Another 10k in the bag! Today I went along the towpath between Kew and Richmond, there and back along the river Thames. It was raining quite hard when I woke, but by the time I got to Kew Green it was just a little drizzle. Actually for me it was perfect running weather: mild but damp. However not so good for photos, as they all look really dark, and it wasn’t that bad!
The star of the run today was definitely the river. The Thames is the longest river in England at 215 miles or 346 km. It flows from Gloucestershire to the North Sea at Southend. Many rivers flow into the Thames and of course there are many settlements along its banks. At Oxford the Thames is known as the Isis, which I used to find very confusing when younger.
The river has always been home to many boats. Henry VIII sailed from his palace in Greenwich to Hampton Court Palace.
Today I saw lots of people out on the river in single sculls. In ‘normal times’ I would expect to see plenty of double sculls, and rowers too but due to social distancing these are not yet allowed. Do you know the difference between rowing and sculling? Rowers each use one oar, and scullers two oars.
Another highlight of the run was the birdlife. Today I saw: cormorants, herons, swans, ducks, geese (Canada and Egyptian) and seagulls. And that was just the water birds.
The path wasn’t too busy – I expect the weather put people off a bit. There were people walking, running and cycling, but the path felt spacious. I haven’t run along here since before lockdown and it was great to be back.
So – 20/50km done. Next run will be Tuesday, as I’m giving my legs a day off tomorrow. Check back then! And thanks for reading.
Eat Cake And Run 
Thank you Emily for this very interesting and excellent presentation of your Run No.2.
I remember the word scullery. I think Eileen Crace first explained it to me in The Brake or Henley or Marlow when the subject of kitchen came up in my earlier years. However it is you who has educated me with the word sculler!
After Elizabeth & Jack’s wedding my cousin Bill Blatch then at Magdalen College (now a big noise with Bordeaux wines where he lives with his French wife) and I went punting when full of wedding champagne on an Oxford river I thought was the Isis… but it turned out to be the River Cherwell!
Looking forward to Tuesday’s read!
Mike T
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