I have missed you all since I finished the Scottish Coast to Coast walk.
I thought I would dust down the faithfull boots and go for a training walk to see that I still have any energy left in these old legs of mine. Karen is manning an exhibition at the Landmark Art Fair in Teddington Lock, so Karen dropped me off at Twickenham rail station. The idea was that I would catch a train to Staines and walk back to Teddington along the Thames.
Now, by now dear reader, you will know that nothing goes smoothly when I decide to do anything. Today was no different you will be glad to hear. I was living in a bubble, and forgot that it was Royal Ascot this week. If you could chose a day when you wanted to get you and your dog onto a train bound for Ascot on Royal Ascot week, you would most probably choose another destination. Not me! Rufus was attracting many admiring looks and comments from the ensemble of top hatted men and gorgeously attired women. I was having to hold Rufus down so as to prevent him jumping up and leaving paw prints on their best frocks. However, after being unable to get on 3 trains in a row due to all trains being full to the brim with pissed toffs in their Sunday best, I was ready for plan B. This was quite simply, to let Rufus jump up at as many ladies as possible in the vain hope they woudl decide to go home to change, and leave a space on the next train for me and my dog.
I eventually got a train to Windor, not bound for Ascot, and at last, after a change, I was at Staines and ready for the off.
Using my phone to navigate to the Thames, I got underway at 11.00 and knew it would be 12 miles to Hampton Court, and dependant on the condition of my feet, another 6 miles to Teddington Lock. The weather was due to be awful, so I had all my waterproofs and spare layers. Again, I should have known better. This was me, and I carry my own eco climate around with me, so it was gorgeous all day.
You will be glad to know, it only took 5 minutes for Rufus to jump into the water!
It's those pesky ducks again!
I was impressed with the walk to be honest. I had karen telling me that Staines would be horrible, but I think you will agree that the images below show this section of the Thames to be very attractive:
All was good until I got to Shepperton, at which point, the entire Rive Gauche was in the posession of private land owners keen to own every square inch of land right down to their private moorings. At this point, I had to divert around the town until I could navigate back down to the river bank again. Y0u can see the cause of my inconvenient detour below! Alright for some eh?
By the time I was reaching the outskirts of London, you can see Rufus was starting to show the strain!
Eventually I arrived at Hampton Court, and was quite impressed by the grounds I walked through, and over into Bushy Park. I walked through several gardens, including the Rose Garden below:
It was getting late by now, and I had to get to Teddington by 6pm to meet Karen. The decision on whether to carry on to the end and do the full 18 miles was made when my phone died on me, and I had no choice but to carry on to the end as Karen had no way to contact me. As it happened, the final stretch from Hampton Court to Teddington Lock was really lovely and well worth the extra push.
All looking good, so I may do more of this tactic of catching trains and walking back. Rufus seems
to enjoy it also.
I will be in touch again on my next training walk.
Bye.
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