I've now walked the Thames Path 4 times. This year was the toughest due to my foot injury which plagued me throughout the challenge. However, this made my arrival at the finish in Grain on a sunny afternoon all the more special.
Once again, a huge "Thank you!" to everyone who supported me and donated to my chosen charity - Royal Papworth Hospital Charity. You helped me raise a lot more than I was hoping for. I raised £831 for the charity in the end and formally handed this amount over at the hospital.
Thank you also to Samantha Civil, owner of Rushden Podiatry who diagnosed and treated my achilles and foot injuries, enabling me to complete my challenge!
With a little artistic licence I've put together the following video covering the start of this year's challenge on a misty May morning through to my arrival at the sea in August.
The England Coast Path (ECP) section of the river from Woolwich to the sea reflects how the river is used today. Containerisation of sea freight led to the final closure of all London's docks by 1981 because the river just wasn't deep enough to accommodate the huge container ships. The landscape of the ECP section is also completely different, being mainly marshland. Whilst this section may not have the pretty locks and villages of the Thames Path, I find it fascinating for what it does have. Chapters 1 & 2 of the video cover the Thames Path section and chapters 3 & 4 cover the ECP section.
The video looks best if you're able to change your YouTube quality settings to 2160p/4K.
And finally, I think this will be the last time I walk the Thames end to end but wouldn't it be a great challenge to walk it in 13 or even 12 rather than 14 stages! 😃
UPDATE April 2024. I've decided I do want to challenge myself to walk Sea to Source this year in 12 stages. Plan to start in June.
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