Wallingford to Reading - 18 miles - Thames Path 5/10

Join Steven Massey Hiking Tours for Leg 5 of our epic 185-mile Thames Path Challenge. This section a journey through one of the most beautiful stretches of the Thames — from historic Wallingford, through the spectacular Goring Gap and picture-postcard Thames villages, before finishing in Reading.

Tickets for this event cost £20.00. This payment is non-refundable. It will only be refunded in the event of a non-weather related cancellation. *Tickets/spaces for this walk/event are pre booked and pre paid, please don't just turn up on the day with cash*

We will all meet 08.00 at the finish point in Thameside Promenade car park, Reading RG1 8BD will jump into some cars to take us to the start in Wallingford.

Highlights include - 

Historic Wallingford – start in one of the Thames's great historic towns. Wallingford was an important Saxon fortified settlement and later home to a major Norman castle; the route leaves town past old riverside buildings and St Leonard's Church. 

Cholsey Marsh & open Thames countryside – a much quieter, more rural stretch where the Chiltern Hills gradually begin closing in towards the river.

Brunel's Moulsford Railway Bridges – you'll pass beneath impressive railway engineering associated with Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the Great Western Railway. 

The Beetle & Wedge at Moulsford – a famous riverside inn at the site of an old Thames ferry crossing; a nice historical feature to point out as you pass. 

The Goring Gap – probably the headline attraction of Leg 5. Here the Thames squeezes through the dramatic gap between the Chiltern Hills and North Wessex Downs/Berkshire Downs, producing one of the most striking landscapes on the non-tidal river. 

Goring & Streatley – two gorgeous Thames-side villages facing each other across the river. This is also where the Thames Path meets the Ridgeway National Trail, so you'll effectively be standing at the meeting point of two great long-distance trails. 

Cleeve & Goring Locks – classic Thames scenery, with weirs, boats and wooded hills surrounding the river through the Gap. 

Pangbourne & Whitchurch – another lovely pair of riverside villages linked by the distinctive Whitchurch Toll Bridge. 

Wind in the Willows country – author Kenneth Grahame retired to Pangbourne in 1924 and is buried there; the Thames landscape of this area has strong associations with The Wind in the Willows. 

Mapledurham – across the river you'll encounter views towards the beautiful Mapledurham estate, with its 16th-century house and historic working watermill. 

Caversham Lock – one of the final Thames landmarks before the countryside gradually gives way to Reading. 

Reading – finish beside the Thames after watching the river change from quiet Oxfordshire countryside to a much more substantial urban waterway.

Please bring layers and appropriate clothing for the weather, it will be a long day
Also bring enough water (2 ltrs), snacks and food to sustain you.

How to find us - 

Thameside Promenade car park, Reading RG1 8BD

What 3 Words - ///deputy.vocal.cycles