The dog checks out the situation on the Thames path.
During our walk yesterday around Medmenham, we were forced to take a detour when the path along the Thames was flooded. We've had a lot of rain lately, in fact, Tuesday night my drive home from the Midlands was one of the most harrowing of my life. With the rain pelting through the dark night, and the motorways full of lorries, I felt like a pinball in my little red car, tossed around from side to side, unable to see the lane markers. At one point the lorry I was following, in a desperate attempt to stay inside a lane, veered off the M25 to head up the M1, and I unwittingly followed. I found myself caught up in the infamous M1 roadworks, then hurtling toward Hemel Hempstead as I took the first exit I found.
So I should have been prepared for unexpected detours the next morning, but even after a fellow hiker called and wondered if flooding would be a problem, I shrugged off the possibility.
I figured I'd have heard about it if the Thames was flooded, right? But of course floods have nothing to do with Princess Diana's love life, which is the only news gossip being reported these days.
The first part of our hike, over high ground overlooking the Thames, was beautiful. The sun was making up for lost time, baking the pastures we tromped across, the sweet smell of manure tempting the dog.
But then we circled back to walk along the Thames, and there ran into trouble. The river was wider than I'd ever seen it, flowing swiftly toward London. The surrounding fields were filled with brand new lakes, each with a pair of swans taking up temporary residence.
A pair of swans, loving their new digs.
We were forced to cut through the fields to get back to the pub where we'd parked, but fortunately we discovered paved lanes, built for access to electrical stations. Not the most picturesque hike, but better than swimming.
And at least we didn't end up in Hemel Hempstead.
