The additional distance might not have been so tricky if we/I had not made mistake number two...fuel. We had a light breakfast (two slices of toast and a cup of tea) at about 8.30 am. We also bought bananas at Waterloo station (we got the train to Putney and started from there). We were rather slow leaving the house and took our time at Waterloo and did not eat again until about 3pm, some 6 and a half (and thirty something miles) later. This was due in part to mistake number three - which was believing that there were loads of riverside pubs on the way to Windsor and that we would be able to stop at anytime to have a bite to eat. It turns out that all the old inns that served the barges going up and down the Thames have recently (you know, in the last hundred years or so) been converted into houses. Because, guess what - there aren't so many barges using the Thames on a daily basis anymore (who knew?!) because of the invention of the CAR and direct roads (as demonstrated by the AA route planner referenced in mistake number 1...). Pity.
As such, it was a tired and weary couple that landed in a lovely little pub just outside Windsor. Where they were promptly told that the lunch service had finished for the day...Back on the bikes and off to a less lovely, but far more accommodating pub where we refuelled!
Aside from mistakes 1, 2 and 3, a lovely day was had by both of us. The Thames path is just SO pretty, and even in the absence of barges, the locks and canal boats were super cute. The path follows the river more or less the whole way to Windsor and, being riverside, has the benefit of being very flat. Even so, 34 miles on two slices of bread is a bit of an ask!
x
