Introduction:

The Thames Path is 184 miles long and follows the river downstream from its source at Thames Head near Kemble to the Thames Barrier in the city of London. It is a splendid and popular riverside trail leading from the rural Cotswolds to the capital through beautiful countryside and fascinating urban areas such as Oxford, Henley, Windsor and Greenwich. A path along the Thames was among the original list of long distance routes proposed by the Hobhouse Committee in 1948 and was subsequently keenly supported by the Ramblers' Association, who published David Sharp's first guide to the route in 1981. It was finally opened as a National Trail in 1996. (Extract adapted from Ramblers Association)

The best web sites for General Information and Planning:

Ramblers Association A comprehensive site providing details on the route. Includes an accommodation guide, booking service providers, maps required.
South East National Trails This Official site for the walk is comprehensive with lots of useful information on the route. Has just about everything needed to plan the walk.
Thames Path A complete guide to the walk with lots of recent news.

The best web sites for Guided Walking:

H F Holidays Full guided walking service for the Thames Path.

The web sites that organise your accommodation and baggage transfer:

Xplore Britain Full range of self guided walking services.
Instep Holidays Independent company providing a full self guided service.
Contours Full self guided service for the western part of the path.

The best web sites for you to plan your accommodation:

S H Systems Excellent range of accommodation. Just type in the location to bring up a list of accommodation in the area. You can sort them by price, postcode or rating.
Ramblers Association Includes a comprehensive web listing of accommodation.

(Note - finding suitable walkers accommodation on the web is a minefield. It is best to search for accommodation by searching for it in a specific place. If you don't then you will spend ages wasting your time trawling large databases and getting nowhere fast. I have done so many times. In my experience S H Systems has proved to be most useful)

The best personal journals of the walk:

No personal journals found.

The sites for safety advice and emergency services:

Ramblers Association Practical walking advice including a guide to map reading, navigation and a detailed list of the essential gear required on a long distance walk.
Ramblers Association Essential safety guide with clear web site navigation.
Mountain Rescue UK You may need them so take their advice.

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