When I read in my Cicerone Thames Guidebook that the path from Staines to Windsor was 7 miles I knew it probably wouldn't be possible for me to walk that far. Not just because of the 7-mile thing but I knew I would be having a major stop along the way. With a bit of research, I discovered there was a bus running between Old Windsor and Windsor so decided to make Old Windsor my goal. So the night before I booked my train ticket to Staines and then back from Windsor.
So on Tuesday May 8th off I went...
From Staines railway station I made my way to the riverside...retracing my footsteps from my arrival in Staines the month before for a few hundred metres. Here is a statue of a Swanmaster. Back in the 12th century, the Crown owned all the Mute swans in the land. Apparently, they are delicious! Although nowadays they are not eaten of course. The Crown still owns all Mute swans in open water and in early July the Swan Master and his team of Swan Uppers row along the Thames for five days counting and measuring the Cygnet ("baby swan") population.
The London Stone in Staines (or Staines-on-Thames as it is formally known) marked the upstream boundary of the water rights of London. (this of course is no longer valid) This stone has been moved around but is back in its original place as of 2012.
And we're off! The bridge coming up is Staines bridge and I will be crossing over and walking on the other side of the Thames. There has been a bridge here since Roman times but this one was built in 1932. I passed by a couple of nice pubs along the way - too bad it's 10:30 in the morning!
Here's the view as I cross the bridge...not bad, not bad. The way I am doing the Thames Path - at least so far (this will change once I base out of Oxford and beyond) is that I can enjoy the path on a lovely day as I plan it around the weather.
And here we are on the other side and ready to get into stride.
I love paths like this!
Remember how I said I would be making a stop along the way? Here's a hint!
Yep, Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed by King John some 800 years ago in 1215. These were beautiful murals on a building along the path.
Bell Weir Lock - lots of locks along the Thames..
Who wouldn't love walking along here? It was lovely and pastoral but reminders of civilization were around such as walking under the M25 motorway bridge and being under the flight path for Heathrow for the entire walk.
At this point I was in the area..okay touristy area...where there was an ice cream kiosk (another 99 flake ice cream met its demise.) and toilets. I must say this walk was very kind to my bladder with a hotel right on the Thames Path, loos in this park and then Runnymede. After a sit down with my ice cream (early lunch) I was off again.
I followed the water around and then started a bit of a confusing time...do I cross over now or wait? There were a couple of places I could have crossed but I figured that would be if I wanted to visit the Air Forces War Memorial. With family having been in the RAF I would have done that if it only hadn't been at the top of a hill. I thought surely they would have a safer place to cross and sure enough there was a crossing with traffic lights with a building with a canteen and a few souvenirs on the other side. There was a volunteer standing nearby so I asked him about buses to Windsor. He said why would you take a bus to Windsor when it's not that far? I said because I've walked from Staines and I'm tired. "Staines isn't that far from here" and he laughed. I made the mistake of asking if there was a "sidewalk" (they are called "pavement" in the UK) to Old Windsor. He mocked me for saying that and a few other expressions I had. He then proceeded to say "you Americans" a couple of times and I tried to tell him I was NOT an American but he kept talking and ignoring me. I guess with the JFK memorial there a lot of Americans visit but still....all I wanted to know was if there was a bus stop nearby. Anyway giving up I headed off to see the John Kennedy memorial.
Here is the beautiful Magna Carta memorial which was built by the American Law Association.
This memorial was completed in 1957 and has had changes made to it over the years. The latest was in 2015 when wooden benches were replaced with stone benches. It really is beautiful.
This sculpture is called The Jurors with each chair representing a past or present struggle for freedom - it was commissioned to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015.
Visitors are invited to sit down on the chairs to reflect on freedom and what it means to them.
I headed back to the visitor centre where the same guide was there. He mentioned to another fellow there that I was wanting to take a bus. "This American walked from Staines and needs a bus" - "I'M CANADIAN" I said again in a louder voice and this time he heard me. He did apologize. The visitor said Staines was a fair distance on the path (so there, you tosser!) and that Windsor was quite a long way to walk yet. I mentioned I was trying to get to The Bells of Ouzeley pub as I knew there was a bus stop there. (note: there is NO bus that runs by Runnymede...now you know...) As I had no clue where the pub was I followed their directions and left the path walking along a sidewalk where ten minutes later I found myself at the pub. I had a light lunch (meh....it wasn't to be my last visit due to its good location but not recommended) and then decided to walk the part of the Thames Path I had missed. Okay you can call me crazy...I like to call it dedicated. So I headed north on the path and got to the place where I had left it and then turned around and walked back.
Walking on the path back into Old Windsor....
I sat by a bench on the river until the bus was due but it was running late - twenty minutes late as it turned out. Anyway it finally turned up - the #8 bus runs between Heathrow airport and Slough stopping at Staines, Old Windsor, Datchet and Windsor along the way.
FYI...I ended up buying that tin of tea on the right at a shop here in my hometown - for $4.99. It cost much more than that in the Windsor and London shops! I decided I wanted a momento of the wedding that I was in the UK for and what better (for me, anyway) than a tea caddy!
This is the main shopping area. I had a bit of a fright as a fellow rushed by and got his arm caught in my backpack belt that was now hanging loose. He nearly pulled me over and I thought I was being robbed. I let out a loud yell that certainly attracted attention and the fellow apologized and made sure I was okay. That got the adrenaline going!
