Saturday Walk - Marlow Circular, with a ferry for a bridge

Length: 21.2 km (13.2 mi) 

Ascent/Descent: 195m 

Net Walking Time: ca. 4 ½ hours 

Toughness: 4 out of 10

 

Take the 09.08 Didcot Parkway train from Paddington (Slough 09.24), change at Maidenhead (09.31/09.34), arrives Marlow 09.57. 

Return trains: xx.00

Temple Lock Footbridge across the Thames has been closed for years, necessitating a long, uninspiring and map-led diversion, so consequently this walk has not been posted since 2022. But now help is at hand, in the guise of Bryan Ferry the ferry (https://www.facebook.com/people/Bryan-Ferry-the-Ferry/61567374021647/). This runs from 10.00-16.00 at a price of £2.50 per head (cash only, presumably).

Follow the Thames along the Thames Path for the first 8 kilometres, where the river is lazily meandering between pleasant meadows and under overhanging trees, occasionally overlooked by fine old manor houses, while passing the ancient village of Hurley, a former Benedictine monastery. Lunch is in Aston or Hambleden, both quaint riverside villages.

By contrast, the afternoon takes you up over the wooded hills (passing through Homefield Wood, which in July is a prime spot for the silver-washed fritillary butterfly), and then back down into the well-preserved Georgian town of Marlow for tea.

Lunch: Several options, check the webpage or pdf for details. 

Tea: Several options, check the webpage or pdf for details.

 

For walk directions, maps, height profiles, photos and gpx/kml files click here.

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