Sandford Lock

Sunday dawned virtually cloudless, so after church we decided to continue our exploration of the Thames footpath. (Click link for satellite map view)

We picked it up from the Donnington Bridge and headed south past Iffley, in search of the Sandford Lock. We noticed that the water level of the river had definitely increased from last week-- we were not surprised! Once we passed under the bridge of the ring road, the vistas were decidedly more rural. It appears that fishing season opened this week, however, because there were quite a few fishermen out, and we had never seen any before. Part of the path leads you away from the riverside and into a cow pasture, so it made for some interesting walking (dodging the cowpies). For the most part the walk was quite serene.

Thames River Footpath

About a mile and a half along, we began to see more activity along the river and realized that we were approaching the Sandford Lock. This lock is larger than the one at Iffley and the area was quite lively since there was a pub called The Kings Arms that was doing a lot of business (Everyone decided they needed to "dry out" in the sun).

Kings Arms Pub at Sandford-on-Thames

After staying to watch a few steamers full of tourists make their way through the lock, we headed back. Sustaining us on our Sunday hike was the knowledge that the Isis Tavern was up ahead, with promise of coffee and dessert. Last Sunday was drizzly so just a few tables were filled when we stopped for lunch with Ray, Linda & Claire, but this week every single picnic table in their huge yard was filled with folks enjoying time with friends and family. And yes, they still had that piece of chocolate cake I had been dreaming about.
--Deb