Pre-Blog: Anticipation

The weather in Europe is finally starting to show signs of spring so what better way to celebrate than to turn my attentions to this year's long distance walk.  It's not as if I have anything else to be concerned with....only moving into temporary accommodations while our furniture is being shipped to Tucson...a portion to the east coast as well.  Oh, and yes, we are leaving Europe after 14 years, the last 9 in Dusseldorf!  Did I forget to mention that Don will be retiring at the end of June...can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to a fixed income and someone ELSE in the house!  Rant over.

After last year's long and strenuous walk along Offa's Dyke Path in Wales, we have decided on a slightly longer but most certainly easier walk along the Thames River...now to be known as the TP walk.  The Thames Path follows the Thames River from it's source in the Cotswolds to it's mouth at the Thames Barrier some 197 miles or 315 kms later.



The origins of the Thames is a bit of a dispute but is generally considered to rise in a field called "Trewsbury Mead" a few miles from Cirencester and marked by a simple carved stone provided by the Thames Conservators.  

As you can see from the map above, the path starts in the scenic Cotswolds.  It  winds through Oxfordshire; the home of Oxford University, past the expansive royal Windsor, into the bustling city of  London and beyond to the Thames Barrier.  The path finally comes to an end, via the Thames Path extension, at Crawford Ness.

So, with flights and accommodations finally booked, I am truly looking forward to "The Gathering" in early July with the usually cast of characters for our annual long distance walk.  I hope we have a few joiners this year as we did last time.....the more the merrier!  This year with our walk in a more populated area, I expect we will have some better accommodations with some great food and drink  the closer we get to London. 

 Yumm...Yumm... 

Stay tuned.....