here was our first sighting of the thames on this part of the walk

kezia said "everytime we walk the Thames Path it rains" and yesterday was no exception. it fact the rain was exception - in quantity. we were soaked to the bone. but i got to wear my military poncho which was a boon

to begin with things weren't too muddy, but with the wind and the rain it soon got very slippery and muddy. this was quite a nice bit near the beginning

obligatory pooh-sticks

things weren't helped by a sudden jump in undergrowth meaning we lost sight of the path quite a lot. These weeds were higher than esther's head !

we're making slow progress round the path (it's taken us 4 days to go the walk which the book says should be doable in a day). but then we have got a 4 year old with us !