Thames Path · Stage 8
Walking time measured on the mapped line (TrailSplits time model, moving time; within 22 % on four in five test legs). Outside Switzerland our walking times often run short of the times route operators publish; treat them as optimistic. Climb measured on the mapped line, on terrain heights.
Where OpenStreetMap does not map the trail
Through Reading and by Shiplake to Henley-on-Thames: 12.3 miles (19.7 km), National Trails says, but 26.9 km on our line. The Marsh Lock footbridge between Shiplake and Henley is closed on safety grounds by the Environment Agency, and OpenStreetMap maps no way over the river there. Our line runs up the river to the closed bridge (about 19.7 km) and our own routing then takes it back down the same bank and round by Shiplake, 5.7 km labelled "Joined by our routing here": about 3.4 km of that is the walk to the bridge and back, and none of it is the official diversion, so the 26.9 km overstates the day. National Trails signs about 3 miles (4.8 km, about 1 h 30) along the pavements of the A4155, with red "Pedestrians" signs, and shows it only on a PDF map. Trains and buses run between Shiplake and Henley if you would rather skip it. The order closing the bridge ran to 31 January 2026 and could be extended; the bridge was still marked closed on the National Trails map on 13 October 2026.
Best season: Spring to autumn. The best months are spring to the end of autumn, National Trails says: in winter the Thames floods easily, above all upstream of Oxford. Some stays close for the winter: the Bridge House campsite at Lechlade is closed until 25 March 2027. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 13 October 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Town
The section ends on the river path about 0.4 km from Tilehurst station, below the Reading suburb of Tilehurst, not in a village. National Trails lists one B&B in Tilehurst, with no website, and we could not confirm another stay here: the Swan and the Bull at Streatley, about 13 km back, are the nearest listed stays; Reading, on the next section, is the nearest large town.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Stage end · overnight
Town
A riverside town with a station. The trail list shows only the Swiss Farm campsite, on the next section about 0.8 km out; the town has more hotels than the list shows.
A town or village: find accommodation yourself. TrailSplits has not checked what is open.
Swiss Farm Touring and Camping · Camping spot
Season 2026: 2026 dates not published
No walking time is published for this leg. Measured on the mapped line, the stage takes about 6 h 37 of walking.
Make it your trip
There is no booking for the whole trail: each stay is booked with its owner, and National Trails lists companies that carry your bags and book walking holidays. Campsites are plentiful, but there is no right to wild camp: use the campsites, or ask the landowner. The trail's accommodation list is thin at some section ends: Lechlade has three listings and its campsite is closed until 25 March 2027, Newbridge has one inn, and Tilehurst, Shepperton and Woolwich have none we could confirm. Oxford, Windsor and London have many more hotels than the list shows.
The National Trail's fifteen sections, a night at the end of each.
Plan this journeyThe upper river, from the source to Oxford, in four sections.
Plan this journeyThe tidal river through London in three sections.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for on the trail (63 m)…
Typical weather on this stage, around 30–95 m. Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Mixed | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| Day / night | 8°/2° | 8°/2° | 11°/3° | 14°/5° | 17°/8° | 21°/11° | 23°/13° | 22°/12° | 19°/10° | 15°/7° | 11°/5° | 8°/2° |
| Rain, mm | 63 | 48 | 45 | 46 | 52 | 53 | 51 | 63 | 58 | 77 | 76 | 71 |
| Snow at high point | Frost | Frost | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Daylight | 8 h 18 | 9 h 57 | 11 h 46 | 13 h 48 | 15 h 34 | 16 h 36 | 16 h 13 | 14 h 41 | 12 h 44 | 10 h 47 | 8 h 56 | 7 h 52 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
On 13 October 2026 the National Trails map listed twelve closures and diversions on the trail: Radcot (section 3), the Osney Bridge ramp in Oxford (4), Grandpont and the towpath from Donnington Bridge in Oxford (5), Culham (6), Streatley (7), the Marsh Lock footbridge (8), Temple Bridge at Hurley (9), Runnymede (11), Swan Draw Dock in Fulham (14), and Morden Wharf and the night route by the Thames Barrier (15). Each section note says where and how to go round. Our line does not follow the signed diversions: follow the signs on the ground, and check the map before you set off (National Trails map, read 13 October 2026).
