About
Britain's only long-distance path along a river, the Thames Path runs from the river's source near Kemble in Gloucestershire all the way to the Thames Barrier in east London. The first stretch is pure Cotswolds — unsurfaced lanes through wet meadows, the Cotswold Water Park, and a string of villages whose stone cottages turn from honey to silver as the river runs east.
Cricklade is the first town the path passes through, and Lechlade — where the river first becomes navigable — the second. Most Cotswold-section walkers take three or four days from source to Lechlade.
In Cirencester
Once the second-largest city in Roman Britain, today a lively market town with one of the finest 'wool churches' in England.
Read the Cirencester guide →