Jane’s Walk 2022 – Day 12

We said goodbye to Kathryn and Chris, our wonderful hosts of the last three days, who have looked after so well in their beautiful home. Moses fell in love with their cute little seven-month-old King Charles Spaniel, called Mouse, who had recently been on heat. Moses is neutered, but definitely felt he should be doing something about it, especially as she was an outrageous flirt.

This was the penultimate day of our walk, the time having flown by, and it’s difficult to believe that we’ve travelled 120 miles. Cricklade, where we started, seems, however, to be a long way away. We met Kit and Pom off the train in Maidenhead. They live in Scotland but are down staying in London, seeing their family.

Back in Dorney, we met up with Charles and Angela again. They had to make a very early start from Witney to reach us by 9am. It was another lovely day as we made our way towards Windsor. There were no walkers today, so we had the path to ourselves, but there was a big increase in traffic noise and the sound of planes – not surprising, since we were now under the Heathrow flight path. Crossing the bridge that separates Eton from Windsor, we came around the corner to see Windsor Castle in all its glory. It was a poignant moment to be there, knowing that Her Majesty The Queen will be laid to rest in St George’s Chapel in one week’s time. Our hosts last night visited yesterday to leave flowers and found it a very moving experience. Charles and Angela are hoping to do the same this evening.

We stopped for a picnic lunch in sight of the castle, in a park that has recently been fenced off – probably for the TV and press core covering the interment of the queen. Our walk ended at Runnymede, famous for the signing of the Magna Carta.