Lechlade and the Thames

1 From the handsome Market Square walk west along the High Street and then left along Thames Street. Look around and you will see the high, slender spire of the majestic parish church, a constant presence throughout this walk even as the route strays into Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. The spire was perfectly described by the 16th-century writer John Leland as a 'pratie pyramis of stone'.

2 Halfpenny Bridge is a toll bridge that opened in 1792 - the toll house is still standing. Cross this bridge and, at the end, drop down some steps on the right to the riverbank. Walk ahead, with the river to your right, for just over ½ mile (800m) until, immediately after a bridge across the Thames, you see an old roundhouse among the trees on the far bank. Here the River Coln joins the Thames, alongside the now silted-up Thames and Severn Canal.

3 Continue along the riverbank, cross a footbridge over a stream and head across the field to find a stile to the left of a house. The walk continues by turning left along the lane but, if you want to visit Inglesham church, turn right. This charming medieval building, much admired by William Morris, contains an exceptionally beautiful 13th-century Madonna and Child. At the end of the lane turn right, along the main road (making use of the verge). After 150yds (137m) turn left towards Buscot. In ¾ mile (1.2km) turn left along the drive of Buscot Wick Farm. Just before the farmyard turn right along a drive before cottages and then go across some grass to a gate. Turn left around a house and after 150yds (137m) go half right across a field to a gate. In the next field stay on the same line to another gate. Go through into a field, follow a hedge and then turn left through a gate and cross a field to the road. Go through a gate on the other side, cross the field to a stile and turn left into the churchyard.

4 Buscot church contains a striking east window by the pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones, a pulpit partly made from a Flemish triptych and some delightful paintings, part of the memorials to members of the Loveden family. Leave by the lychgate and follow the riverbank to emerge at Buscot Weir. Here turn right if you want to visit the estate village of Buscot, which now belongs to the National Trust; there is a small shop and a pub on its short main street. Otherwise walk on to pass Lock Cottage and make your way across a succession of locks and bridges to a stile. Do not cross this but turn left to follow the Thames Path. Follow the river's meanderings until it brings you to a wooden bridge. Cross this and turn right to continue along the riverbank, noting the River Leach across to your right, which joins the River Thames just before St John's Bridge.

5 Walk beneath St John's Bridge, which dates from the 14th century and which takes its name from a former nearby priory. Pass a lock, noting the statue of Father Thames that was built for the Great Exhibition of 1851 and which was moved here from its original site at Thames Head. Then enter the wide meadow ahead through a gate, the spire of Lechlade's parish church towers out of the flat landscape. The parish church was the inspiration for Percy Shelley's Summer Evening Meditation. Continue to the Halfpenny Bridge and Lechlade.