by many buses (and even those buses require a near mile walk along country lanes to reach).  The day began with a drive to Salisbury to catch the 07:39 service towards Exeter Central with 159003 & 159005 where I visited the nearby Co-Op for some lunch items before taking 166204 down the hill to Exeter St Davids.  This is where my plans changed as my original idea was to take the service which started at Exeter heading towards Penzance for my first 175 for many a year, but that was cancelled so it was onto 802114 from London to take me to Bodmin Parkway.  Another change of plan as I was going to bail at Liskeard to take the Camelford bus from Liskeard but as I had extra time I decided on a little stroll.

Leaving Bodmin Parkway station, I followed the signs for the path towards Lanhydrock.  Some nice woodland on this tarmac path, as I followed another twisty path into some hilly woodland with signposted of the "Timber Trail".  A short section along a road took me towards cycle route 3 on a section which runs parallel to a busy road, crossing the A30 Bodmin Bypass on a suspension bridge and into some more nice woodland.

37175 at Exeter St Davids

This took me to Respryn Road, a dead-end road (has an emergency access gate with the dual carriageway) taking me towards the southern reach of Bodmin, with a detour along another short cycle path to reach Lostwithiel Road to avoid a busy section of pavementless road.  This road took me towards Bodmin town centre, passing the heritage line railway station, detouring via Priory Park.  After a visit to the town centre I decided as I still had time to make a small start with the Camel Trail, passing the former Bodmin Jail (now a posh hotel) on the railway line path heading towards Dunmere and an access point at the former station, and to a bus stop outside the Borough Arms pub.

The Camelford bus (a Transport for Cornwall route 55) was running late, and was a double decker (I guess for a school run afterwards), this was a reasonably fast run along the B3266 road detouring via St Tudy where I alighted from the bus at the bus stop at Penhale Crossroads where my second walk of the day began.  Following the country lanes towards Wenford Bridge, crossing sides of the road to protect myself on bends I soon reached the bridge over the Camel and onto the former freight line.

Priory Park, Bodmin

This was a treat for beautiful woodland & views along a decent tarmac path as I headed south on this rural path with some small settlements along the way, such as Keybridge, Tresarrett & Hellandbridge.  I was enjoying the sound of the river running close by as well as the birds.  Part of the route went via the Shell Woods and was beautiful.  I was making good progress along the busy path (cyclists, dog walkers & occasional jogger), but I suspect as this is more remote it's less used compared with the main route towards Padstow (which does benefit from more buses).

All good things come to an end as I reached Dunmere once more, meeting up with the path from Bodmin and heading to the bus stop on the A389 road near the former station, getting lucky with a late running bus from Padstow, a case of fast walking up the hill turning around every few seconds to make sure I didn't miss the bus.  Thankfully I made it to the bus stop before the route 57 arrived which was a busy bus bound for Liskeard, which I took to Bodmin Parkway station, one of these days I will do the section between Parkway station & Liskeard, but when I have a bit more time.

Remains of platform at Dunmere Halt Station on the Camel Trail

At Bodmin Parkway I had a short wait before an Exeter St Davids bound 800031 rolled in from Penzance to take me towards Exeter, looking out of the window at the views in Cornwall & also the sea near Dawlish.  At Exeter St Davids I walked up the hill to the Co-Op which was quite bare boned in both food & also drink items, managing to grab something I would enjoy (and a bottle of 7Up).  I made my way to Exeter Central and onto a late running 159002 & 159019 which I took down the hill to St Davids where it turned back on platform 1 to head back towards Salisbury arriving near enough on time.

Another enjoyable day in Cornwall, the walk from Bodmin Parkway into Bodmin was unexpected but was nice and the section of the Camel Trail was beautiful, I can’t wait to walk the section towards Padstow (probably then for a bus to Newquay to attempt to do that new loop & platform on that line).  As always thanks for reading, more photos can be found on my Flickr *Here*, keep safe.