Pete's Walks - Hambleden, Stonor, Henley (page 5 of 5)
On the far (Berkshire) side of the bridge, I turned left and started following the riverside path northwards. There were lots of empty marquees here, presumably not yet removed after the recently finished Henley Regatta. There was a surfaced path all along this bank of the river, although there was usually grass to walk on too. I was pleased to spot some Orange Balsam here, as it's one of the few places I remember seeing it (the river Chess at Chenies Mill is the other site that springs to mind). I also saw some Purple Loosestrife, which as it's another waterside plant I don't see often. I passed Remenham Farm, and after about a mile I reached Temple Island. I was now passing the site of this weekend's Rewind Festival (for 19880s bands - one of my work colleagues would love it), where there were large numbers of tents and yurts erected for the festival goers.
The path beside the Thames
The path beside the Thames
The path beside the Thames
The entrance to the Rewind Festival
Temple Island
The path beside the Thames (and some of the numerous tents set up for visitors to the Rewind Festival)
Shortly beyond Temple Island the Thames started to curve eastwards (right). A little further on I reached Hambleden Lock, where I had to wait a few minutes for some small boats to enter the lock before the gates were closed and I could cross over. A long footbridge then led over some weirs in the river to Mill End. Beyond the mill a path went between two houses to reach the A4155 at a road junction. I crossed over and headed north on the minor road that runs through the Hambleden Valley. After about a quarter of a mile, immediately beyond a lane junction, a footpath started on the right, running almost parallel with the road through a large sheep pasture. The course of the Hamble brook was just to my right, but it was completely dry here. After several hundred yards I went through a gate and crossed a farm track, the path continuing northwards through another very large sheep pasture, now with water in the brook to my right. On the far side I went through a gate and turned right over a bridge over the stream, re-entering the charming village of Hambleden. I was soon in the village centre, with the car park down a short street on the right.
The Thames curving westwards after Temple Island
Hambleden Lock
The footbridge across the Thames at Mill End
The footbridge across the Thames at Mill End
Mallard feeding in the water above a weir at Mill End
The first sheep pasture along the path to Hambleden
Approaching Hambleden, in the second sheep pasture
The Hamble brook at Hambleden (another chalk stream, like the river Misbourne I saw on my previous walk)
After doing the walk, I was quite surprised to discover that it was 10 years since I first did it, for some reason it's stuck in my memory and I thought I'd walked it only six or seven years ago. But at least I don't feel quite so bad now about the fact it took me 30 minutes longer (5 hours 45 minutes) this time! This was a really good walk, incorporating two of my favourite paths in the Chilterns (the one from Southend through Stonor Park and the one from Coxlease Farm to Middle Assendon). The mainly wooded paths between Hambleden and Southend were fine too. My least favourite part of the walk was the section along the Thames, though walking along such a sizable river was quite a novelty for me. There were quite a lot of other people about here, and the site of the music festival was a bit of an eyesore. So I really should do this walk again at a different time of year, avoiding both the Henley Regatta and the Rewind Festival.