Day 6 - Culham to Goring - Wednesday 2 August

Distance: 18.5 miles
Time: 5 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds
Walking partner: Colly Myers (Zimbabwean uber-fit marathon and triathlon man, bush-hunter gatherer extraordinaire and founder of formerly mentioned AQA)
Accommodation: Streatley Youth Hostel

Colly having made the supreme sacrifice of rising at 6am and training it out to deepest Oxfordshire, I did not linger over breakfast and we set off at a cracking pace on the longest walking day by 8.15am. It's hard to slow down a man who generally walks or runs 120 miles a week, but Colly gallantly endeavoured to go at what must have been snail's pace for him. These born and bred Africans know the meaning of living in the wild. The comparatively manicured environs of the Thames trail may not be the jungle exactly, but Colly did battle with a massive and entangled tree fallen across a bridge on our path nearly losing his prescription sunglasses to the bottom of the river mud in the process. And I never knew how much free food there is around! Colly picked at least three different types of plum, apples, berries and more. I shan't be bothering to go to the supermarket ever again.

A coffee break at Shillingford Bridge Hotel was followed by an indifferent pub lunch at The Boathouse in Wallingford which seemed to be obsessed with issuing written instructions or rhetorical statements to its clientele. "The management requires customers to wear shirts in the bar", "Only a driving licence [sic] or passport are acceptable forms of identity"; "Parents are reponsible for their children", "You may be shirt-free on the terrace", "Leave our premises quietly" - all reasonable stuff I suppose except that there were about 25 notices plastered over every surface. Mind you, this is a pub that serves a shot called 'urine sample' so perhaps no more needs to be explained.

In future, the Beetle and Wedge at Moulsford looks a good location for a long, langourous lunch but Colly and I headed instead for the Swan Hotel at the end of our walk and a cream tea. Hugely satisfying to know that all necessary calories required had already been burnt off.

I haven't stayed in a YHA for about 28 years I think so I didn't know quite what to expect but it was all very nice and friendly, if not quite the Sheraton. I was in a dorm, fortunately just with one other lady. There was a lounge and a dining room and my dinner of jacket potatoes only cost £2.50. I washed my clothes by hand and hung them up in the drying room, which I think should be renamed the doesn't-dry-but-leaves-your-clothes-damp-and-musty-room.

But the main pleasure of the evening was meeting the charming Vogrig family from near Auxerre in France (think Chablis, Pouilly Fuisse etc). Sylvie and Bruno are in the UK on holiday with their delightful kids Mickael, Helena and Estelle. They have found British people to be courteous and helpful (and yes, they have been to London) and they seem to be having a lovely time. Mickael (14) and Helena (12 and a half) are really keen to find penfriends/exchange partners in the UK to practice their already promising English. They are super kids so if anyone has offspring who might be interested, let me know.

Not wishing to wake up my room mate when I went to bed I deliberately didn't turn on the light. This resulted in me cracking my nose on the upper bunk and bruising my back on the steps. What with that and the appearance of a liver spot on my cheek due to overexposure to wind and sun I'm not sure what I will look like at the end of this adventure. It's a good thing that it's all in aid of a decent cause....