National Trails: Thames Path trail information and mapBetween Oxpens Meadow and Grandpont Nature Park, about 1 km into section 5, the path is closed while a new footbridge is built, from 24 July 2026 to 31 August 2027 (notice read 13 October 2026). Our line still crosses it: follow the signed diversion through Grandpont Nature Reserve. Farther on, the towpath from Donnington Bridge to Isis Farmhouse is being repaired until late October 2026, with signed diversions on site.
National Trails: Grandpont closure, OxfordThe Marsh Lock footbridge between Shiplake and Henley, near the end of section 8, is closed on safety grounds by the Environment Agency; it was still marked closed on the National Trails map read 13 October 2026. The official diversion is about 3 miles (4.8 km, about 1 h 30) along the pavements of the A4155, with red "Pedestrians" signs; National Trails shows it only on a PDF map. Our line does not follow it: it joins the gap with our own routing via Shiplake, 5.7 km, labelled "Joined by our routing here", so the section is 26.9 km on our line against National Trails' 19.7 km. Trains and buses link Shiplake and Henley if you would rather skip it.
National Trails: Marsh Lock footbridge closure and diversionSection 12 starts on the small pedestrian ferry across the river from Shepperton to Weybridge. It is drawn dashed on our map and left out of our walking distance and times. We could not confirm its season or hours from an official source (checked 13 October 2026): check them before you rely on it.
National Trails: route descriptionThe best months are spring to the end of autumn, National Trails says: in winter the Thames floods easily, above all upstream of Oxford, and the meadows on the upper river are prone to it. Check the Environment Agency's flood warnings before you set off (trail information, read 13 October 2026).
National Trails: trail informationGetting there
Travel around Tilehurst to Henley-on-Thames.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
Kemble station, managed by Great Western Railway, is the nearest to the source, about 2 km away in a straight line; National Trails gives no walking route from it. It names Bristol as the nearest airport.
National Rail: Kemble stationOxford, Pangbourne and Henley-on-Thames are Great Western Railway stations, and the same line as Pangbourne serves Goring & Streatley; Windsor & Eton Riverside and Teddington are South Western Railway's. Above Oxford buses reach the path in many places with some planning; below Oxford there is good access by train, bus and even boat, National Trails says. In London, Uber Boat by Thames Clippers runs river boats; we have not read its piers or times.
National Rail: Oxford stationThe trail ends at the Woolwich Foot Tunnel. Woolwich Arsenal station, managed by Southeastern, is about 0.8 km away in a straight line, and the Elizabeth line also serves Woolwich.
National Rail: Woolwich Arsenal stationTake your trip with you
Prepare each section while you still have a connection: on the upper river, between villages, the signal can be weak.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
National Trails describes the Thames Path in fifteen sections, 185.2 miles (298 km) from the source of the Thames at Thames Head, near Kemble, to the Woolwich Foot Tunnel in east London, where the trail has ended since January 2022 and the England Coast Path goes on to Grain. Its sections add up to 295.5 km, with the south-bank figures where it gives both banks in London. It publishes no stage times, only each section's distance, so the times here are ours, measured on our line. The line here is the route on OpenStreetMap (relation 14519665, from the planet of 11 October 2026), from Thames Head to the Woolwich Foot Tunnel: 304 km, cut at the fifteen section ends. Every section is within 1.3 km of National Trails' figure except Tilehurst to Henley: 26.9 km on our line against 19.7 km. There the Marsh Lock footbridge is closed and OpenStreetMap maps no way over the river, so our line joins the gap with our own routing via Shiplake, 5.7 km, labelled "Joined by our routing here". That is not the official diversion, about 3 miles along the A4155. At Shepperton the trail crosses the river by a small ferry, drawn dashed and left out of our walking distance. Our line still crosses the closures National Trails lists: by Grandpont Nature Park in Oxford (section 5) for certain, and very likely at Culham (section 6), Temple Bridge and Runnymede, whose diversion lines run beside ours. At each, follow the signed diversion, not our line. From Teddington down, National Trails gives a route on each bank; we have not checked which bank our line takes at each point. The path is flat: our climb is measured on terrain heights.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 13 October 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
National Trails: Thames PathMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation