Fri 25th May - Wallingford to Dorchester

Another horrible hot day! Our friend Sue has been on many pilgrimages and has been telling us everyone has a 'down' day - well, today it was my turn! Although there was a bit more of a breeze today, it didn't feel like it at times. The couple who had given Sue a bed for the night walked with us on the first part of the walk which was easy riverside walking. With the sun beating down, we stopped for a break at Benson Lock. That was as far as Sue's friends were walking so we waved them goodbye and set off again. We had more walking through cow parsley with the muggy humid atmosphere to contend with. Then we approached Shillingford Bridge. It's a very elegant bridge and although we didn't see it, there is a sign showing it is exactly halfway between Windsor (where we were 7 days ago) and Cricklade (which we will reach in 6 days time). We did notice a plaque on a building near the bridge showing historic flood levels. I took a photo of Margaret stood against this plaque and needless to say the highest level was several feet above her head. Afer Shillingford we had another nasty detour along a main road for several hundred yards before we were able to return to the peace of the riverbank. I mentioned everyone has a bad day and it was my turn today. By this time I was getting very tired in the sunshine. My feet were complaining and I was wondering what I was doing trudging along in this heat. The map holder blew up into my face several times and I snapped at that point. I threw my walking poles to the ground and wrenched the map holder from around my neck and stuffed it into my pocket. We had just reached the point where the River Thames meets the River Thame which was where we left the Thames Path and headed for Dorchester. Not before time in my case as I had had enough by this point. However, we stopped for lunch under a shady tree and I was able to regain my composure. So much for a 'rest' day. The 5 miles we did today felt more like 15. We reached the hotel and once we had checked in I was so worn out I promptly had a 90 minute nap! I hope my body recovers overnight as we have got to the point now where the rest of the walk is in 10 mile stretches (Abingdon, Oxford, Bablock Hythe, Tadpole Bridge, Lechlade, Cricklade, Ewen). It feels like we are on the home straight now but I am just keeping my fingers crossed I can keep going over this last week.