Windsor Castle
Windsor was tourist central so after looking around for less than an hour I was off to the railway station and headed back to Streatham. According to my Garmin watch I walked 15 km which was just right! Another great day on the Thames!
So on Tuesday May 8th off I went...
From Staines railway station I made my way to the riverside...retracing my footsteps from my arrival in Staines the month before for a few hundred metres. Here is a statue of a Swanmaster. Back in the 12th century, the Crown owned all the Mute swans in the land. Apparently, they are delicious! Although nowadays they are not eaten of course. The Crown still owns all Mute swans in open water and in early July the Swan Master and his team of Swan Uppers row along the Thames for five days counting and measuring the Cygnet ("baby swan") population.
The London Stone in Staines (or Staines-on-Thames as it is formally known) marked the upstream boundary of the water rights of London. (this of course is no longer valid) This stone has been moved around but is back in its original place as of 2012.
And we're off! The bridge coming up is Staines bridge and I will be crossing over and walking on the other side of the Thames. There has been a bridge here since Roman times but this one was built in 1932. I passed by a couple of nice pubs along the way - too bad it's 10:30 in the morning!
Here's the view as I cross the bridge...not bad, not bad. The way I am doing the Thames Path - at least so far (this will change once I base out of Oxford and beyond) is that I can enjoy the path on a lovely day as I plan it around the weather.
And here we are on the other side and ready to get into stride.
I love paths like this!
Remember how I said I would be making a stop along the way? Here's a hint!
Yep, Runnymede where the Magna Carta was signed by King John some 800 years ago in 1215. These were beautiful murals on a building along the path.
Bell Weir Lock - lots of locks along the Thames..
Who wouldn't love walking along here? It was lovely and pastoral but reminders of civilization were around such as walking under the M25 motorway bridge and being under the flight path for Heathrow for the entire walk.
At this point I was in the area..okay touristy area...where there was an ice cream kiosk (another 99 flake ice cream met its demise.) and toilets. I must say this walk was very kind to my bladder with a hotel right on the Thames Path, loos in this park and then Runnymede. After a sit down with my ice cream (early lunch) I was off again.
I followed the water around and then started a bit of a confusing time...do I cross over now or wait? There were a couple of places I could have crossed but I figured that would be if I wanted to visit the Air Forces War Memorial. With family having been in the RAF I would have done that if it only hadn't been at the top of a hill. I thought surely they would have a safer place to cross and sure enough there was a crossing with traffic lights with a building with a canteen and a few souvenirs on the other side. There was a volunteer standing nearby so I asked him about buses to Windsor. He said why would you take a bus to Windsor when it's not that far? I said because I've walked from Staines and I'm tired. "Staines isn't that far from here" and he laughed. I made the mistake of asking if there was a "sidewalk" (they are called "pavement" in the UK) to Old Windsor. He mocked me for saying that and a few other expressions I had. He then proceeded to say "you Americans" a couple of times and I tried to tell him I was NOT an American but he kept talking and ignoring me. I guess with the JFK memorial there a lot of Americans visit but still....all I wanted to know was if there was a bus stop nearby. Anyway giving up I headed off to see the John Kennedy memorial.
Here is the beautiful Magna Carta memorial which was built by the American Law Association.
This memorial was completed in 1957 and has had changes made to it over the years. The latest was in 2015 when wooden benches were replaced with stone benches. It really is beautiful.
This sculpture is called The Jurors with each chair representing a past or present struggle for freedom - it was commissioned to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015.
Visitors are invited to sit down on the chairs to reflect on freedom and what it means to them.
I headed back to the visitor centre where the same guide was there. He mentioned to another fellow there that I was wanting to take a bus. "This American walked from Staines and needs a bus" - "I'M CANADIAN" I said again in a louder voice and this time he heard me. He did apologize. The visitor said Staines was a fair distance on the path (so there, you tosser!) and that Windsor was quite a long way to walk yet. I mentioned I was trying to get to The Bells of Ouzeley pub as I knew there was a bus stop there. (note: there is NO bus that runs by Runnymede...now you know...) As I had no clue where the pub was I followed their directions and left the path walking along a sidewalk where ten minutes later I found myself at the pub. I had a light lunch (meh....it wasn't to be my last visit due to its good location but not recommended) and then decided to walk the part of the Thames Path I had missed. Okay you can call me crazy...I like to call it dedicated. So I headed north on the path and got to the place where I had left it and then turned around and walked back.
Walking on the path back into Old Windsor....
I sat by a bench on the river until the bus was due but it was running late - twenty minutes late as it turned out. Anyway it finally turned up - the #8 bus runs between Heathrow airport and Slough stopping at Staines, Old Windsor, Datchet and Windsor along the way.
FYI...I ended up buying that tin of tea on the right at a shop here in my hometown - for $4.99. It cost much more than that in the Windsor and London shops! I decided I wanted a momento of the wedding that I was in the UK for and what better (for me, anyway) than a tea caddy!
This is the main shopping area. I had a bit of a fright as a fellow rushed by and got his arm caught in my backpack belt that was now hanging loose. He nearly pulled me over and I thought I was being robbed. I let out a loud yell that certainly attracted attention and the fellow apologized and made sure I was okay. That got the adrenaline going!
Windsor Castle
Windsor was tourist central so after looking around for less than an hour I was off to the railway station and headed back to Streatham. According to my Garmin watch I walked 15 km which was just right! Another great day on the Thames!
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