The source of the Thames

The first of my blogs documenting the Thames Path, a 184 mile national trail from the source to the Thames Barrier.

This is the start. From Kemble railway station (Gloucs) through fields of sheep

...past frozen sections of what is the Thames.

 Ice gathered on my shoes.

Crossing the Fosseway.

The start is in sight (white block behind the white cow)

A pile of stones marks the rather unimpressive beginning, 

...along with an unreadable marker stone

The path proper begins... 

A hunt fence for trail hunting - (can only be jumped one way, so can only be used for a planned route)

The first bridge (it's by the entrance to Kemble, and can provide a good parking spot)

The Thames quickly becomes a stream, crystal clear, and with plenty of water weed 

The weeds were bright green...

These leaves look to be the surface, but are actually underwater. I wondered if it was water cress? There was loads of it

We came upon this fabulous site - if it had been warmer, I would have fancied a swim here, The whitish stone underwater has a blue sheen, and the water is completely clear  

The next settlement was Ewen, a village of lovely houses

The stone roof tiles get smaller towards the ridge

Past Ewen, the tiny Thames is very neat and civilised for about 600 metres.

A mill race along the way

Interesting woodland meanders 

The furthest part of today's walk. We sat to eat our sandwiches here, at Neigh Bridge, the start of the Cotswold Water Park.

We retraced our steps back to the start. As public transport gets more abundant later on, we can do one way walks, but there was no realistic alternative today, so although this was a 10 mile walk, we have only ticked off 5 miles of the Thames Path! 179 miles to go! Watch this space...