Day 5 - Oxford to Culham - Tuesday 1 August

Distance: 12 miles
Time: 4 hours 9 mins
Walking partner: None
Accommodation: Appletree Cottage B&B, Sutton Courtney

Half a bottle of Rioja the night before not withstanding, I set off from Osney Bridge in Oxford by 9.15am. The view of the city from the river gives you a different experience of Oxford. Greener, quieter and with the glimpses of dreaming spires and nice-looking pubs - lovely.

There are several locks along this stretch including a very pretty one at Iffley (these lock keepers seem to be prolific gardeners) but there was also a more urban feel to the river than previously with graffittied road bridges and fairly constant traffic noise from nearby roads.




Then I was back in the pastures with the cows and the yellow wheat fields looking ripe for harvest (yes, I've become a complete agricultural expert now).

There was a bit of a long haul to Radley and then onto Abingdon but I amused myself with playing tag with passing barges and pleasure craft. One boat in particular, improbably named 'Bimbi', that I'd been seeing for 2 days, got into the spirit of the game with the crew cheering uproariously everytime they passed me by and yours truly giving a smug smile as I skipped across the lock in front of them. It's the small things that keep you going.

Dark clouds loomed over when I reached Abingdon which gave me all the excuse I needed for a coffee and cake stop then the last few miles to Culham were enlivened by encouraging calls and texts. (Thanks Louise and Jono.)

A nice and restful evening ensued although I did have a dining disaster at The Swan Inn in Sutton Courtney where I made the mistake of ordering something vegetarian (clearly a rare occurrence at the Swan). Vegetable gratin turned out to be a bowl of warm cream containing one or two mange-touts and a couple of pieces of carrot. Cholesterol death on a plate. I managed about 2 mouthfuls before an intense feeling of liver malfunction came over me (and this from the woman who will gladly munch through a plate of fois gras.) Not exactly the carbo-loading opportunity I was looking for.