After finishing the Southern Upland Way a couple of weeks earlier, I set off to London to start the Thames Path which I knew would be less strenuous as it's mostly flat but the 2 walks couldn't have been more different, I saw it as a relaxing way to finish a busy summers walking. On the SUW I hardly saw another person every day, it was just me enjoying the peace and quiet and taking in the sights and sounds. On the Thames Path, it was very busy as you would expect apart from the last couple of days.
I had good weather mostly on the Thames Path, a couple of heavy showers on the first day and a wet morning heading into Oxford but I was in shorts every day, no ticks to worry about unlike the SUW.
I chose to walk towards the source rather than the other way because I felt like reaching the source was the end, there was no further to walk whereas walking the other way you reach the end at the flood barriers but that's not the end of the Thames, it goes on for many miles. If I ever did the full walk again however, I would do it the other way as I feel that the more scenic days were at the start and on the last 2 or 3 days it felt just like walking along any old riverside, there wasn't as much to look at. Doing it the other way would get the less interesting parts out of the way first.
I will certainly return to do the London sections again as they could be done any time of year, not just summer but after Oxford it's prone to flooding so it would be a good way of getting some easy walking done in Winter as public transport is good as you might expect.
Anyway, if you want to read my diary, you can do so by clicking the link below. Video coming soon...
http://www.brians-walks.co.uk/thames-path.html