Today I had the lovely company of Sophie and of Libby the dog for our 11 miles walk to Wallingford.
The sun was shiny on this cold Sunday morning bringing so much shine to the lovely November colours in the trees.

We started the walk on Whitchurch bridge, leaving Pangbourne behind us.

At Whitchurch, we didn’t follow the Thames as the Thames Path takes it’s longer diversion off the Thames side. Instead we were taken uphill in beautiful woods with lovely colours around us.

It was lovely to walk with company and we kept a very good pace. The sunny morning made it easier too.
Opposite the Grotto (in the other bank) and as we started to encounter more dog walkers, we realised that we were already approaching Goring.

In Goring took a right by the bridge and stopped for coffee and food at the Pierreponts Café. Not only it was a dog-friendly café but the food was yummy and filling and the décor lovely.
We crossed the bridge and took a right in Streatley following the Thames Path signs.
It reminded me of the few times I took a train to Goring and, walking that way, headed straight up the hill (instead to taking today’s right turn) towards the Ridgeway and walked home via the Ridgeway.

We had a little peek inside St Mary’s church in Streatley. A blue plaque showed Lewis Carroll preached there.

The path took us back to the riverside where we walked through the autumn leaves.

Shortly after the lock and weird, we saw a blue kingfisher (Sophie spotted it) on the other bank in a tree, but I wasn’t quick enough to get my phone out.

As we went past a nature reserve, we saw a rainbow which was a surprise on this sunny morning, then there was a bit of cold drizzle which stopped pretty soon after.

We heard the loud bells from South Stoke church and Sophie spotted a heron perched on tree, catching the sun . It’s not clear in the photo but that’s the best I could get.

Through Moulsford the Thames Path took us away from the river again along the A329 for a little bit. When we rejoined the riverside, we went under a railway bridge and then through Cholsey nature reserve.
There were a lot of rowers going past. We sat on a deck for a little break and watched rowing boats going past.

We went under the A4130 and the weather had started the warm up but then turned windy and cold again.

We reached Wallingford and stopped in St Peter’s church for a minute then walked to the Bridge: the end of our walk for today.

We walked 11.85miles (19.07km) in under 4h45, from Pangbourne to Wallingford.
We then walked around Wallingford a bit and found a dog-friendly pub (the Cross Keys), played dominos with a cup of tea while we waited for our roast dinners, and then went onto our bus stop for our onward journey.
I’m planning to get back to Wallingford in a fortnight, weather permitting, to continue on the Thames Path.