July 12 Cirencester to Cricklade

 The Thames Path does not begin in Cirencester; it begins four miles and change distant in the Middle of Nowhwere.  I had stewed aplenty deciding how to get to the start, and chose wisely...The Monarch's Way, of course, and then a turn-off to the Severn-Thames connector.  It was clear, crisp, and sunny when I set out at 5:30, and, as there is one horrific roundabout to be navigated before reaching the Monarch's Way, the early hour was a bonus since, just after the cock crows, not many cars and drivers are rushing off to work.  

And HERE IT IS!

And THIS is the source:

You don't know whether to laugh or cry! As the guide book says, it starts out as a trickle.  Here are a few stages I passed:

Can barely see:

Can see more:

Can see what you might expect:

While walking, sometimes the river is on your right and sometimes it is on your left and lots of times you don't see it at all.  You see other things:

Including a flower you have not seen heretofore:

Also, to be honest, you are not 100% sure when you are seeing the river because there are lots of lakes in these parts even though it is not The Lake District:

and you, the walker are walking amidst them. There is much recreation on these lakes: I saw a water skier fall down, but the boat circled back, the person got up and sped off.

In the woods, someone created a piece of art:

The little cluster of beads in the center form the word "trap."

This must be the cutest place:

Wouldn't you just love to see what they do there?

I got a real kick out of the combination of sticks for the fence +high tech security system:

Whoah:

A giant Hogwart must be on the run!

At 1:15, almost eight hours after starting out, I arrived at my £150 ($195.00) accommodation:

After quite some time, the wi-fi finally worked, so it is not all bad!