Three in a row ... another dry day

Well a good night at my daughters and a short'ish day today, 14 miles to the Youth Hostel at Streatley. It was planned to be 16 but as I posted earlier the Thames path is flooded so I have to turn off the Ridgeway short of Wallingford where it meets the Icknield Way/Swans Way and follow that route into Goring. Loaded with a good breakfast and a cheese, ham and pickle baguette in my sac (my daughter insisted I took something for lunch though I normally just snack) I was dropped where I'd been picked up the previous day. Thankfully after only another mile 'down off the ridge' the Way turns left and heads once more to the hills. Added to that the fact that now the hordes of 'walkers', both of the dog variety and others, from the previous 2 days had now disappeared I was beginning to enjoy the walk again. Also gone was the blue sky of the day before, but I seemed to miss the rain that was apparently due, and so experienced another dry day, 3 in a row! Still masses of Red Kites about, and at one point I counted 11 above me, before I stopped for lunch at the Holy Trinity church at Nuffield.



Shortly after leaving there the Way follows the line of Grims Ditch, the origins of which seem unclear.



At the end of Grims Ditch, or at least that portion of it, I turned West to head along the Icknield Way to Goring, unfortunately not as scenic as the Thames path would have been, and a bit of a 'road slog' at times, but at least it wasn't under water. Arriving at Goring I could see for myself the flooding that had closed the Thames path.









Taking advantage of my earlier than planned arrival I popped into the local tea shop, and had a tea and cornish pasty, and a very tasty one too, definitely worth a stop for anyone doing the Way. Still far too early for the YH to be open, I headed for the John Barleycorn pub and allowed a couple of pints to while away the remaining time!