I was hoping to get in a couple of stretches of the Thames Path over Easter but due to various commitments I did not get a chance until the Sunday, and Easter Monday looked like it might be a wash out due to the remains of hurricane Kate passing through. The clocks went forward so I lost an hour, but I was still in Windsor by 09:45, to catch the 10:12 train to Staines. The car park at Windsor station is a bit of a ball ache after I had rustled up enough change for the meter after poking around under the car seats, I fond out that the reason there was a queue at the machine was because it was credit card only and the slowest machine in the world.
Finally when I got to the station and had purchased my ticket (£4.40) I found out the train was cancelled, luckily the next train at 10:23 was fast one so little time was lost. The weather was clear and great for taking photos, but there was a brisk breeze and a chill in the air, so I was happy to sit on the train for 20 minutes before it left the station. The forecast was for heavy showers so I had my poncho with me as well as my camera bag to keep things dry.
Today’s walk would be less than the usual 10 mile minimum, but the next convenient stage would be Maidenhead, but that would be a 15 miler, tempting but the boat race was on and with the prospect of a choppy river due to the wind I wanted to watch it on TV. It was ironic that the race was on and I would be walking a different direction, with a bit of planning it might have been an experience to walk the race section with all the crowds about.
The day would be a mix of sun and rain, which I was soon reminded of when a downpour had me sheltering with some team supporters of people doing the Devises to Westminster canoe race. The sun soon came out and dried my poncho. On the way I saw some parakeets and a kingfisher flying away, then amazingly I saw an eagle owl in a cage in someone’s back garden.
I was caught out again after a bridge crossing at Windsor great park. It really lashed down with hail and everything, the poncho provided little protection and neither was there any around, so I plodded on until Datchet where it stopped and I popped in for a coffee and sandwich at the Costa coffee. It was 14:00 so time was a bit tight for the boat race, I had an hour to get to Windsor, so I did not linger too long at the coffee shop. Despite more rain I would have to walk through it.
It was not far to the station and my parked car. The traffic on the way home was quite busy so rather than M25 I peeled off onto the M40 and went via Beaconsfield. I was back in good time for the boat race but I missed the women’s race which was the one to watch as one of the crews nearly sank.