Across The River Thames

THE THAMES PATH – DAY 8: Thursday 23 July 2026 – WALLINGFORD to PANGBOURNE (11.3 miles)

The Goring Gap – where the Thames cut through the chalk hills during the last Ice Age

The settlement of Wallingford has a long history, and was the likely Thames crossing point for William the Conqueror in 1066 on his circuitous (and largely bloodless) march on London following the Battle of Hastings. It was here that Stigand, the Anglo-Saxon Archbishop, surrendered to William, and where the monarch-to-be went on to build Wallingford Castle to guard the strategic river crossing. For our part – and not too far short of a full millennium later – this pleasant riverside market town provided Rachel and I with a chance to wind down from yesterday’s long trek over a welcome dinner in The Old Post Office on the Market Square before an overnight stay in The Town Arms. And we arose this morning to another fine day and a quick breakfast ahead of our next section of the Thames Path, downstream to Pangbourne.

Leaving Wallingford southwards on the west bank of the Thames we followed the trail to Streatley, then crossing the Thames for a picnic lunch in Goring-on-Thames ahead of the final few miles to Pangbourne

Sunset last night, across the River Thames, at Wallingford

Having followed the meandering Thames now for a walking week, today we reached a major topographical barrier – the Goring Gap where the line of hills that comprise the North Wessex Downs to the west face off against the Chiltern Hills as they arise eastward from the river on the opposite bank. The Ridgeway Path (that I walked in November 2023) also crosses the Thames at Goring on its route along the tops of the two ranges, but today our interest lay in the Thames as its waters cut their way through these chalk uplands before turning once more to the east. South of Goring the Thames Path rises to its highest point, as the trail ascends the steep slope to the east and enters into beech-woods that are quite familiar to us Chiltern-dwellers. Hence we enjoyed a varied walking day – here are some of the highlights.

In search of breakfast in Wallingford first thing this morning . . .

. . . before setting out along the trail, suitably refreshed . . .

. . . as the Path crosses the back gardens of some fine houses

. . . and training completed at the Oxford Brookes University Rowing Club

World War II pillboxes, this one near Cholsey, are a common feature of the Thames Path, strategically located at key points by the riverside . . .

Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s skew-brick Great Western railway bridge crosses the Thames just north of Moulsford

Setting off again after a coffee break at The Beetle & Wedge in Moulsford

The verdant riverside, as we neared the Goring Gap . . .

. . . before a short diversion from the Thames took us into the small town of Streatley – where at St Mary’s Church there is a blue plaque to Lewis Carroll (who, they say, preached here in 1864)

Back under the railway, where another of Brunel’s Great Western masterworks has been joined later by a pillbox . . .

. . . whilst at nearby Gatehampton Manor these fine horses search for a little nourishment from the parched grass

. . . as the Path begins to climb up the Hartley Steps and into the beech-woods

We met up with the river once more after descending into Whitchurch-on-Thames, where works are afoot on the parish church

The tollgate on the bridge from Whitchurch, across to Pangbourne, allows pedestrians to pass for free nowadays . . .

. . . although that was not always the case

Looking back over Whitchurch from the Thames bridge . . .

. . . from whence jumping is expressly prohibited (by an Order completely lost on the local kids)

Goodbye for now – but Rachel and I will be back for more walking on the Thames Path soon!

Today’s destination of Pangbourne marks the approximate halfway point of the Thames Path walk: we have now covered 88.3 miles of the 184 ‘official’ mileage of this National Trail from the source of the Thames to its outlet into the North Sea at the Thames Barrier. In actual fact our exertions have entailed a total of 117 miles on foot to date, once diversions, accommodation finding, and evening strolls are added to the distances along the Path itself. We are now in our fourth county, having crossed into Berkshire at the end of today, after traversing, so far, parts of Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. We hope to return shortly for our onward trek along the Thames, to Reading and beyond, and I hope to be back with the next update shortly.

Today’s Blog heading ‘Across the River Thames’ is taken from the title of an upbeat but perhaps little-known number by (Sir) Elton John, scheduled for his 2006 album ‘The Captain & The Kid’ but left off the work except as a ‘bonus track’ on the UK edition. As with all the songs on the album the music was written by Elton alongside his long-time lyricist collaborator Bernie Taupin, and album was intended as a second autobiographical chronicle by the pair (picking up where ‘Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy’ left off some three decades earlier) and the pair feature on the cover, marking the first such appearance by Taupin. As for the song itself, the lyrics reference the sights of London and Elton’s upbringing in Middlesex, whilst the chorus line ‘And the fog still rolled across the River Thames’ alludes to a somewhat cooler season than Rachel and I experienced on the Thames Path today.

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