map

Day 4: Wednesday 2 August. Goring to Watlington (14 miles)

Rose cooked us a huge breakfast including eggs from her own hens in the garden. The packed lunch she provided was the best yet as well, with tomatoes from the garden.

We were walking by 9:00. We followed the river Thames for a while, which made a refreshing change. There were loads of water birds including heron, Bewick Swan, Great Crested Grebe, Canada Geese (loads), ducks. We also saw some Red Kites.

Our guide was quite old (1989) and did not mention the Wallingford bypass where we turned away from the river. The path was well signed, so it was not a problem. We followed Grim's Ditch for a while, and began to climb the Chilterns.

We found a water point [660872]. This was not marked, and we didn't really need it, but drank from it and refilled the bottles anyway as it was there.

We stopped to eat our packed lunch just south of Nuffield. We are definitely eating well this week! From there, through the golf course, and as we had made such good time, we stopped for a pint at the Crown PH.

The way becomes more hilly as we enter the Chilterns. There are a lot more trees as well; beech, ash, elder. We also saw a lot more Red Kites. We counted 8 in the sky at one point.

We arrived at the Carriers PH in Watlington at 4:30 and had a pint before phoning the B&B for a lift to The Cornerstones B&B in Chalgrove.

The B&B room was a bit cramped for the two of us, so we showered and left for the village soon after arriving. The B&B could not supply packed lunches either, so we decided to buy some rolls and things from the village shop to make our own.

We then went to The Red Lion PH for our evening meal. Richard - lamb, potato & vegetables. Hil - roast vegetable salad and coffee. We had a fair amount of wine that evening, it definitely helps!

We were looking forward to Richard's mum joining us the next day. She intended to walk with us as far as Princes Risborough at least. We intended to get as far as Wendover Station and then get the train back to Aylesbury. That would leave us quite a short walk for our final day.