Sweet Thames run softly

Another weekend, another 18 mile cross-country run. Having had a fun lunch with the family, I made my way to Waterloo, missed my train (damn you, Northern line closures) and eventually got to Staines.

After the now-traditional snow flurry as I left the station, I joined the Thames Path. Thankfully, navigation is much easier than anything in Epping Forest - you just follow the big watery thing. There were no hills, but it was nevertheless a good run and a very pleasant route, passing some lovely scenery and some exceptionally large houses - the biggest of which is pictured to the right and, I think, has a fairly well-known resident - through Runnymeade, Windsor, Eton and Maidenhead. I got to Windsor just before 4pm and realised the sun was going down, so I hoofed it for the next 6 miles. Even so, it was getting pretty dark by the time I arrived at my destination of Cookham after just under 3 hours on the road, a particularly pleasing time given I was carrying a pack.

The purpose of the trip was to spend the evening with B and James, friends of Freya, my girlfriend. It turned out to be a very enjoyable weekend, with dinner in Malik's (apparently Heston B's favourite curry house) and a few pints of Rebellion, capped off with a bracing Sunday morning walk down to the quite extraordinary Bounty in Cockmarsh for some predominantly deep-fried food today. Also, pleasingly, no ill-effects from the run. It's getting to the point where I'm close to believing that I'll make it to the start line...