Swinford to Oxford
15.1km, 21.400 Steps
Walking friends, disaster has struck! Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration, but I've decided to give the Thames Path an extended break for now. I am writing this sitting on a train back to London. How did it come to this, I hear you ask? Let me tell you.
First, the weather. After yesterday's miserable afternoon, I checked the forecast for the rest of my trip. While I was supposed to get one more morning of glorious sunshine today, thereafter it would be gloom all the way caused by a cloud literally following me around for the remainder of the week. I’m serious. Any one place may see some rain and some sunshine, but at the times I would be there, each location was forecast to see rain, or at least cloud and some wind.
Second, while I always suspected my knee would be responsible for cutting my trip short, bodily inhibitions materialised in a left-field unexpected kind of way in my hip. While trying to enjoy the last of the sunshine with pain shooting through my side at every step, I barely limped my way to Oxford - and that was only about a quarter of today's planned segment.
Distance wan’t so much the issue as my speed and daily quota. Ten hours of walking with a 15kg pack on my back was too much of a shock to a system otherwise found in an office chair for the same duration.
Third, given this situation, I applied my rational decision-making tools, weighing up the downsides, benefits, sunk costs, and levels of anticipated regret of my various options for how to proceed. And while I might have been able to supplement protein bars with Ibuprofen and ploughed on through miserable weather for another 200km, I'd probably not enjoy myself very much. 'Doing' all of the Thames Path in one go in nine days would have been a tremendous personal achievement. But so is walking 100km from the source to Oxford in 2.5 days. It's good enough for me. For now.
The Thames isn't going anywhere. Having made it this far, all the remaining segments are easily reachable from London by train and ready to be explored on some future sunny weekend. Besides, I gained one insight during this brief adventure: not every part of this trail deserves to be walked. As quaint and picturesque as some sections are, others are a featureless and dull drag that just won't seem to come to an end. I have now won the freedom to say no to those parts and the opportunity to bring good company with me on the others.
As for this morning, I was able to finish on a high. During a morning that offered golden sunlight, low-laying morning fog, and more lovely locks, even some action as one narrowboat grazed a bridge just as I passed (no injuries or severe damage). It wasn't long before the first vanguard rowers welcomed me to my inadvertent final destination.
I hope you enjoyed following me on my trek. When I return to the Thames Path, you'll be the first to know.
So long,
Tom