Having evaded death crossing a railway line on the way, the walk to the source of the Thames was simple enough as this was clearly a path many people had been along in the past. The actual source was little more than a few rocks and a stone marking it. That was enough and pretty much what we’d expected with there having been little rain lately. Although of course it was raining very gently for much of today but that didn’t dampen our enthusiasm.
The first sight en route was a spring named Lyd Well although not knowing what we were looking for we first mistook it for a pile of stones. We have no idea what the stones were marking, unfortunately.
Thames Path section 1 - source to the A429

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The actual source was little more than a few rocks and a stone marking it. That was enough and pretty much what we\u2019d expected with there having been little rain lately. Although of course it was raining very gently for much of today but that didn\u2019t dampen our enthusiasm.\n\nThe first sight en route was a spring named Lyd Well although not knowing what we were looking for we first mistook it for a pile of stones. We have no idea what the stones were marking, unfortunately."},"link":{"url":null}},{"image":{"unique_id":"a1d40aeb-649f-4565-9292-c608cf05798e","athlete_id":10421173,"activity_id":7071063901,"activity_name":"Thames Path section 1 - source to the A429","post_id":null,"resource_state":2,"caption":"","type":1,"source":1,"status":true,"uploaded_at":"2022-05-01T15:07:03Z","created_at":"2022-05-01T13:28:29Z","created_at_local":"2022-05-01T14:28:29Z","urls":{"2048":"https:\/\/dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net\/neA_Px9IJHwSlZ24xDhXVv61kFMsinQnRz7hSKdad0o-2048x1536.jpg"},"sizes":{"2048":[2048,1536]},"default_photo":false,"location":[51.69250589999999,-2.007609],"url":"https:\/\/storyteller.fit\/sites\/default\/files\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/a1d40aeb-649f-4565-9292-c608cf05798e.jpg","filepath":"public:\/\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/a1d40aeb-649f-4565-9292-c608cf05798e.jpg","uid":"305","taken_timestamp":1651415309,"imageStyles":{"map_marker":"https:\/\/storyteller.fit\/sites\/default\/files\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/derivates\/map\/a1d40aeb-649f-4565-9292-c608cf05798e.jpg"},"coords":[51.684774,-2.016354],"position":198,"prevPosition":""},"textarea":{"index":1,"content":"This was actually Lyd Well, rather than the pile of stones."},"link":{"url":null}},{"image":{"unique_id":"b0b85cdc-9558-497b-9000-23eb2241d17b","athlete_id":10421173,"activity_id":7071063901,"activity_name":"Thames Path section 1 - source to the A429","post_id":null,"resource_state":2,"caption":"","type":1,"source":1,"status":true,"uploaded_at":"2022-05-01T15:07:03Z","created_at":"2022-05-01T13:32:54Z","created_at_local":"2022-05-01T14:32:54Z","urls":{"2048":"https:\/\/dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net\/NTOGuXcYymJR4yoe4xJvkjuGXrmAQ1NPhN87tZgNrc4-2048x1536.jpg"},"sizes":{"2048":[2048,1536]},"default_photo":false,"location":[51.6827903,-2.0159524916666665],"url":"https:\/\/storyteller.fit\/sites\/default\/files\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/b0b85cdc-9558-497b-9000-23eb2241d17b.jpg","filepath":"public:\/\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/b0b85cdc-9558-497b-9000-23eb2241d17b.jpg","uid":"305","taken_timestamp":1651415574,"imageStyles":{"map_marker":"https:\/\/storyteller.fit\/sites\/default\/files\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/derivates\/map\/b0b85cdc-9558-497b-9000-23eb2241d17b.jpg"},"coords":[51.68277,-2.015988],"position":238,"prevPosition":""},"textarea":{"index":2,"content":"Shortly after Lydwell (not a typo \u2013 both spellings are equally valid it seems) something which could be seen to be the beginnings of a river appeared to our left. This was sooner than expected, perhaps because of today\u2019s rain but it was definitely more Thames than ditch which was all we\u2019d seen up until then."},"link":{"url":null}},{"image":{"unique_id":"c020b23b-4831-4851-93ab-6babea555867","athlete_id":10421173,"activity_id":7071063901,"activity_name":"Thames Path section 1 - source to the A429","post_id":null,"resource_state":2,"caption":"","type":1,"source":1,"status":true,"uploaded_at":"2022-05-01T15:07:04Z","created_at":"2022-05-01T13:37:30Z","created_at_local":"2022-05-01T14:37:30Z","urls":{"2048":"https:\/\/dgtzuqphqg23d.cloudfront.net\/HsviY-YFgWZhGsGdg8kr1y-O5rImczJnx1_sY1Sh_Zw-1536x2048.jpg"},"sizes":{"2048":[1536,2048]},"default_photo":true,"location":[51.68021910833333,-2.0155812055555558],"url":"https:\/\/storyteller.fit\/sites\/default\/files\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/c020b23b-4831-4851-93ab-6babea555867.jpg","filepath":"public:\/\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/c020b23b-4831-4851-93ab-6babea555867.jpg","uid":"305","taken_timestamp":1651415850,"imageStyles":{"map_marker":"https:\/\/storyteller.fit\/sites\/default\/files\/field\/image\/305\/externals\/derivates\/map\/c020b23b-4831-4851-93ab-6babea555867.jpg"},"coords":[51.680237,-2.015604],"position":288,"prevPosition":""},"textarea":{"index":3,"content":"We ended our walking day as planned just before an A road from where we\u2019d return to the train station and get a taxi. The taxi presented a weird experience seeing me call a taxi for a particular time and then shortly after that time receiving a call from said taxi company asking how we were doing. An actual taxi arrived soon after though."},"link":{"url":null}},{"image":{"filepath":"public:\/\/default_images\/transparent.png"},"textarea":{"index":4,"content":"But before that and on the way to the station we walked on the path between the station and the Thames Path itself. This path actually was the side of a field of sheep. Lovely sheep except on this occasion one particularly adventurous lamb had somehow got onto the other side of the fence and been separated from everyone else seeing much bleating on all sides. This lamb wasn\u2019t a great fan of us walking alongside the fence either whilst we were just trying to pass while staying out the way the best we could. When we came past in the taxi later I think the lamb had got back on the right side but since we\u2019ll have to cross that field again to start tomorrow\u2019s walk I\u2019m hoping we\u2019ll not see him on the wrong side of the fence again.\n\nThis first day was surprisingly tiring but we\u2019re hoping a day with just walking and minimal traveling will get us into the rhythm we\u2019ll need to have got the rest of this trip."},"link":{"url":null}}]
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