A gallant crew of seven walkers set off from Pangbourne and headed up Whitchurch Hill at exactly the time when Storm Antoni decided to open the heavens  and dump a load of rain on us. But we were not deterred and strode manfully up the hill while the rain filled the gullies on a mission to reach the Thames below asap!

Our first non human encounter of the afternoon was a herd of friendly Charolais cows sheltering under the trees from the rain. I think they were somewhat surprised to see a clutch of vari-coloured umbrellas approaching from the South but they moved aside and let us pass in peace! A sigh of relief rose into the air!

We continued our walk across fields and sodden hedgerows - the rain still drenching us. But as we began our descent to the Thames the rain began to ease and the horizon became clearer. On reaching the Thames Path we started our return journey to Whitchurch walking under cover of the many trees in Hartslock Woods. There were occasional glimpses of the river, grey in the early evening light, after the rain and finally, dead on the dot of 8pm (through good luck rather than planning) we reached our starting point and headed to the George Hotel at Pangbourne for a hearty and delicious supper.

Thanks to you all who came on this walk which turned out to be a rather different walk  than our normal ones because of the weather but none the less an enjoyable saunter in the South Oxfordshire countryside.