Pangbourne to Goring

We returned to the Thames at Pangbourne after last week's estuary walk to find meadows where we had walked two weeks before under several feet of water.

The path was difficult with very heavy mud and at one point we had to turn back when it disappeared under the swollen river. Detail from bodice made of maps in a Whitchurch gallery

The path veered away from the river into the Oxfordshire Chilterns

Natasha on the edge of of Hartslock Wood

The path was cut into a steep wooded slope and was high enough up to keep us out of the floods for a while.

Looking down into the valley the flooding was such that it was hard to see where the dry season Thames course lay.

The birds were also confused...

Fallen tree with moss and autumn leaves... Gatehampton Railway Bridge built by Brunel in 1839 Natasha in the John Barleycorn Inn in Goring where we had lunch and had a go at Bar Billiards without knowing the rules